Belize Pulse guide

Moving to Belize

A plain guide for people thinking of moving to San Pedro and Ambergris Caye. It covers residency, buying property and how to hold it, how Belize compares with its neighbours, and the practical side of settling in. It is written from the island and gives a source for every number.

General information, not legal, tax or immigration advice. This is a general guide, and rules and fees in Belize change, sometimes without much notice. For anything involving money, property or residency, confirm with a Belize attorney and the relevant ministry or agency (for example the Immigration Department) before you pay, sign or move.

Who this is for

It's for people who have visited, liked it, and are wondering whether to stay longer: a winter, a retirement, a job, or a house. It isn't a sales pitch. Belize has real advantages for English speakers, like its language and its common-law courts. It also has real costs. Almost everything is imported, serious health care often means leaving the island, and the paperwork is slow. We try to show both.

Where to start

Coming for a few months?

You arrive as a visitor and extend every 30 days at the Immigration Office. Each extension is BZ$200 (US$100)^[1].

Visiting and extending →

Retiring here?

Look at the Qualified Retired Persons programme: age 40 and up, US$2,000 a month of outside income, and duty-free import of your household goods. You can't work in Belize^[2].

The QRP →

Working or starting a business?

You'll need a work or self-employment permit. After a year of living here, with less than 14 days away, you can apply for permanent residency^[3].

Work permits and residency →

Buying a home or land?

Foreigners can generally buy land in Belize and own it outright. Get your own Belize attorney, a title search and a survey, and decide whose name the property will be in before you sign.

Buying property → · Ownership options →

Still deciding whether it should be Belize at all? Belize compared with its neighbours puts it side by side with Quintana Roo, Guatemala, Roatán, Costa Rica and Panama. Already coming? Settling in covers banks, shipping, golf carts, insurance, schools, power, water and phones. For permits, licences and property tax in town, see our San Pedro Town Council guide.

The guide

Residency and visas: visitor extensions, the QRP, permanent residency, work permits, citizenship, and the remote-work programme.
Buying property: titles, the Land Registry, due diligence, the steps, transfer tax, property tax, the coastal reserve and the usual traps.
Ownership options: personal name, joint ownership, a Belize company, an international company or a trust.
Belize vs its neighbours: an even-handed table.
Settling in: the practical first months on Ambergris Caye.

Three things we'd tell a friend

Rent first. A season on the island, in the rainy months as well as the dry ones, will tell you more than any guide.
Hire your own Belize attorney for any purchase. Don't use the seller's lawyer or the agent's friend.
Check the date on every rule you read, including ours. Many websites still repeat QRP rules that changed in 2023^[4].

Sources

Immigration Department — Visitor's permitofficial
Belize Tourism Board — Retirement (QRP) programmeofficial
Immigration Department — Do I qualify for residence?official
Retired Persons (Incentives) (Amendment) Act, No. 13 of 2023official

Each page of this guide has its own full list of sources.

Last checked 23 September 2026. If something here is out of date, tell us: [email protected]

Next →Residency & visas