Engineers No Longer Eligible for Highly Skilled Residence Permit

 

Effective immediately, engineers are no longer eligible for the Highly Skilled Residence Permit. Instead, they must apply for an employer-sponsored residence and work permit (such as the Temporary Residence Visa with Work Permit subject to quotas, the Multinational Companies Visa or the Temporary Visa for an International Executive).

Prior to this change, civil engineers were excluded from the list of professions reserved for Panamanian nationals. Now, civil, industrial, electrical, software and any other type of engineering is reserved for Panamanian nationals. The list of professions reserved for Panamanian nationals also includes public accountants, architects, doctors, attorneys, dentists and journalists. 

The Highly Skilled Worker Permit is available to foreign nationals who hold a bachelor’s or post-graduate degree. The legalized original diploma is the main supporting document required for the application. No minimum level of professional experience is needed, and the permit is exempt from quotas and local sponsorship requirements.

What This Means for Foreign Nationals

Engineers who were previously eligible for the Highly Skilled Residence Permit should now consider alternative employer-sponsored residence and work permits with their immigration professional.

Engineers with pending Highly Skilled Residence Permit applications should contact their immigration professional as their applications may be impacted by this change.

Fragomen worked closely with Lambraño, Bultrón & de la Guardia (Panama) to prepare this alert. It is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen or send an email to [email protected].