On September 10, 2015 in a visit to Havana, Juan Carlos Varela Rodríguez, the President of Panama, told the Cuban President Raúl Castro that he was currently working on reforming the visa system in order to make immigration formalities easier and more agile for Cubans.
The Panamanian Government finally published Executive Decree 509 in the Official Gazette on September 14, 2015, in which Cuban citizens are included on the list of foreign citizens who only need a visa stamped by the Consulate to enter the Central American country as a tourist. This marks a clear improvement for all Cubans, who previously had restrictions on these types of visas.
The Decree establishes that the stamped visa is good for multiple entries and exits for a period of up to three years, according to the verification criteria from the officials in the Immigration Services and the Security Council.
Costs for the Stamped Visa cannot exceed 50 dollars, as established in Number 6, Article 17 of Executive Decree No. 320 of August 8, 2008, modified by Executive Decree No. 26 of March 2, 2009.
To see details published in the Official Gazette click here.