Residence in Puerto Rico

The government of Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United States of America. As a consequence of this political relationship, control of entry and exit from Puerto Rico's territorial borders is held by the federal government of the United States of America.

The Puerto Rico State Department has the function of guiding foreigners interested in visiting the island and liaising with federal authorities, in order to clarify or expedite the procedures for obtaining a visa.

People who visit Puerto Rico have the same immigration restrictions and privileges as they would if they were visiting any other destination in the United States. For immigration purposes, travel from anywhere in the United States to PR does not constitute departure from the United States. directly from one state to Puerto Rico. Similarly, when travelers arrive in the US from PR, they do not have to go through immigration, as long as the flight is direct from PR to a state. However, for identification purposes, you must carry some type of identification document, such as a driver's license, a state or federal agency-issued license, or an original birth certificate.

How to take up residence in Puerto Rico

Foreigners visiting Puerto Rico are also subject to the same immigration laws and regulations as the United States, so they must ensure they meet immigration and visa requirements. Therefore, emigrating to Puerto Rico provides for the same rules as emigrating to the United States of America.

In addition to obtaining your residence in Puerto Rico, you will probably be interested in creating a life insurance policy on your taxation, taking up a second tax residence, in a country with territorial taxation, such as a residence in Panama or a residence in Paraguay

You'd also be tempted to find out what advantages moving to the Mexican economic giant would have, taking up residency in Mexico

To start your residence transfer procedure, contact us at info@studiopanamaitalia.com.com, sending us a copy of your passport, and the precise dates to start and take up residence in the country of your preference, or contact us via the contact form on this site web or via whatsapp-telegram at +1 786-623-8177

Citizens and permanent residents of the United States enjoy the right to live in Puerto Rico in the same way that citizens of Puerto Rico may live in the continental United States. This is because the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United States. Due to the legal status of the territory, moving to Puerto Rico is considered internal migration and not immigration. The key necessary to the definition of a bona fide resident of Puerto Rico requires three parameters to be met: relating to

“presence” of the individual in Puerto Rico,

have a “tax domicile” in Puerto Rico e

have “closer connections” with the territory than elsewhere.

Presence

First, an individual must be “present” in Puerto Rico for a defined period. To pass this test, an individual should be able to meet 1 of the following conditions:

Be present in Puerto Rico for a minimum of 183 days in the tax year.
Spend at least 549 days in Puerto Rico during the 3-year period of the current tax year and the previous 2 years, including at least 60 days in Puerto Rico during each tax year.
Not be present in the United States for more than 90 days during the tax year.
Not earn more than $3,000 in U.S. employment income during the tax year and be present in Puerto Rico for more days than in the United States.
Have no significant connections to the United States during the tax year.

Tax Home 

Second, an individual should not have a “tax home” outside of Puerto Rico.

This means that Puerto Rico should be your primary place or residence or your primary place of work. To benefit from the tax benefits provided by Law 60-2019 (detailed below) an individual must purchase a property in Puerto Rico within 2 years. This property must be the individual's primary residence and not be rented.

Close ties 

Third, an individual should have no “closer tie” to the United States or a foreign country than Puerto Rico.

Various factors such as the presence of a permanent domicile, family, assets, major bank and business in Puerto Rico, as well as the existence of professional, cultural, religious, social and political affiliations and ties in Puerto Rico , can help demonstrate a closer connection to Puerto Rico than to any other place.