It is recommended that cruisers acquire and retain receipts for any monies paid on clearing into the country, as it may be valuable down the road.

For full details on the formalities, paperwork and fees required for clearing into and out of Panama see noonsite’s Panama Formalities.

Please do contact us with fees paid if you have recently cleared into Panama.

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Reported by Eric of s/v Kandu – March, 2019

Shelter Bay Marina

Panamanian Cruising Permit

The $185 Permit is required for all yachts navigating Panamanian waters for more than three days. Acquiring one:

1) Linton Marina, the Port Captain provides you one on the spot without additional charge.

2a) Shelter Bay Marina, for $50 cash, no receipt, the Port Captain will arrange and provide you your permit through the Linton Port Captain, 1-2 days. You provide him the $185 cash.

2b) Shelter Bay Marina, for $25, receipt provided, and $185 cash, the marina office will process your permit through the Colon Port Captain, who in turn, sends the request to Panama City. Once complete, the marina driver collects the permit from Colon, 5-10 days in total.

3) Solo, you can take the Shelter Bay Marina shuttle bus to Colon Port Captain’s office and initiate the process yourself, communicating directly with the office yourself, and boarding the shuttle yourself to collect your completed permit.

Line Handlers:

Recommend volunteering for another’s boat transit and then hiring at least one of your agent’s professional line handlers, $100 per handler all in. Not only do they prep and handle lines and fenders, they can also re-enforce your preferences with the advisors and canal workers. Note: For your volunteers, a pre-arranged taxi back to Shelter Bay from

Balboa is $100.

Lines & Fenders:

Recommend renting them. No more tires, only real fenders are provided now, 8 of them. Four extra long polypropylene 7/8” lines. For $12 cash tip, a Balboa Marina tender will collect them from you as you pass by.

After Transit:

Balboa Marina; If you can get a mooring ball, per night is ~$50. Marinas are expensive. Playitas said $150 first day, $2/ft/day after that. Anchoring, remember they have a 15-foot tidal range here.Erick Galvez is a popular agent here in the marina. We’re using him and are very happy with his service: English speaking, quick and thorough email responses.

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Feedback from Susan Keating of SV Nordlys – 2 August 2018

We arrived in Linton Bay Panama August 1, the next morning we got our cruising permit right at Linton Bay Marina at the Port Captain Office on site. It was a simple and pleasant experience. The cost was $180US for one year permit, plus $5 fee.

Next stop was the Immigration office in Portobelo. Even though we arrived minutes before lunch we were received politely and processed quickly. We received a six-month visa. There were no further charges.

Altogether a pleasant experience as we had expected much worse from reading some other reports on Noonsite. Can’t was to explore this beautiful country.

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Reported by SV Totem – 27 January 2018: 

Clearing into Panama at Puerto Obaldia

We arrived in Panama recently and cleared into Panama’s eastern Caribbean corner at Puerto Obaldia on January 27, 2018, after hearing positive reports on the ability to check into this relatively frontier post from other boats.

Clearance was a three-step process:

Police checkpoint (no document given, no fee) at the head of the dock; officer wrote down details from each crew members’ passport.

Immigration (visas for the crew, $105 per person for US citizens): office in town, the basic direction from a police checkpoint. Passport.

Port Captain (clearance provided, total cost $197: the cruising permit is $185, a few other nominal fees are noted on the receipt): around the corner from Migracion, blue/white building is also visible from the anchorage.

The crew should all go ashore. We were able to avoid doing this because conditions in the bay were unsafe for leaving the boat unattended – officials relented in our case, but we know they’ve required all crew to disembark in other clearances this season.

During peak trades, Jan-March, swell rolls in and this anchorage are barely tenable. We found good holding, but given the pitching of the boat in swells, did not want to linger.

Puerto Perme, approx. 10 km east from Puerto Obaldia, is a very well protected bay and the perfect place to move once formalities are completed.

Behan & the Totem crew

SailingTotem.com

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roycereid302 says:

Oct 06, 2017 05:07 PM

I wanted to give some positive feedback for Puerto Armuelles as an entry and exit port for the Pacific side of Panama.

We cleared in and out of Panama there with no hassle at all. The port captain filled out all the forms, copied all our documents and helped us with our crew list… We obtained all of our exit papers in about 45 minutes and when we came in it took about an hour to clear.

There is good holding in about 25 feet of water by the banana dock. Basically an easy in and out stop with good shopping, diesel available at $2.00usd a taxi ride away and friendly efficient service.

I don’t speak Spanish.. but they all understood what I wanted and helped a lot. The very positive experience there.

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Bocas del Toro – 31 May 2017

We cleared into Panama at the IGY Marina, Red Frog Beach Marina in Bocas. Contact them in advance to get their recommended waypoints for entering the area. Despite what’s shown on the charts there are no longer ANY navigation buoys. They were removed when this ceased being a commercial channel. The entry is simple and you could just go by the electronic charts if wished, just mind your depths around the mangroves.

When you reach the Marina the local officials will come to the boat, inspect it and do any amount of paperwork, all the skipper does is date, sign and pay around $340 for a years entry and a cruising permit ($185 is cruising permit for 1 year, the rest was split up between department). You will get a receipt. If you don’t have the cash DeeCee will lend it to you from his own pocket!

Our tourist visas were valid for 6 months, renewable every 6 months for $5.

The water is well water and excellent and there is 220 volt on the docks, American plugs needed. The island has a large solar power plant with 3 generators backing up at night. The nearest town is Bocas del Toro and it is a 15-minute high-speed boat ride away. The Marina has 2 free trips a day to town and back.

The island is a resort area with villas and condos for rent or purchase. It is a stunning island. There are several restaurants and bars on the privately owned island, with free transport on request. All are a reasonable cost too. Credit cards are welcome. There are several miles of golden beaches, excellent surfing and miles of hiking when the unpaved roads end. Plenty of nature to look for too.

The sail to Colon takes about 20 hours. I can recommend this Marina to anyone in the area as not to be missed!

Hugh Pilsworth

SY BlueFlyer

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Puerto Lindo – 1 May 2016

The Port Captain at Linton Bay Marina, Republic of Panama, is open every day, including Saturday and Sunday.

Hours are from 8 am to 4 pm.

Costs are $12 zarpe to exit Panama or $193 (cruising permit) to enter Panama.

Saturday and Sunday there is an extra $20 charge.

This is the Port Captain that has relocated from El Porvenier, San Blas Islands. His office there is closed until further notice.

The Immigration office in El Porvenier is also closed.

Immigration can be completed by taking a short, inexpensive bus ride from Linton Bay to Portobelo – alternatively in Colon.

Michael

s/v Panda

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Panama, San Blas Islands, Porvenir – 25th January 2016 – No sign of a proposed increase in fees

See https://nsocl.wccstaging.com/Countries/Panama/Porvenir/view#1453901993595212

Panama, San Blas Islands: High Fees in Porvenir – 19th February 2015

Things have gone too far, in my view, with the situation in Panama, especially in the San Blas Islands. Now, I don’t mind much forking out over 1200 USD (for a less than 50 foot boat) to transit the Panama Canal and take 10,000 miles off my passage from the Atlantic into the Pacific, but I protest over being charged (with receipts) nearly 500 USD to spend a week bobbing about in the San Blas Islands. They are nice, but not that nice. The anchorages are pretty and pretty crowded. There are virtually no services offered.

Here is the state of affairs as of February 2015:

My partner and I sailed in from Aruba and cleared customs, immigration, police and park authorities in Porvenir, San Blas Islands, Panama, on February 1, 2015. The day we checked in to the San Blas, we were joined on board in Porvenir by a couple who flew in from Panama. Altogether, we were charged in USD:

Immigration: 100 USD per person (two people arriving by boat – 200)

Two people arriving by plane from Panama: No charge

Panama – one-year cruising permit: 193

San Blas cruising permit for the boat: 20

San Blas cruising permit $20 for each person on the boat – 4 pax: 80

Total bill for four people with one week to spend in the San Blas: 493 USD (we received receipts for each charge by very polite and friendly officials).

Had the two people who flew into Porvenir from Panama arrived on the boat with us, the total bill would have been 693 USD.

Further, we hear some are being charged $10 a night to anchor in some locations.

These charges are not warranted by the experience, in my opinion, it’s not worth it. It seems like we ‘discovered’ the New World, the New World has now ‘discovered’ us.

BTW – If you are still intent on visiting the San Blas Islands, bring lots of cash, there are no ATMs!

Cresswell Walker

s.v. Conversations

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Panama, Balboa, Flamenco Island (Pacific): Good News on Check-in here – 27th January 2015

I just met with the local officials at Flamenco Island and you can now get your cruising permit and check into immigration on the second floor of the Flamenco Duty-Free building office. It costs $185. for the cruising permit and was done in one day. Not sure how they got that number but it seems that the cost has always been around the 200 dollar mark so this sounded about right.

Immigration is right down the hall, so you can check in there after you get your cruising permit.

If you plan to stay more than three days you need a mariner’s visa which costs about $100 per person. If you plan to leave your boat within the three-day window, bring a copy of your airline ticket and you will not have to pay for the Mariner’s visa. Then when you return to Panama by air you get 30 days free, so in this case, the Mariner’s visa is not required to get an exit zarpe. Just make a copy of the stamp you got on your passport when you entered Panama and bring that along with your inbound boat cruising permit and your original passports so you can pick up your exit Zarpe and get stamped out of immigration.

The Panamanian exit Zarpe is also done at the Flamenco office. Not sure if there is a fee for the exit Zarpe but as of this date there was no fee mentioned.

There is a cash machine in the lobby.  All are due in cash and you get official receipts – so there is no hanky panky.

It’s best to come early as the port captain’s office opens at 0800 and they review the originals, take all your copies, scan them, input the data into their computer and send it to the head office in Balboa for approval by the Port Captain. If you get the forms done early in the day, the cruising permit is usually ready just after lunch the same day and you can then do the immigration work just down the hall. When you pick up your cruising permit you will be interviewed by the Customs agent. He will fill out the forms, ask a few questions and when done, provide you the copies of the document you will need for the immigration officer and also copies of the form for agriculture and health which you just have to keep on the boat and present along with your cruising permit and Mariner’s visa should you get boarded by AeroNaval.

The customs gentleman is also a very pleasant man eager to help you through the system.

Immigration closes at 4 pm and they are pleasant and eager to assist.

You do not need an agent as everyone seems to understand enough English and the process is fast and easy. Bring all your copies and at least three copies of your Zarpe, passports, your boat registration, your crew list and if your boat registration does not show your address, bring copies of your driver’s license. If you are travelling bring at least two copies of your airline tickets and make sure it shows that you depart no more than three days after you check in, or you will have to pay the money for a Mariners Visa. No exceptions, even if the delay is just one day. This Mariner’s visa is a hard rule.

The Flamenco office is about a 15-20 min walk from La Playita to the end of Amador Causeway or a 2 dollar cab fare for two people.

So far, the Panamanian government is trying to make the check-in and Cruising Permit process fast and easy, but they are understaffed and ask that you please be patient and come prepared with all the required copies and bring the originals for their inspection or the process may be returned back to the port captain’s office which gets pricy due to taxi rides and delays.

Nell Kellett

SV Moon Dancer

Editor’s Note: Authorization for Cruising Permits (Port Captains) and Visas (Immigration) can only be authorized by Main Offices and not Branch Offices. However, documentation can be submitted via the Branch Offices as mentioned in the above report. You cannot do this transaction with one visit to the Branch Office, you will have to return later to check if the documentation is ready. If you go directly to the Main Office the transaction can be done with one visit. As it is Panama, it also very much depends on the Official in charge at the Branch Office!

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Panama, Bocas del Toro: Clearing in – 19th May 2014

For me as a single hand sailor, I guess the charges in Panama now are the highest in the American Continent.

At Monday 19 May 2014 in Red Frog Marina at Bocas Del Toro I was charged the following fees by the 6 person’s delegation of Panama authorities who entered S/V Sea Sprite at 1000:

Boarding Services $170.00

Cruising Permit (Valid one year/12 Months) $193.00

Panama VISA per person (Valid one year/12 Months) $105.00

Totals $468.00

Note:

The fees for regular boarding services are during office hours only. There will be an extra fee if check-in has to be performed outside the regular office hours.

The cruising permit can be renewed 2 times with additional 12 Months each time.

The 12 Months VISA can only be issued to persons arriving with the vessel and will be cancelled when the person leave Panama. If arriving/returning by other means of transport a regular 6 Months entry VISA will be issued.

Capt. Hans-Martin Fruergaard 

S/V Sea Sprite 

Sweden

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Panama, Bocas del Toro: Clearing in – 1st August 2013

Although the buoys from the Bocas del Toro channel have been removed, we used the waypoints of the old buoys and followed them in. On calling the Port Captain on channel 16, he suggested we anchor south of Bocas town and call him when the anchor was down.  The part of the anchorage which is less than 30 feet deep, was very crowded.

In less than an hour, the Port Captain, Immigration, Customs and Agriculture arrived. They filled out paperwork, took a brief tour, charged us $120, and left with instructions to visit the Port Captain’s office the next day. We were not charged overtime even though it was around 3 pm (end of the workday). We provided 1 copy of our boat registration and owed Immigration a copy of our passports.

Fortunately, we left the anchorage and moved to Marina Carenero. We subsequently heard there is a high rate of theft from the south anchorage. We could have gone straight to the marina to check-in.

At the Port Captain’s office the next day, we met with AMP to get our cruising permit. We provided another copy of our registration, a crew list and he copied our passports. We paid $193 for a one year permit.

Note that some cruisers are getting permits that expire when their boat registration expires which may be less than one year. We caught a break and got the full year even though our registration expires end of Sept 2013.

The Port Captain was adamant that we fly the Panama flag. We were able to buy one at the hardware store.

I have heard there is an online form you can complete prior to arriving in Panama. I did not research it and we were not asked about it.

Gail Johnson

s/v It’s Good To Be

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Panama, Porvenir: Immigration charges increased – 15 July 2013

Now they also ask US$ 100.- per person entering Panama at Porvenir, so they ask the same at every port of entry in Panama. If the entering person can show an air ticket leaving within 72 hours from Panama, there is no charge. It’s US$ 200 for the sailing permit valid for a year, if you leave Panama’s waters it loses its validity.

Fritz Breckner

SY Jacqueline

(Editor’s Note: Just adding to the confusion, as well as reports from yachts getting visas at branch offices both on the Caribbean coast and Pacific coast (as did Fritz above), others have been told by the branch offices to go to the principal immigration office for the visa!)

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Panama, Balboa: Diablo Heights now the only official Immigration Office – 9 July 2013

For yachts arriving in Panama from the Pacific and clearing in at Balboa, there has been a new development with immigration.

Apparently, Immigration at the Balboa Yacht Club and Flamenco Marina have now considered Branch Offices (like the situation on the Caribbean side of Panama with Portobelo and Porvenir) and all cruisers must go within 72 hrs of arrival to the main office at Diablo Heights to obtain a visa.

Cruiser Kay Langley reports that the Branch Immigration offices can stamp your passport with an “entry to the country” stamp, but this is only valid for 72 hours, after that you are in the Country illegally. If you want to stay longer you need to go to the port Captain first and after that to Immigration at Diablo. She recommends, “Don´t give any originals to the immigration at Balboa or Flamenco. They will be lost and can create problems. I paid for the visa 105USD.”

Take a taxi to the Immigration Office in Balboa’s El Diablo district (Near the Supermercado El Rey on the other side of the airport, upstairs from a Mercado Gourmet). Be sure to ask the taxi driver to wait for you.

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Clearing into Portobelo (Caribbean side of Panama) – 25 April 2013

The immigration office is allowing people to check in without requiring the visa. Whether they suggest you buy a visa or not, it isn’t required for cruisers to buy one. They may inform you that you need one but nothing will happen with non-compliance.

Jeff Brainard

S/V Desdemona (American)

(Editor’s Note: It should be noted that the Immigration Office here is only a Branch Office under the Immigration Office in Colon. This means that officially they are unable to issue visas, and can only issue “entry to the country” stamps. Entry to the country stamps for yachts at marinas and islands, allow you 72 hrs to obtain a visa (as per the government regulations) at your next port of call (Cristobal/Bocas del Toro/Panama City). Yachts are subject to being stopped and immigration papers checked. Therefore if you have been in the country for more than 72 hours and don’t have a visa, you risk being penalized.)

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Clearing in at Porvenir, San Blas – March 2013

The situation with official clearing-in rules seems to be ever-changing, but this has been our experience. We cleared in at Porvenir, San Blas, where we had to pay:

$193 US for a 12-month cruising permit (you can no longer get a monthly version and it’s required if you are in Panamanian waters for more than 72 hours).

$100 US for a visa for the boat (note if you clear in at the mainland they apparently charge you $100 per person rather than per boat!).

$30 for a Kuna Congress permit for the islands.

The officials, who maintain fairly irregular hours on the island, don’t speak much English and didn’t tell us that we had to clear out from San Blas (to obtain a Zarpe sailing order) before going to Colon. Friends did get one (by luck) and paid $16  to clear out. When we arrived at Shelter Bay we had to pay a $25 fine for not having a Zarpe.

At Shelter Bay, there is a little hut behind the main building to which the Port Captain and an Immigration official come at around 10.00 till 13.00 (till 15.00 for the Port Captain). The clearing in the process is pretty slow, so there will be a queue of grumpy sailors waiting in the hot sun.

If you have already cleared immigration at Porvenir you will need to hand over:

1. A copy of your Cruising Permit
2. A printed crew list (they have forms available if you don’t already have one)
3. A copy of all crew passports
4. Your Zarpe from the last Panamanian port
5. A copy of the boat’s registration document

The immigration officer will also want a copy of your crew list and passports. In return for all this, you’ll get a pink clear-in document and won’t be charged. You can get photocopies in the Dock Shoppe for 50c each, but the port captain will make copies for 25c in his office, it just slows the process up.

If, however, this is your first port in Panama, you’ll need to:

1. Obtain a Cruising permit from the Port Captain (which at the moment is taking anything up to 10 days due to a new computer system!)
2. Get a visa from Immigration (costs $105 US per person) and you will probably have to take the bus into Colon to get it so calling in at Porvenir first is a good tip.

When you leave Shelter Bay for a Canal Transit, you need to clear our with the port captain (up to 48 hours in advance) and obtain a Zarpe for your next port (e.g. Galapagos), via Balboa – you shouldn’t need to clear in and out in Balboa as long as you leave Panamanian waters within 7 days. You will be charged $35 US to clear out.

Graham Keating

‘Maunie of Ardwall’

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Clearing in at Bocas del Toro – no visa fees – December 2012

This was our first port in Panama. We got stamps in all of our passports. Immigration fee US$25. I asked about duration and was told we have 6 months, although looking at the stamp, there is no indication of the length of time. Hopefully, this doesn’t present a problem later! See the full report here.

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Clearing in at Shelter Bay, Colon and Clearing out at Pedregal – no visa fees – September 2012

When we arrived at Colon, Panama in September 2012, we cleared in at Shelter Bay Marina, got our paperwork and passport stamped and paid 20 USD (to the two guys pockets). No receipt. We did not go to the immigration in Colon and we did not get a Zarpe from Colon to Balboa. The Canal Transit went according to the schedule. No problems. We were able to take off our bowsprit and get under 50 feet and saved money that way. The first time we passed, years ago, we were 53 feet.

At the Capitania in Flamingo Marina in Balboa, we got the Cruising Permit, 193 USD, good for one year and paid 20 USD for approval of the ship? No inspection was performed. We were supposed to have a Zarpe for going through the Panama Canal, but after some discussion, it was ok without. We anchored in the Las Brisas Marina area for free. Lots of boats there. Communication every morning at 0800 on VHF 74.

When we left Balboa we paid 12.20 USD for a National Zarpe to Pedregal. When we left Pedregal, we paid 25 USD for inspection of the boat, which never happened and 21.25 in anchoring fee on the river and light dues. The International Zarpe to Costa Rica cost 12.20 plus 1.25 USD.

We never paid Visa fees in Panama. Some boats paid 110 USD per person in Visa fees in Colon. Our cost in Panama (without the Canal Transit) was 317,70 USD.

Jan Klintegaard

s/y Anaconda

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Report from Obaldia – 26th November 2012

Puerto Obaldia is on the Caribbean coast and less than 5nm from the Colombian border.

I checked in at Obaldia close to the border with Colombia and was charged a total of $235 for a boat of 11 metres.  They issued no visa and that was my problem when checking out.  The visa charge was $110 and is now only $10.  The fee was reduced a few days before I left.  There are no charges to clear out.

You must remember that charges and practices can vary from office to office.  Also, you must clear in and out with immigration every time you move to a different province within Panama.

Anthony Swanston

SV Wild Fox

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Update September 2012

Karsten Staffeldt (Panama resident and former cruiser) reports that “Panama Immigration is still confused and I am still getting info. that some yachts are not being charged for or asked for a visa, especially in Balboa and Boca del Toro, although not 100% of arrivals!

Shelter Bay Marina in Colon also reports that immigration formalities are still very unclear.

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Clearing in at Obaldia – August 2012

When we cleared in at Puerto Obaldia during August 2012, Immigration office at Puerto Obaldia informed us that they could not issue us with a Cruising Visa, although the other documents were no problem (Panama Cruising Permit ($205 ), a Zarpe to be in the jurisdiction of Puerto Obaldia ($1.50) and a Zarpe to transit from Puerto Obaldia to Porvenir ($20). After explaining that because we would then be cruising in Panamanian waters for approximately 8 weeks with valid documentation for the boat but that we would effectively be illegal immigrants without a visa in the passport. The official saw our dilemma and obliged by entering immigration paperwork with our vessel shown as a Lancha (ferry launch) and us as passengers/crew at a total cost of $30 for the vessel’s immigration formalities, this gave us stamps in the passport with a date of entry shown. We were told it was valid for 6-months. To see the full report, see here

A Nonny Mouse in Panama.

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Our Experience – Colon – July/August 2012

Our experience was: When we arrived in July in Panama we went to Colon for the clearing in the procedure. After paying and receiving the cruising permit we were sent to the immigration office. Here we made the same experience as the other cruisers: We were asked to pay 110$ each for a visa, but we simply refused to do so. They threatened us that we would not get an exit stamp when we leave the country if we would not pay that fee. Still, we did not pay. Instead, we went one day to Panama City Balboa as we heard that they would not ask for a visa fee. The officer was very friendly and said in the beginning that we could stay as long as we wanted, a year or 35 years and was ready to issue that visa. But then she wanted to make sure and called another officer on the phone. Her mind changed and she said that we would have to go to another office in the next 24 hours and pay 55$ each to get a visa. We said good-bye and refused again to do so.

In August we took a plane to the US (where we are currently) and there was no problem at all to leave the country. Nobody would care about an exit stamp! So we’ll see how things go when we return to Panama, but we don’t think that there will be any issues. What we have heard also is that some cruiser goes by bus to Costa Rica and come back after one or two days to Panama to get their passports stamped – stamp vacation!

Daniela Stocks

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Report from Panama City posted on Southbound Group – 13 July 2012

We checked in to Panama City yesterday. We will be leaving the boat here for about six weeks. The Immigration Officer said that when we fly back into Panama make sure and tell the Airport Immigration Officers that we are on a boat and they will give us the proper “Yacht” VISA, instead of a tourist visa. She suggested taking the vessel clearance papers with us to show how we entered the country originally.

On a side note, it took us less than two hours, including driving time to check into Panama and obtain our visas and cruising permit. Prices are $105 per VISA and $210 for the one year cruising permit.

Tom Jeremiason

SV Camelot

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Report from Colon – 25 June 2012

The situation is still erratic in Colon.

I was just charged US$105.00 for a visa today on arrival in Colon. Apparently, some people are charged, some are not. I was charged by the Servicio Nacional de Migración $100.00 for a Marino visa pleasure yacht and $5.00 for registry fee. This is the most expensive stamp that I’ve ever seen.

I arrived directly at Shelter Bay Marina because I had some mechanical problems, otherwise, I would have stopped in Portobello. The Port Authority and immigration officers at the marina received me and did the initial paperwork right here, but I couldn’t avoid going downtown to get a cruising permit and the visa. The surprising part is that I would have to pay for the visa.

I couldn’t find written anywhere the amount you are supposed to pay. At the immigration office, it is written on their checklist to pay the fee, but they don’t clearly state the value. $105.00 is in line with the value they were charging earlier on this year. I questioned the value and the fact that some places don’t charge it but I was told that it is the law and that other places are not doing it properly.

I’ve talked to some people here in the marina that arrived a couple of days before me that said that they were not charged.

I suggest others to avoid clearing in Colon, if possible. I was told by a Canadian couple that I met at the Port Authority building that Portobello, half a day sailing from here, is issuing visas at no charge. Please watch out to avoid unexpected expenses.

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Report from Bocas del Toro – 26 May 2012

We just cleared into Bocas Del Toro a few days ago. We paid no visa fee, just cruising permit and a bunch of small charges. We had two on board and a dog, it cost us $308. We asked the port captain and immigration about the visa fee, they said none existed.

Process-wise it was simple.

We arrived in the morning, set the hook in the anchorage with our Q flag up. By midday, a panga with 6 officials came and climbed into our boat. A couple could speak decent English, lucky for us. We provided 4 copies of crew list, passports, boat registration, dog documents, zarpe from Jamaica. Then we signed a few things and within 30 minutes we were off to town to pay. We went to the bank and then paid at the post office. We were done everything before 3 pm.

Dave Wyness

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Report from Balboa – 24 May 2012

Yacht PHOCEA with 10 crew on board, has just transited the Panama Canal and departed Balboa yesterday. On arrival in Cristobal/Colon, the skipper was not charged any visa fees/immigration when clearing in. PHOCEA transited the Canal on 17 May and once in Balboa made several crew changes, with crew flying out and in. This involved lots of signing of the crew on and off the crew list with the Balboa Yacht Club Immigration Officer, but on departure, no visa fees/exit fees were charged.

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Report from Balboa – 18 May 2012

Cruisers who tried first the Immigration office in El Diablo just a few days ago, made a quick exit when they discovered they wanted to charge $110/person. They refused and instead went to the Immigration office at the Balboa Yacht Club. Here they were checked in for one year at no charge.