Panamanian citizenship by descent

Article 9, numeral 2, of the Constitution covers children born outside Panama to a father or mother who is Panamanian by birth, if they establish their domicile in Panama. Neither the Constitution nor the Civil Registry law sets a deadline to apply.

If your parent became Panamanian by naturalization, a different rule applies. Under article 9, numeral 3, you must make Panama your home and declare that you wish to take Panamanian nationality no later than one year after reaching the age of majority, and you must have been born after your parent’s carta de naturaleza was issued.

Source: Constitution of the Republic of Panama, article 9, numerals 2 and 3; Law 31 of 2006 on the Civil Registry, article 102

The Electoral Tribunal is the institution that keeps Panamanian nationality, and its Civil Registry records the births of children of Panamanian parents that took place abroad. You file either through a Panamanian consul, who forwards the file to the department for events abroad, or directly at the Civil Registry’s head office in Panama.

The Civil Registry may investigate before it registers the birth, with documents, witnesses or scientific evidence where needed. The registration is entered in the books of the province or comarca where you or your parents live, or where your Panamanian parent is registered.

Source: Law 31 of 2006 on the Civil Registry, articles 22, 28, 30 and 37; Electoral Tribunal Decree 3 of 2008, article 26

• Your foreign birth certificate, authenticated by the Panamanian consul and Panama’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or apostilled where there is no Panamanian consulate, with a translation by an authorized Panamanian public translator if it is not in Spanish.
• A sworn statement by your Panamanian parent that they are your biological parent and that the certificate does not come from an adoption. If you are an adult and your parents are no longer living, a relative up to the fourth degree makes it, or you make it yourself.
• A certificate of domicile in Panama, issued by the mayor, the corregidor or the indigenous authority of the place where you live.
• A valid cédula or passport of the person who appears.

Source: Law 31 of 2006 on the Civil Registry, articles 21, 22 and 97 to 100; Electoral Tribunal Decree 3 of 2008, articles 27 and 28

The Constitution looks only at your father or mother. There is no route through a Panamanian grandparent on its own. A grandchild can only qualify through a parent who is already registered as Panamanian, and the law does not register a child born abroad if the parent had not acquired Panamanian nationality before that child was born.

In practice, your parent registers first. Because of that rule, the dates of every birth and registration matter, so we look at them before anyone files.

Source: Constitution of the Republic of Panama, article 9, numeral 2; Law 31 of 2006 on the Civil Registry, article 101

• How long the Civil Registry takes to register a birth abroad, and what it charges. The law only lets the Electoral Tribunal waive fees for filings made through embassies and consulates.
• Whose domicile must be proven. The regulation asks for the applicant’s, and the wording of the Constitution can be read either way.

• Citizenship by birth in Panama
• Does Panama allow dual citizenship?
• After naturalization