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Visitor registration

Register with DSI before you visit a shul in Panama

Every visitor needs approval from DSI (Departamento de Seguridad Institucional), the security office shared by Panama’s synagogues, the Chabad house and the other Jewish community buildings. You apply online, DSI approves you by email or after a short interview, and you show your passport at the door.

We’re not DSI. DSI alone decides who is approved, and nobody can guarantee approval. This page explains the process; the two ways to register are below.

Checked · official siteWe checked the details on the place’s own or an official website.

Two ways to register

  • Register yourself

    On DSI’s official form, in Spanish or English. You upload the documents, choose an interview time and pay DSI’s fee there.

    Open DSI’s official form

    visit.dsipanama.org: DSI’s own site. We have no access to what you send there.

  • Our service

    Let us register you

    Fill in one form here, in English, with your passport scans. We check everything, file it with DSI for you, and tell you what DSI decides. The DSI fee is included for our program guests; otherwise we pass it on at cost.

    Start with us

    Encrypted, seen only by our admins, deleted once DSI approves. How we handle your documents

How it works

Four steps, from form to front door

  1. Apply online, before you fly

    One form per household, with a passport scan for each person and a photo of the main applicant. DSI also asks about your home synagogue and rabbi.

  2. Pay DSI’s fee

    USD 20 for the main applicant, USD 10 for each extra visitor 13 or older. It’s paid at the end of DSI’s form.

  3. Approval, or a short interview

    DSI either approves you by email or asks you to a short interview at one of the synagogues, at a time you suggest on the form.

  4. Carry your passport and the approval

    Show your original passport and a printout of the approval at the door, on weekdays and on Shabbat.

Fees

What DSI charges

Per household, paid to DSI. Ages count on your arrival date.

WhoFee
The person registeringUSD 20
Each additional visitor 13 or olderUSD 10
Children under 13Free

Example

Two parents with children aged 15, 11 and 8: USD 20 + USD 10 + USD 10 = USD 40. The 11- and 8-year-old are free.

If we register you: included for Teens Unpacked and Family Unpacked guests. For everyone else we pay DSI when we submit and add it to your invoice at cost. Nothing is charged on this site.

Interviews

When DSI interviews visitors

If DSI asks you to an interview, it happens in person at a synagogue, with your original passport.

  • Weekdays

    7:00 to 9:00 AM and 5:30 to 7:00 PM

  • Shabbat

    During services

  • In January

    At Ahavat Sion, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM

  • No interviews

    On Sundays or Panamanian national holidays. On those days you can enter only if you’re already approved.

Interviews are held at Ahavat Sion (Paitilla), Bet Max Ve Sarah (Punta Pacífica), Beth El (Paitilla) and Shevet Ahim (Bella Vista).

Before you start

What to have ready

  • A passport for each person, valid for the whole trip
  • A scan or clear photo of each passport’s photo page
  • A photo of the main applicant’s face
  • Your arrival and departure dates, and where you’re staying
  • Your home synagogue, its phone number and your rabbi’s name
  • Any Jewish schools or community organizations your family belongs to
  • If you have one: a letter or proof of membership from your home community
  • If you know anyone in Panama’s community: their name and phone or email

On Shabbat

Bring your original passport and a printout of DSI’s approval email to every service, Shabbat included, as DSI asks. Ask your rav about carrying them, and check the eruv locally before Shabbat.

Visitors are expected to keep Orthodox standards: modest dress and respectful behaviour inside the community’s buildings.

The eruv in Panama City · Shabbat times

If we register you

How we handle your documents

Passports are sensitive. Here is exactly what we do with them.

What we collect
What DSI’s form asks for: names, dates of birth, passport details and scans, a photo of the main applicant, your trip and home community, and how to reach you.
Why
Only to file your DSI application and answer DSI’s questions about it.
Who sees it
The people on our team who handle DSI registrations, signed in, and DSI once we submit. Every time an admin opens your documents, it’s logged.
How it’s kept
The passport number and files are encrypted before they’re stored, in our own database: never in public storage, never by email.
When it’s deleted
The scans, the photo and the passport number as soon as DSI approves you, and 30 days after your trip at the latest, whatever happens. Database backups can keep an encrypted copy until each backup expires.

Questions

DSI registration: what visitors ask

Do I need to register before visiting a synagogue in Panama?

Yes. Panama’s synagogues, the Chabad house and the other Jewish community buildings share one security office, the Departamento de Seguridad Institucional (DSI). Visitors are let in only after DSI has approved them, so register before you travel.

How much does DSI registration cost?

DSI charges USD 20 for the person registering and USD 10 for each additional visitor aged 13 or older. Children under 13 are free. The fee is paid to DSI.

Can one application cover my whole family?

One application covers the immediate family: parents and children who live in the same home. Grandparents, married children, friends and other relatives each need their own application.

Do children need to be registered?

Yes. Add every child to the family’s application, with a passport scan for each. Under-13s don’t pay.

When and where are the security interviews?

DSI approves some visitors by email and asks others to a short interview in person. Interviews are on weekdays from 7:00 to 9:00 AM and 5:30 to 7:00 PM, and during Shabbat services. In January they are held at Ahavat Sion from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. There are none on Sundays or Panamanian national holidays.

What do I need to bring when I go to shul?

Your original passport and a printout of DSI’s approval email, every time, Shabbat included. Dress modestly: visitors are expected to keep Orthodox standards of dress and behaviour.

How long does approval take?

DSI doesn’t publish a processing time, so apply as soon as your dates are set, and well before a Shabbat or Yom Tov you plan to spend at shul.

Is Unpacked Panama part of DSI?

No. We are an independent team. Our assisted service collects what DSI asks for and files it on your behalf, but DSI alone decides who is approved, and we can’t speed up or guarantee a decision.

What happens to my passport scans if you register me?

They are stored encrypted on our own database, never in public storage or email. Only the people on our team who handle DSI registrations can open them, and every view is logged. We delete the scans, the photo and the passport number as soon as DSI approves you, and in any case 30 days after your trip ends.

Our privacy notice

Who answers questions about my application?

For an application you sent yourself, write to DSI at info@dsipanama.org; the synagogues and Chabad pass DSI questions to DSI. If we registered you, ask us: call or WhatsApp Jack or Shlomo.

Facts from DSI’s official form at visit.dsipanama.org, checked November 6, 2026. DSI can change its rules, fees and hours; its own site has the final word. Questions about an application you sent yourself: info@dsipanama.org or +507 203-1273. DSI security emergencies: +507 203-1000 (in Panama).

Sources

Let us register you DSI’s official form

Talk to a person

Questions about Panama? Ask us.

Two people answer: Jack and Shlomo. WhatsApp is usually fastest. You can also write to info@panamaunpacked.com.