--- titulo: "Crisol de Razas: the six-year extension and permanent residency under Executive Decree 235 of 2021" titulo_seo: "Crisol de Razas 2026: extension and permanent residency" meta: "Panama's 2021 regularization is closed, but permit holders keep two exits: a six-year extension, or permanent residency after eight years of permits." autor: "Diego Ospina Serna" fecha: 2026-09-04 actualizado: 2026-09-04 verificado: 2026-09-04 materia: "Immigration Law" idioma: "en" par: "crisol-de-razas-prorroga-y-residencia-permanente-panama" resumen: "Executive Decree 235 of 2021 definitively closed Panama's extraordinary and general immigration regularization processes, repealing nine decrees and two resolutions in one article, including the 249 of 2019 that many pages still cite. What it left open is the exit for those who already held a provisional permit: a six-year extension and, after eight years of permits, permanent residency through roots, employment or tax compliance. This guide separates what the decree says from what its 2022 implementing resolution added, which on several points requires something different." tags: ["Derecho Migratorio", "Crisol de Razas", "Regularización Migratoria", "Residencia Permanente", "Expats Panama"] orden: 20260904 faq: - q: "Is immigration regularization still open in Panama?" a: "No. Executive Decree 235 of 15 September 2021 closed it definitively. Its recitals state the intention to eliminate, on a definitive basis, any kind of extraordinary or general immigration regularization process, and its Article 13 repealed nine decrees and two resolutions. What remains open is only the exit for those who already obtained a provisional permit under those processes." - q: "I hold a Crisol de Razas card. What can I do now?" a: "It depends on the permit you obtained. If it was a two-year provisional permit, Article 2 allows you to apply for a six-year extension. If you already held a six-year permit, once that period has elapsed you may apply directly for permanent residency. And Article 3 sets the general threshold: anyone who accumulates a minimum of eight years of provisional permits may apply for permanent residency." - q: "Is Executive Decree 249 of 2019 still usable?" a: "No. It was expressly repealed by Article 13 of Executive Decree 235 of 2021, along with eight other decrees and two resolutions. Before that, in September 2020, the Supreme Court had already struck down one of its categories as unconstitutional. The fees and deadlines circulating online under that decree do not apply." - q: "Can I file the application myself?" a: "No. The decree requires the application to be filed through a Panamanian attorney, following the mechanism established by the National Immigration Service." - q: "What routes are there to permanent residency?" a: "Three, each with its own documents: through roots, which refers back to the married-to-a-Panamanian and dependants-of-permanent-residents sections of the immigration regulations; through employment, which requires a valid Crisol de Razas work permit and a certificate of affiliation to the social security fund; and through tax compliance, which requires registration with the DGI, the last two income tax returns and the tax clearance certificate." - q: "Do Panamanian children count as roots?" a: "Yes, although the decree does not mention them. It is Resolution 7096 of 2022 of the National Immigration Service that adds that ground to the roots category. It is an example of why reading only the decree leaves part of the applicable rules out." - q: "I am married to a Panamanian. Is the marriage certificate enough?" a: "Resolution 7096 of 2022 requires a minimum of two years of marriage, and where that period is not met it provides for a marriage interview. The decree did not say so." - q: "What does it cost?" a: "Article 8 sets different amounts for the six-year extension and for permanent residency, each broken down into immigration service fees, payment to the National Treasury, a repatriation or guarantee deposit depending on the case, and the card. Article 9 sets the duplicate of a lost card at 300, 500 and 700 balboas depending on whether it is the first, second or third time. Confirm current figures with the National Immigration Service before budgeting." - q: "If I file, must they grant me residency?" a: "No. Article 11 says so expressly: the mere filing of applications neither guarantees nor obliges the National Immigration Service to grant provisional or permanent residency." fuentes: - tipo: "Legislación" nombre: "Executive Decree 235 of 15 September 2021, setting the procedures and requirements for renewing provisional permits and applying for permanent residency for foreigners who obtained provisional permits under the extraordinary and general immigration regularization processes. Official Gazette 29381-A of 22 September 2021." url: "https://www.migracion.gob.pa/wp-content/uploads/DECRETO-EJECUTIVO-235-DE-15-DE-SEPTIEMBRE-2021.pdf" - tipo: "Vigencia" nombre: "Record of Executive Decree 235 of 2021 at InfoJuridica, Procuraduría de la Administración (numsec 57013), listing it as in force with a single amendment, Resolution 7096 of 14 April 2022. Consulted on 18 August 2026." url: "https://infojuridica.procuraduria-admon.gob.pa/norma_screen?numsec=57013" - tipo: "Legislación" nombre: "Resolution 7096 of 2022 of the National Immigration Service, implementing Executive Decree 235 of 2021. Official Gazette 29529." url: "https://infojuridica.procuraduria-admon.gob.pa/norma_screen?numsec=58126" - tipo: "Vigencia" nombre: "Record of Executive Decree 249 of 10 June 2019 at InfoJuridica, Procuraduría de la Administración (numsec 53104), listing it as repealed. Consulted on 18 August 2026." url: "https://infojuridica.procuraduria-admon.gob.pa/norma_screen?numsec=53104" - tipo: "Legislación" nombre: "Decree Law 3 of 2008, creating the National Immigration Service and the Immigration Career. Its Article 28 sets the general requirements that apply on top of this decree's own." url: "https://iurispa.com/legislacion/decreto-ley-3-de-2008/" - tipo: "Legislación" nombre: "Executive Decree 320 of 2008, the immigration regulations, whose married-to-a-Panamanian and dependants-of-permanent-residents sections govern the roots route." url: "https://iurispa.com/legislacion/decreto-ejecutivo-320-de-2008/" - tipo: "Instituciones" nombre: "Servicio Nacional de Migración" url: "https://iurispa.com/instituciones/servicio-nacional-de-migracion/" --- For a decade Panama opened and reopened regularization processes. Panamá Crisol de Razas and the General Immigration Regularization handed out tens of thousands of provisional permits, first for two years and later for six and for ten. That cycle ended on 15 September 2021. **Executive Decree 235 of 2021** was not another extension. Its recitals state the intention to **eliminate, on a definitive basis, any kind of extraordinary or general immigration regularization process**, and its Article 13 repealed nine decrees and two resolutions in one go. Among them, Executive Decree 249 of 2019, which still circulates online as though it were alive. What the decree did leave open, and it is what matters to anyone holding the card, is **the exit for those who already obtained a provisional permit**. ## Who qualifies Article 1 draws the line: any foreigner who obtained a Provisional Residence Permit through the Extraordinary Immigration Regularization process «Panamá Crisol de Razas» or the General Immigration Regularization, **whether for six or for ten years**, may apply for permanent residency by meeting the criteria the decree itself establishes. Nobody else. This is not a way in: it is the way out of a closed process. ## The two exits **The six-year extension.** Article 2 provides that foreigners who received a **two-year** provisional permit may apply for a six-year extension. And it adds the rule that links the two: in the case of six-year provisional permits, once that period has elapsed the holder may apply for permanent residency. **Permanent residency.** Article 3 sets the general threshold: foreigners who have completed **a minimum period of eight years** with their respective provisional permits may apply for permanent residency, meeting the requirements the decree establishes. That figure is worth holding on to, because it governs the whole timeline: **eight accumulated years of provisional permits**. Not eight years in the country, nor eight years since arrival: eight years holding the permit. ## What both routes require Article 4 requires compliance with **Article 28 of Decree Law 3 of 2008**, which sets the general requirements for any immigration application, plus: - **Police record.** Where the applicant has spent two years or more without leaving Panama, the document is issued by the national authorities. - **Two passport-sized photographs.** - **The online Regularization Process form**, completed. - **Proof of address.** A water, electricity or telephone bill in the applicant's name, evidenced by the original or a notarised copy of the lease, or a certificate of domicile issued by a Justice of the Peace. And a requirement that is frequently overlooked: **the address must match the one stated in the Sworn Declaration of Personal Records**. The same article closes with the rule that decides who files: **the application is submitted through a Panamanian attorney**, following the mechanism established by the National Immigration Service. It is not a procedure the applicant can complete at the counter on their own. Article 5 covers the damaged, lost or in-process passport, accepting the corresponding consular certificate together with the report filed before the Judicial Investigation Directorate or the Public Ministry's complaints reception centre. Article 6 requires, where the applicant is under eighteen, the notarised authorisation of both parents or of the parent holding custody, with proof of the relationship. ## The three grounds for permanent residency This is where files diverge. Article 7 sets additional requirements according to the ground relied on, and each route has its own list: **Through roots.** It refers back to Title IV of the immigration regulations, permanent resident category, demographic grounds chapter, in its **married to a Panamanian** and **dependants of permanent residents** sections, under Executive Decree 320 of 2008 or Executive Decree 583 of 9 August 2012. A copy of the card and of the resolution granting the valid Crisol de Razas work permit is also filed. **Through employment.** It requires the valid Crisol de Razas work permit, with a copy of the card and of the resolution granting it, and the **certificate from the social security fund** evidencing affiliation as an insured person. **Through tax compliance.** It requires registration with the Dirección General de Ingresos before filing, the Notice of Operations where applicable, **the last two sworn income tax returns** duly filed, and the income tax **clearance certificate**. ## What the implementing resolution adds and the decree does not say This is the part that gets lost when only the principal rule is read. **Resolution 7096 of 2022** of the National Immigration Service implements the decree, and several of its points go beyond clarifying: - **It adds Panamanian children** to the grounds of roots. The decree does not mention them. - **It requires a minimum of two years of marriage** from an applicant married to a Panamanian, and where that period is not met, it provides for a **marriage interview**. - **It allows filing on employment grounds** with only a copy of the power of attorney and the application to MITRADEL, without the work permit already approved. - **It makes the multiple-entry visa automatic**, included in the processing card, for six months. - **It requires a certified cheque** payable to the National Immigration Service, and for the two hundred and fifty balboa payment, a certified cheque **from the Banco Nacional de Panamá**. - **It sets the duplicate of a damaged card at fifteen balboas**, against the three hundred, five hundred and seven hundred that Article 9 of the decree establishes for a lost one depending on whether it is the first, second or third time. That last contrast is worth being clear about before paying: a damaged card and a lost card are not the same thing, and the difference runs to hundreds of balboas. ## The costs Article 8 sets the amounts per procedure, broken down into immigration service fees, payment to the National Treasury, a repatriation or guarantee deposit depending on the case, and the card. The two procedures, the six-year extension and permanent residency, carry different amounts and different components. We do not reproduce the cell-by-cell breakdown here because the official copy available is a scan and we prefer not to publish a figure we cannot read with full certainty. The PDF published by the National Immigration Service itself is linked in the sources, and the current figures should be confirmed with the institution before budgeting: this is money paid up front and by certified cheque. ## Filing is not obtaining Article 11 puts it plainly: **the mere filing of applications neither guarantees nor obliges the National Immigration Service to grant provisional or permanent residency**. It is a warning the decree thought necessary to write down, and worth repeating to anyone who arrives assuming that a complete file amounts to approval. Article 12, transitional, gave two months to applications already in process and set 31 December 2021 for employment files suspended by the National Emergency. That deadline has expired. ## What happened to Executive Decree 249 of 2019 It is the question that comes up most often, because that decree governed the definitive-permanence procedure for two years and its trail online is abundant. It has been **repealed** since 15 September 2021 by Article 13 of the decree explained here. It had already taken a blow before that: by ruling of **21 September 2020** the Supreme Court of Justice declared unconstitutional only the category «Nationals of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela» inserted in its Article 4, a distinction by nationality within an immigration procedure. We keep [the page on that decree](/guias/permanent-residency-executive-decree-249-2019/) for its historical value, marked as repealed: the fees and deadlines it lists do not apply. ## How this fits with everything else If your provisional permit comes from Crisol de Razas or the General Regularization, this is your route and there is no other within those processes. If what you are looking for is to enter today for the first time, the open catalogue is a different one and we cover it in the guide on permanent residency in Panama (not yet published in English) and on [what an immigration status is and how to obtain it](/guias/what-is-an-immigration-status-and-how-to-obtain-it/). If your situation is one of irregularity that arose later and you did not take part in those processes, the live route today is the [Humanitarian Security Protection Permit](/guias/humanitarian-security-protection-permit-ppsh-panama/), which has its own application window and its own deadline.