our residence permit, part 18476396

The application for our residence permit seem to have no end at all. We had fulfilled al the requirements and completed more than the required number of forms, or at least so it seemed, but the end seemed as far away as ever. In 2008 we got a temporary residence permit for a year after we had invested the required amount and submitted all the receipts. That was more or less as it should be. After a year, our reforestation project would be evaluated and if the evaluation was positive, a permanent residence permit would be issued. In December 2009 the project was evaluated and we got a three month residence permit while our application was processed.

In March 2010 Kees came back to Panama hoping to receive the permanent residence permit. Unfortunately, no luck. Our application was put on the backburner while the migration service attended to more pressing issues. We got a new temporary residence permit, this time one for a year. Useful, since Kees was travelling quite often between Panama and Angola, but also a bit worrying, apparently our proces was destined for quite a long time on the backburner.

In the end, it turned out to be not too bad. On 20 December 2010, our application for permanent residence was approved by migration. Our lawyers said there was no hurry, so we had a good time and went to Panama City in January 2011 to pick up our ID. Not quite. We were again presented with a temporary ID, but this time at least it stated that we were permanent residents. Our ID, that would be the next step, which would take ‘a couple of months‘.

In March 2011, indeed a couple of months later, we were told that we could come to Panama for our ID. But this time we had to present ourselves at the ’tribunal electoral‘ the registration office for all Panamanians. Luckily Kees was scheduled to be in Panama in April, so no problem. On 1 April we presented ourselves at the ’tribunal electoral‘. After waiting half an hour we were allowed to proceed to the relevant office to check whether all our personal details were correct. The relevant office also compared our faces to the photos to make sure it was really us. Just as well we had not acquired to many additional wrinkles in the last three years.

We then received a receipt and were told to visit the next office where they would take a photograph and then we could collect our Identity Card in seven days. All Panamanians have told us that those 7 days usually take 2 to 4 weeks. So this was just another photo taken and yet another step in this process.

Were all our personal details correct, you will want to know? Well yes, apart from one small detail. Although we presented a certified and notarized translation of our wedding certificate at the migration service, we had not registered our marriage at the ’tribunal electoral‘. So for them, and thus according to our new Panamian ID-card, we are both single again...