How Pensionados Can “Work” In Panama (continued)

• Don’t call yourself Manager, Assistant, Chief or use any other name that might describe a position that otherwise needs to be on a payroll, within your own corporation or anybody else’s. Instead, use External Consultant, Off Counsel Adviser and other terms that reflect that you are only using your expertise to advise on maters relating to the operation, but are not a necessary part of it.

• Try another type of Immigration solution that allows you to be a front man within the operation. An Investor Visa (or any of its types) or Marrakech Temporary Visa (for 6 years) might be more suitable for your needs, because it allows you to start up a fully operational company, with less money, less paperwork and it gives you a Work Permit having only one Panamanian employee earning minimum wage. Don’t get pulled into a one way street. Study the options and get good counsel. If you must work and cannot establish a corporate structure on your own, a change of visa is possible in order to allow you to be employed.

Either if you set up a corporation to work for you, or you intend to work for someone else, you need to take important steps towards achieving your goal:

• First and foremost, consult your attorney. A corporation must be set up in a certain way so that you are fully protected against wrongful claims of labor or taxation infractions; also, he can advise you on the Visa requirements and set up the contractual frame work needed in both cases.

• Set up a good contractual frame. The contracts with yourself, your contractors, employees and clients, must be set up in a way where you are not tagged as a person wrongfully employed or infringing Panamanian Labor laws.

• Get yourself an accountant, especially if you are going to start receiving money in Panama in your Panamanian Bank Account. Remember that even though you are an expat or foreigner, if you start receiving income in Panama, you need to pay your taxes. If it’s foreign income, then that’s another story, but you still need to file taxation paperwork.

These are only guidelines. You can establish a good commercial operation in Panama with your Pensionado Visa, just be mindful of your special situation and be respectful of the law in the country you are now living or doing business in. If you work within the legal parameters, you will have an active and profitable life here for many years to come.

Alejandro Ávila, a Panamanian Attorney with a Masters Degree in Commercial Law and is a Licensed Public Translator. For inquiries, please contact him at (507) 209-2677, (507) 209-2678 or write him an email to avila@legalcorppanama.com