Practice areas

Bufete Illueca has more than 35 years of experience practicing effective and responsible immigration law, guiding each step for our international clients who decide to relocate, temporarily or permanently, to Panama.

The growing demand for professionals, including technicians, managers, and executives, has dramatically increased the migration flow to the Republic of Panama. This human capital is one of the cornerstones of Panama's booming economy.

This leads to the need for detailed and effective immigration planning by national and foreign companies.

In Panama, there are three basic immigration categories that allow you to enter and stay in our country:

Immigration Categories

• Visas: authorization to enter or stay in Panama for a specified period.
• Temporary Residencies: allow foreigners to reside for one year and renew for up to six years.
• Permanent Residencies: allow permanent residence under special conditions.

If you, as a foreigner, are looking for work or have been hired by a company established in Panama and are paid from a Panamanian source, you will need two things to work: a residency permit and a work permit.

In Panama, as work permits are conceived, it is absolutely necessary that there is a connection with immigration residency. Therefore, these processes must be carried out harmoniously and in coordination.

In some cases, the approval of the residency permit depends on the approval of the work permit.

Bufete Illueca provides services for the processing and obtaining of all permits and registrations required by the business you will be running in Panama, from a startup to the establishment of a branch of your international company.

Our experience allows us to analyze the needs of your business and recommend the guidelines to follow in these processes so that the relationship between the new company and the tax and commercial authorities of Panama is conducted correctly and without confusion.

Panama has a wide range of banking institutions, which divide their services into: Personal Banking, Commercial Banking, and Private Banking.

In terms of opening bank accounts, these are sub-classified into: Checking Accounts, Savings Accounts, and Fixed-Term Deposits. The US dollar circulates freely, and there are no exchange controls or currency restrictions.

All accounts have legal protection based on the principle of confidentiality of bank accounts and transactions.

Bufete Illueca maintains professional relationships with important banks in Panama, which allows us to refer you to different entities according to the needs of your business.

To hire personnel, legal services are required to register with the social security system, prepare employment contracts and their corresponding registration with the Ministry of Labor, and analyze options for hiring foreign personnel if required.

Among the labor obligations that a company in Panama has are:

• The payment of a salary, agreed upon by the company and the worker, in bi-weekly payments, respecting the minimum wage law.
• The employment contract must be in writing, regardless of its modality (for a defined time, indefinite, or for a specific work).
• Companies with more than 10 workers must have Work Regulations.
• Companies with more than 25 workers may have a union. In the construction industry, the SUNTRAC union has a direct relationship with companies.

Bufete Illueca has extensive experience advising clients in managing merger and acquisition transactions, including industries where regulation is strict and requires a comprehensive strategy to handle potential issues.

These types of operations inevitably affect the workforce and labor liabilities, as well as various areas of operations such as pensions, taxes, and corporate governance. Our team includes professional experts in these and other areas of law to address all aspects of large-scale transactions. We guide our clients through all stages of a transaction, from due diligence, structuring, and negotiation to document preparation. We also provide assistance in the transition and integration phases following the completion of the transaction.

The registration of a trademark, trade name, patent, and any other intellectual property work is processed through the Ministry of Commerce and Industries (MICI). Initially, we suggest conducting a preliminary investigation regarding the availability of the trademark. This investigation is carried out in two areas, both for the trademark denomination and for the figurative elements (logos or images).

In its more than 65 years of practice, Bufete Illueca has represented various banks in Panama, both with general and international licenses, focusing its services in multiple areas including judicial litigation, executive processes and bankruptcies, preparation of public deeds, review of commercial loan contracts and consumer banking.

We also provide support to various banks before Panama's banking regulatory entity and offer our advice and experience in syndicated loans or any transaction involving the Panamanian State, such as public financing processes or the refinancing of Panama's external debt.

Finally, in light of new regulations that significantly affect the banking business, Bufete Illueca provides services in due diligence and compliance areas, which allows us to provide our services in sensitive moments such as the issuance of suspicious operation reports. Additionally, we have a team of lawyers specialized in various topics such as multilateral sanctions issued by the United Nations Security Council or unilateral sanctions issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the United States Department of the Treasury.

From the start of your business in Panama, your company's commercial activity will require entering into various types of contracts.

From the physical location of your company, whether through renting or purchasing a physical space, to contracting public and private services such as:

It is important to have the proper legal advice that always looks out for the best interests of your company.

Any business operating in or from Panama, or executed through a Panamanian entity (corporation, limited liability company), must be aware of the various tax implications for its activity.

In Panama, state institutions publish their tenders on the electronic portal called "Panama Compra". This portal is an excellent tool for companies to access the public acts that state agencies will carry out and thus evaluate the options that best fit their commercial objectives.

Bufete Illueca has associates specialized in guiding companies through the complex process of contracting with the Panamanian government.

Free Zones are Free Enterprise Zones, within which all necessary infrastructure is developed to establish companies from all over the world. There are tax, labor, and immigration incentives for companies established in these zones.

Panama offers several Special Economic Zones, each with its particularities and advantages in terms of investment and fiscal benefits.

Bufete Illueca has been one of the pioneering firms in promoting the Law on Multinational Company Headquarters (SEM), facilitating the registration and operation of these companies in Panama.

These companies can operate as a foreign entity or as a Panamanian-owned subsidiary of the transnational company, benefiting from tax and immigration incentives.

Panama's compact geography allows for close interaction between various logistical assets (airports, canal, railways, ports, and special economic zones) that, combined with its strategic position, provide a competitive advantage in handling goods internationally.

Advantages: Higher profitability and lower costs thanks to the largest ports in Latin America, allowing for economies of scale and more competitive costs.

Any person who wants to separate the risks that their commercial or professional activity may generate from their personal assets, or who seeks to protect their assets and property from obligations that may affect their estate and who wants to simplify the legal processes for the disposition of their assets in case of death, has the option to use a financial management instrument that has been created specifically for this purpose: the Private Interest Foundation of Panama.

Private Interest Foundations constitute an efficient legal instrument for estate planning and administration, encompassing both movable and immovable property, thus achieving partial or total segregation of the Founder's assets.

Among the uses that can yield very positive results is the post-mortem disposition of assets through a Foundation, thus overcoming a costly and extensive testamentary process. Equal and positive results apply when using Foundations for the acquisition of assets.

Operations involving acquiring, selling, donating, or transferring real estate by any means always involve multiple parties and government entities. Therefore, it is crucial to have legal advice to help structure your transaction in an orderly and effective manner.

At Bufete Illueca, specialized consulting is a core service. We have established an alliance with Latam Asesoría 360. Together we offer a broad range of solutions with emphasis on political and geopolitical risk mitigation, leveraging corporate diplomacy and business intelligence to strengthen our clients’ positioning across local, regional, and global contexts.

From Panama, with international reach, our team —led by Dr. Daniel Zovatto and Alonso Illueca— supports governments, companies, financial institutions, and international organizations in anticipating, assessing, and managing risks that affect policy, investment, and operational decisions.

In a world defined by interdependence, uncertainty, and a transforming international order, we deliver top-tier analysis supported by practical tools and high-impact dialogue spaces, designed to enable informed and sustainable decisions.

Bufete Illueca has extensive and recognized experience in the field of public international law and human rights. Our team of experts are the perfect allies when requiring a specialized opinion or an expert report for arbitration processes or international tribunals.

We have also represented a significant number of clients in various international disputes resolved in specialized courts, including investment disputes, human rights violations, and international state responsibility attribution. We have vast experience in expert witness services and contentious processes before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes of the World Bank, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States, and the highest courts of different jurisdictions.

Bufete Illueca offers a wide range of services for diplomatic and international missions accredited in Panama, as well as for local and regional offices of non-governmental organizations. Under Cabinet Decree Number 280 of August 13, 1970, these missions and organizations, along with their accredited representatives in Panama, have access to a series of privileges and immunities, including jurisdictional immunities and tax exemptions.

At Bufete Illueca, we have a team of lawyers specialized in public international law and diplomatic law, with extensive experience in exercising, defending, and respecting the diplomatic privileges and immunities that the Panamanian state extends to embassies and diplomatic legations accredited in our country. We also provide assistance in all matters related to the paperwork of such privileges and immunities before the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and their exercise before Panamanian courts.

Bufete Illueca is the leading law firm in international human rights law in Panama. Through litigation in refugee law, prevention of torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, and against discrimination of vulnerable groups.

We also have international experience with litigation before the Inter-American Human Rights System and the Universal Human Rights System. We also provide technical and legal advice to non-governmental and non-profit organizations specialized in human rights, both in their establishment and registration process and in their daily operations.

Key data

• Most victims of human rights violations are people in vulnerable conditions.
• It is important to document human rights violations from the moment they occurred.

Panama has special legislation for the registration of non-profit legal entities, or NGOs. The individual or group interested in establishing an NGO in Panama must clearly define the specific objectives and goals the organization will pursue and how it will be structured administratively, as this information is used to draft the bylaws.

If the individual or group already has an NGO established in another country, the process to register a branch or subsidiary of the NGO in Panama is simplified as all documentation of the foreign entity is provided, and it is only subject to review by the Ministry of Government (unlike the creation of an NGO in Panama, whose bylaws are subject to approval by the Ministry of Government).

Once the documentation is gathered, the application is submitted to the Ministry of Government for review, and a resolution is subsequently issued granting legal status to the NGO in Panama. This documentation, along with the Ministry of Government's resolution, must be transcribed into a Public Deed, duly signed by a Notary Public, and registered with the Public Registry of Panama.

Once the organization is registered in Panama, it will be required to comply with a series of requirements and reports, as well as follow the current legislation, for example, regarding the hiring of personnel, acquisition of public services, and similar matters. This requires constant legal support, which Bufete Illueca is prepared to offer.