Visas to Venezuelans in Panama Rejected Out of "Arranged Marriages"

 By: Agencies

Feb 05th, 18.- The Panama migration authorities rejected 40.7% of the residence requests of foreigners married to locals after having detected that these unions had been forged aimed at easing the permanence of the foreigner.

In year 2017, 3,493 individuals requested a residence permit under the modality of Married to a Panamanian. From this amount, 1,425 (40.7%) were rejected the Panama National Service of Migration reported.


The nationals from Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and the United States were the ones who applied the most to the permit of Married to a National, according to the official reports.


"The Law that rules the National Migration Service is clear in stressing that the marriage of any foreigner with a national does not grant per se the right for the residence in the Republic of Panama", the Panama migration authority stated in a press release.



1,425 migration requests were rejected for having been discovered that these unions were intented to ease the permanence of the foreigner in Panama after interviews and visits to the homes of the people involved, the Chief for the Analysis of Migration Permits, Cornelio Cáceres said to the local press.


According to Panamanian local figures, last year the amount of residence permits denied under the figure of married to a Panamanian was higher, the journal La Prensa reported.


In year 2017the residence permit requests of a foreigner married to a Panamanian increased 13.4% regarding the 3,078 requests in year 2016, the Panama migration authorities appointed.


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English Version: María Eugenia Acero Colomine acerocolomine@gmail.com
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