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Category: Residency

19 Dec
A teak plantation

Specific Countries Residency Through Teak Investment In Panama

The most cost-effective, hassle-free invest-for-residency program we know of available anywhere in the world today is in Panama and takes advantage of this country’s “Specific Countries” residency visa program. The Specific Countries program was initiated under Ricardo Martinelli’s presidential administration through an executive order that the new president of Panama, Juan Carlos Varela, has so […]

13 Nov
Paying For Medical Care And Hospital Costs Overseas

Paying For Medical Care And Hospital Costs Overseas

A reader wrote this week to warn us about Nicaragua’s Hospital Bautista. Recently, the guy wasn’t feeling well, so his wife took him to the Hospital Bautista in Managua. By the time they arrived, the guy had passed out. The hospital told his wife that, to admit her husband, they’d need to take her debit […]

22 Sep
airlines are tightening up their rules for non-resident visitors.

Airline Requirements To Hold Return Or Onward Tickets

Last week, a friend traveling to Panama for a visit was forced by her airline, Delta, to buy a return or onward ticket when she presented herself to check in for her flight from Atlanta to Panama City. My friend was traveling to Panama on a one-way ticket. As she has legal residency in Panama, […]

10 Jul
bogus passports offshore

The Bogus Passport Market Continues To Grow (And Breed Trouble)

Occasionally, I meet someone who’s offended that I’m in the citizenship and passport business. “Citizenship shouldn’t be bought and sold like a pair of shoes,” a man once told me. “I think it’s scandalous that some countries are selling their citizens’ birthright.” I disagree. We live in a world where governments have assigned themselves the […]

12 Jun
is ecuador safe?

Is Ecuador Safe For Foreign Retirees And Investors?

Why do so many people, especially so many of my fellow Americans, have such a negative reaction to the idea of living, investing, or even traveling to so many places around the world? Last week a reader emailed us in response to an essay on Ecuador we published to support the launch of our Live […]

05 May
Where To Drive A Tank In The United States

Where To Drive A Tank In The United States

My son Jackson is in the French school in Panama, meaning he’s on the French calendar. He has a shorter summer (just two months, July and August) but four two-week vacations during the school year. It makes for a more manageable summer and allows for extended family trips throughout the year. Last week was Jack’s […]

07 Apr
local politics

The Effects Of Local Politics On Expat Retirees And Investors

People write in often to ask about the political stability of this or that country, wondering what it means when certain candidates or parties are running for or elected to office. I remember back in 2001 when the Sandinista Daniel Ortega announced he was going to run again for president of Nicaragua. Gringo retirees and […]

16 Dec
Lifestyle Overseas

Lifestyle Overseas

My college Social Studies professor, a hyper dude who worked three jobs and lived off a quarter of his income so he could save the rest to build a children’s hospital, broke society down into nine categories. He referenced the typical lower, middle, and upper classes and then separated each of those categories further into […]

05 Dec
Panama’s Gun Regulations

Panama’s Gun Regulations And Gun Permits For Expats

I finally received my permanent residency card for Panama last week through the “Specific Countries” visa program that President Martinelli authorized with an Executive Order issued in May 2012. At the time, I was in Panama on a reforestation investment visa that required five renewals before permanent residency. Five years from temporary to permanent residency […]