Registration and numbers in Panama: filiación, residence card and RUC
After arriving in Panama you carry three or four numbers: the filiación at Migración, your migration card, the residence card from the Tribunal Electoral and a tax number from the DGI. The filiación costs B/. 5, the tax registration is free, and the order decides whether you can later use your pensionado exemptions.
Which numbers do you need when you move to Panama? Four: a registration with the immigration service (the filiación), your migration card, the residence card from the Tribunal Electoral, and a tax number from the tax authority DGI. The filiación costs B/. 5, the tax registration is free. The finding at the source is why that tax number matters, even if you pay no tax in Panama: without papers from the DGI, no exemption at customs. The pitfall is that the DGI only accepts the application online, and for the ordinary route wants to see a valid card.
Which numbers are there, and at which counter?
| Number or card | Counter | Cost | What you need |
|---|---|---|---|
| Filiación (registro de extranjería) | Servicio Nacional de Migración | B/. 5 | online pre-registration, two passport photos, copy of passport and last entry stamp |
| Migration card (carné) | Servicio Nacional de Migración | duplicate B/. 15 | the resolution granting your residence |
| Residence card (carné de residente permanente) | Tribunal Electoral, Dirección de Cedulación | duplicate B/. 50, then 60 and 70 | an office with photo equipment, nationwide |
| RUC as a natural person | DGI, online only via e-Tax 2.0 | free | copy of your valid card |
| NT and NIT (without a card) | DGI, online only | free | passport and original travel record from Migración |
What is the filiación?
The first registration with the immigration service. You first do a pre-registration on the Migración website, take a queue ticket with the letter B at the counter, and hand in two passport photos, a copy of the personal details page of your passport, a copy of your last entry stamp and your visa if you have one. It costs B/. 5. If your lawyer files the application, a notarised power of attorney and a copy of his cédula and professional licence are added.
The fine rule also hangs on that registration. Anyone who overstays the permitted period pays B/. 50 per expired month or part of a month, and anyone not yet registered has to do so when paying the fine. So keep track of the date of your entry stamp, also while your application is pending.
Which card proves that you live here?
After approval, Migración issues a card that shows your status. For the pensionado, the immigration service's requirements state that this residence is granted indefinitely and needs no extension. What remains is the card itself: if you lose it, you apply for a duplicate with a report of the loss, a copy of your passport and the resolution, for B/. 15.
In addition, the Dirección de Cedulación of the Tribunal Electoral issues the residence card. That card identifies you fully, with name, place of birth, photo, blood type, signature and an expiry date, and you collect it at a regional or district office with the photo service (triada). A duplicate costs B/. 50 the first time, B/. 60 the second and B/. 70 the third. What the first card costs, the page does not say.
In daily life this card is your key: banks, the DGI and the businesses that have to give the pensionado discounts ask for it.
Do you need a tax number as a pensionado?
Probably yes, even if you pay no tax in Panama on your Dutch pension. The DGI registers natural persons for a RUC, and explicitly names jubilados and pensionados. With a valid card the application is free, but it can only be made online via e-Tax 2.0. From age 70 a statement from the applicant has to be attached.
If you do not (yet) have a card, there is the Número Tributario (NT), intended for those whose migration status means they do not meet the requirements for the RUC. You then submit a copy of your passport and an original, valid record of your entries and exits from Migración. The NIT, the identification number for the online environment, you apply for afterwards with a valid NT and an email address.
The DGI considers you a tax resident if you have been in Panama for more than 183 days in a tax year, or in the year before it. What that means for your pension is in AOW, pension and tax in Panama.
Why the order matters
No paz y salvo, no exemption at customs. The customs exemption for retirees requires, among other things, a statement that you have paid your taxes, the paz y salvo. The DGI issues it to a foreign retiree on presentation of his migration card as jubilado or pensionado or a pension statement with apostille, and a travel record from Migración. Anyone who first wants his container released and only then starts on his card and his tax registration puts the chain in the wrong order.
The practical order is therefore: filiación and residence application, then the cards, then the tax registration, and only after that the counters that ask for one of those numbers. How the residence itself works is in the residence routes to Panama; the whole journey is in the step-by-step plan for Panama.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 5 of 5 of the journey: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Panama or look inside the open plan first.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change — when in doubt the source is leading, not this article.
- Migración — registro de extranjería, the filiación with two passport photos and B/. 5 — migracion.gob.pa
- Migración — the requirements for pensionado residence, which is granted indefinitely — migracion.gob.pa
- Migración — frequently asked questions, with the B/. 15 duplicate card and the overstay fine — migracion.gob.pa
- Panamá Digital — Tribunal Electoral, the residence card and what a duplicate costs — panamadigital.gob.pa
- DGI — the RUC for a natural person, including jubilados and pensionados — dgi.mef.gob.pa
- DGI — the Número Tributario (NT) and the 183-day threshold for tax residents — dgi.mef.gob.pa
- Panamá Digital — the DGI paz y salvo for a foreign retiree — panamadigital.gob.pa
- Panamá Digital — Customs, the exemptions for retirees and what they require — panamadigital.gob.pa
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