Police Records for Immigration in Panama

Do you need police records for immigration in Panama?

All foreigners of adult age (+18) who wish to apply for a residency in Panama, visa or any immigration process in Panama must obtain a criminal record from their country.

This record must be authenticated or apostilled. This document is valid for the period of time the document states, meaning the expiration date, and otherwise, the document will be valid for six months from the date it is issued.

You can verify if your country is eligible to apply to the apostille in the following link:

http://www.hcch.net/index_es.php?act=conventions.status&cid=41

The countries that are not eligible for the apostille must proceed to validate the document with a Public Notary of your country and authenticate the same in a Panamanian Consular Office or in the nearest country that has a Panamanian Consular Office.

Important: Dependents residencies or any inmigration process tha allow to include dependents, are subject to file a criminal record also (spouses, parents, daughters and sons over 18 years old).

Also, take in consideration that the criminal record cannot be a state or province criminal record, for example, in the United States of America, american citizens must request a record to provided by the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation).

If the foreigner has been in Panama for more than two years, it is also possible to obtain a local police record from the DIJ (Dirección de Investigación Judicial) in Panama.

Likewise, we can offer the coordination of the request of criminal record and apostille if you need any assistance.

You can visit our website www.panamalegalgroup.com for further information on legal services in general, and send us your inquiry to info@panamalegalgroup.com.