International Living Community

PS: my name is Doug.

Panama offers a variety of private & public hospitals with new medical treatment equipment, diagnostic personnel from english speaking fully vetted doctors trained in the USA to technicians, nurses and man-power at every level
in any medical setting. Immigration is encouraged requiring only $1,000. per month retirement or disability income for lifetime benefit period including spouse for only $250. additional benefit paid monthly by Social Security/military retirement/disability income verification for lifetime disbursement.

YouTube "Panama Relocation Tours" hosted & owned by Jackie Lange for a wealth of knowledge in establishing a
relocation exploratory to a Latin American country absent of hurricanes & tornadoes with an Eternal Spring climate in the highlands and year round balmy warm temperatures
on 1500 miles of beaches on the Pacific & Carribean Oceans.

RAY 0 said:
Hello from the Land of Smiles (LOS). I'm Ray, residing in one of the quiet suburbs of Pattaya - no, it's not all wild parties, alcohol, and neon.
I've come over on a bare-bones budget, so I'm learning how to navigate Visa, housing, healthcare and finance issues quickly, efficiently, and cheaply.
So, if you're waiting for everything to be just right, don't.
And by the way, if you're a Veteran, you'll also find V.F.W. and American Legion posts in town, with plenty of people willing to offer advice (even if you didn't ask for any- LOL).
Enjoy your stay in Thailand.
Thank you Ray! This will be a bare-bones budget for me as well! Best of Luck!

In both countries, the only way to get a passport is by acquiring citizenship, which requires living in those countries for a continuous period. Thr spouse can't get citizenship ifhe/she isn't living there.

In Lithuania, if the spouse of a citizen lives in the country for seven years as a permanent resident they are eligible to apply for a passport.Getting permanent residency is more or less the same as it is in the US, with registering your foreign marriage with the Lithuanian government, having a place to live, sufficient funds, and so on.

In Poland, the foreign spouse must first live in the country with a temporary residence permit based on marriage. After that, the spouse can apply for permanent residence. The spouse must remain on that status for another year. As long as you haven't been absent for more than 10 months in total over that five year period, the spouse can then apply for citizenship.

One thing that can cause complications in both cases is whether the Lithuanian or Polish citizen was recognized as such at the time of marriage. Lithuanian law doesn't require that a couple be married for any particular period before they apply for citizenship, but Poland says that you have to be married to a citizen for at least three years. Some Polish officials interpret that as meaning that you have to wait for three years after your spouse became a citizen, whilst others counted from the date of your marriage. But under Polish law, once you're recognized as a citizen by right of blood, your citizenship is backdated to the time of your birth. The problem is that not all Polish bureaucrats know that!

Hi @DAVIDOSTON Thanks for your question!

We’ve checked in with Ted Baumann, our Global Diversification Expert, to get an answer to your question. This was his response,

As with most countries, Portuguese immigration bureaucracy can be difficult to decipher. It's not uncommon to hear of Wildly different timelines for approval of visa applications. There are many variables, including the embassy or consulate where you made your application, the nature of the supporting documentation and evidence that you provided, whether you used a service provider to help with the application and even the temperament of individual bureaucrats. In general, the best approach is always to go with an experienced immigration consultant. Not only can they ensure that your application is done right the first time, they often know individuals within the bureaucracy who they can contact to expedite matters. In my experience, the charges they levy for these services are more than worth it.