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MAKING THE MOVE TO BELIZE
Destination content © Lan Sluder, used from Living Abroad in Belize, 1st Edition.
Maps © Avalon Publishing Group, Inc.
Overview
“Make sure all your paperwork [is] “originals”—no copies. There has been a problem with QRPs being available on the black market here, so the processing time has increased from a few weeks to several months. The weather and the sea are the chief reasons I came to Belize, and remain the chief reasons I stay.”
                                                                                                —An American living in Belize City
Prime Living Locations
True Stories
Making the Move Red Tape Moving with Children Moving with Pets What to Take


VISAS AND IMMIGRATION
QUALIFIED RETIRED PERSONS (QRP)
QRP Facts
OFFICIAL PERMANENT RESIDENT
WEIGHING YOUR OPTIONS
Tourist Card • Qualified Retired Persons • Permanent Resident

Before you even think about moving to Belize, spend some time in the country. Come experience the country firsthand, so you can make an informed decision. So, let’s say you’ve done your due diligence, and you’re ready to make the move. How do you go about doing it? There are three main options for those wishing to live or retire in Belize or spend extended periods of time in the country: You can enter on a tourist card or as a Qualified Retired Person (if you fit the bill), or you can apply to become an official permanent resident. Each status has advantages and disadvantages. These choices—as well as other handy information on the hurdles you must cross to make your big move to Belize—are detailed in this chapter.

VISAS AND IMMIGRATION
   For many people, the easiest and cheapest way to live in the country for a while is to be a perpetual tourist, which requires no long-term commitment. Nationals of countries not required to have a visa to enter Belize—including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, most other British Commonwealth countries, and EU and Caricom countries—get a free visitor entry card. However, nationals needing a visa to enter Belize can face high visa application charges. Under changes in effect in early 2005, citizens of the People's Republic of China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal must pay a US$2,000 visa application fee. Visas for nationals of other countries cost US$100.
  Upon entry, you receive a visitor permit good for up to 30 days. After 30 days this permit can be renewed for up to 12 months. The renewal fee was increased in 2005 to US$25 per month for the first three months, then US$50 per month thereafter. To renew it, you'll need to visit a government immigration office in Belize City or Belmopan or a police station in district towns. You are supposed to show that you have sufficient resources to maintain yourself in Belize, at least US$60 a day, but this requirement is rarely enforced. If you are staying more than three months, you are supposed to obtain an AIDS test, but again, this rule is not always enforced. After 12 months, you must leave the country and start the process over again.
  If you fail to renew your permit in a timely way, or if you overstay your allotted time, you are technically in violation of Belize law and can be deported. As a practical matter, if you can offer a good reason why you failed to follow the law, you'll probably be let off with a short lecture from the immigration official, plus payment of any fees due.

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QUALIFIED RETIRED PERSONS (QRP)
  The Qualified Retired Persons Incentive Act, passed by the Belize legislature in 1999 and initiated in 2000, is being implemented by the Belize Tourist Board (BTB). The program is designed to attract more retirees to Belize. The Belize Tourist Board says that only about 200 people, mostly Americans, have been enrolled in the program to date. Interest in the program appears to be fairly high, but because of the income requirement, inability to work for pay in Belize, and other factors, the actual number of retirees in the program is as yet relatively small.
  For those who can show the required monthly income from investments or pensions, this program offers the benefits of official residency and tax-free entry of the retiree's household goods and a car, boat, and even an airplane. This program also eliminates some of the bureaucratic delays built into other programs. The BTB says that most applications are approved within three months from the date of application.

QRP Facts
   Who qualifies? Anyone at least 45 years old from anywhere in the world can qualify for the program. A person who qualifies can also include his or her dependents in the program. Dependents include spouses and children under the age of 18. However, it can include children up to the age of 23 if they are enrolled in a university.
  Benefits: Besides prompt approval of residency for qualifying applicants, import duties and fees for household goods and a vehicle, airplane, and boat are waived.
  Duty-free import of personal household effects: QRPs in the program can qualify for duty and tax exemptions on new and used personal and household effects that are admitted as such by the Belize Tourism Board. A list of all items with corresponding values that will be imported must be submitted with the application. A one-year period is granted for the importation of personal and household effects.
  Duty-free import of a motor vehicle: Applicants are encouraged to import new motor vehicles under the program, but the vehicle must be no more than three years old. A QRP may also buy a vehicle duty-free in the country.
  Duty-free import of a light aircraft: A Qualified Retired Person is entitled to import a light aircraft less than 17,000 kg (about 37,500 pounds). A QRP is required to have a valid private pilot's license to fly in Belize. This license can be obtained by passing the requirements set by the Civil Aviation Organization. However, if the participant has a valid pilot's license, that license only has to be validated by the Civil Aviation Department in Belize.
  Duty-free import of a boat: Any vessel that is used for personal purposes and for pleasure will be accepted under this program.
If, for whatever reason, a QRP decides to sell, give away, lease, or otherwise dispose of his or her approved means of transportation or personal effects to any person or entity within Belize, all duties and taxes must be paid to the proper authorities. The Belize Tourist Board states: “Qualified Retired Persons must note that only after three years and upon proof that the transportation that was previously imported to Belize was adequately disposed of, will another concession be granted to import another mode of transportation.”
  Income requirement: To be designated a Qualified Retired Person under the program, the applicant must have a monthly income of at least US$2,000. A couple does not need to show US$4,000 a month—just US$2,000, as the applicant is normally an individual, and the applicant's spouse is considered a dependent of that individual under the program.
  The income rules for QRPs are, like many things in Belize, a little confusing. On first reading, it looks as if the income must derive from a pension or annuity that has been generated outside of Belize. The rules do not specifically say so, but according to Belize Tourist Board officials, U.S. Social Security income can be included as part of this pension requirement. This pension and annuity information then has to be substantiated by a Certified Public Accountant, along with two bank references from the company providing the pension or annuity. These substantiations may not be required if your pension and/or annuity is from a Fortune 500 company.
  That is one way to show that you have the necessary income. However, there is another way. You can demonstrate that you have the necessary income by providing documentation that you have deposited the money in a Belize bank in either a Belize dollar or U.S. dollar account. Several retirees have told me that they were able to include other forms of income, including investment income, in the US$2,000 figure. In this latter case, the US$2,000-per-month income (US$24,000 a year) can be substantiated by showing records from a bank or other financial institution in Belize where the retiree has deposited the necessary money. As a practical matter, some retirees say that they have not been asked to provide documentation-at least not yet.
  Background check: All applications are subject to a background check by the Ministry of National Security.
  Application: Applications for the program must be made to the Belize Tourism Board in Belize City and include the following:
  Birth certificate: A certified copy of a certificate for the applicant and each dependent.
  Marriage certificate: If the applicant is married and wishes to register a spouse as a dependent.
  Authentic police record: A police record from the applicant's last place of residency issued within one month before the application.
  Passport: Certified color copies of the complete passport (including all blank pages) of the applicant and all dependents. The copies must have the passport number, name of principal, number of pages, and the seal or stamp of the certifying Notary Public.
  Proof of income (choose one of the following):
  1. An official statement from a bank or financial institution certifying that the applicant is the recipient of a pension or annuity of a minimum of US$2,000 per month.
  2. A financial statement from a financial institution, bank, credit union, or building society in Belize certifying that the applicant has deposited the sum of a minimum of US$2,000 per month or the equivalent of US $24,000 per year.
  Medical examination: Applicants must undergo a complete medical examination, including an AIDS test. A copy of the medical certificate must be attached to the application.
  Photos: Four front-view and four side-view passport-sized photographs that have been taken recently of the applicant and dependents.
The application form for the Qualified Retired Persons program is available for download on the Belize Tourist Board website.

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OFFICIAL PERMANENT RESIDENT
  Requirements and benefits are similar to those described in the Retired Persons Incentive Act. For example, as a regular permanent resident, you can import household goods and a personal vehicle duty-free. The application process and supporting documents needed are virtually the same as for retired residency. Here are the main differences:
 •As a regular permanent resident, you do not have to deposit any particular sum in a bank in Belize. However, you do have to show financial resources sufficient to obtain residency status.
 •You can work for pay in Belize.
 •You must live in Belize for one full year before you can apply for regular permanent residency. During this period, you cannot leave the country for more than 14 consecutive days.
 •It is more expensive to apply for regular permanent residency than for retired residency. Application fees were increased in 2005 and vary according to your country of citizenship. Nationals of Caricom countries pay US$250, citizens of the United States pay US$1,000, and Commonwealth country citizens also pay US$1,000. If residency is granted, you pay a fee of US$62.50 for a residency card.
 •For permanent residency, you must apply to the Belize Immigration Department rather than to the Belize Tourist Board. Note that during 2004, very few permanent residency applications were approved. Many applicants waited for six months or longer without hearing anything from Belmopan. As of press time, since application fees were increased, applications seem to be processed and approved much more quickly. For more information contact the Immigration Department .
  The controversial Economic Citizenship program, also known as the “buy-a-passport” plan, has been discontinued. It was started by the previous United Democratic Party government and continued under the present People's United Party government. It provided for Belizean citizenship, including a Belize passport, by “investing” in Belize. In reality, that just meant paying a big chunk of cash—US$50,000 or more—to the government of Belize and a smaller chunk to someone with ties to the government.
  In addition to these programs, regular citizenship in Belize is a possibility for those living in Belize for a long period. To acquire citizenship, applicants must have been a resident or have held permanent residency status for a minimum of five years. Applicants for citizenship need to provide essentially the same supporting documentation as those applying for permanent residency.

WEIGHING YOUR OPTIONS

Tourist Card
  Pros: No commitment, no financial requirement, flexibility, little red tape.
  Cons: No tax advantages, no official status, inconvenience of having to renew and leave the country periodically, cost of US$25 per person per month for three months, then $US50 per month afterward, adds up over time, there's a possibility the rules may change, you can't work for pay in Belize, and after one year you must leave the country and then return to restart the process.

Qualified Retired Person
  Pros: Quick (as little as three weeks) approval, application through Belize Tourist Board rather than Immigration Department, tax-free entry of household effects, car, boat, and airplane.
  Cons: You must deposit US$2,000 a month in a Belize bank, you can't work for pay in Belize, you must be 45 or older. In mid-2005, the Belize government stated that QRPs were not residents of Belize, but had the status of a long-term tourist.

Permanent Resident
  Pros: Full residency rights (except voting—unless you're a citizen of another Commonwealth country, which entitles you to vote in Belize), you can work, it's open to anyone regardless of age, tax-free entry of household effects and car.
  Cons: Yearlong residency before applying, a costly application process, more red tape.

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