After getting my permanent residency card, I knew it was time to get my drivers license. Driving in Panama is another post for another day.
We picked up our residency cards in Panama City, like everyone does. We followed the advice on this blog post to see what we needed to do. We tried to make a reservation with the US Embassy to get our drivers licenses validated, but all of their slots were taken for the month. We only would be in Panama City for a few days, so I found an e-mail on the Embassy's site and e-mailed them to explain our situation. We were told that we could come the next afternoon for an appointment. When we arrived, everyone acted like this was unheard of. No one gets after hours appointments to validate their drivers license. We were glad we did!
We then had to go to another location in Panama City to get the papers certified. At this location, we were told we had to pay $2 each at 2 different locations in the same building. So crazy but there must be a method to the madness. Two stamps and $4 later, we turned in the paper and were told to pick them up the next day at noon. This was all we did in Panama City although we could have done the next step there as well.
Next we went to a lab in Boquete and had our blood type taken. After a lady stuck a very long needle halfway into my finger to get a single drop of blood, we received our results. We now had all the necessary paperwork to go to David and turn it in to get our license.
We went to the transportation department in the Chiriquí Mall and showed the receptionist our papers. Thankfully she let us make copies there of what she needed a copy of and then we were told to wait until they called our names. I think we spent about an hour here waiting. Then we were called up to verify our information, have our picture made and take an auditory and seeing test. The auditory test gave little beeps in each side of headphones and had you identify which side it came from. The seeing test made sure you could see the letters and asked what a specific sign was (no left turn - I hear that is the one everyone gets). After these are passed, you go to the cashier and pay the fee in cash, turn in your receipt and receive your new drivers license!
It was a lot of work, but well worth it to be a legal driver.
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