Moving to Belize

Residency and visas

Most people start as visitors and renew every 30 days. From there, three roads: the retirement programme (QRP), permanent residency after a year, or a work permit. Citizenship comes after five years of permanent residency.

Money first: the Belize dollar is fixed at BZ$2 to US$1^[23], so a BZ$200 fee is US$100. Most immigration fees are set in Belize dollars; the retirement programme's fees are set in US dollars.

Visiting, and staying month to month

• VisaCitizens of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and the EU do not need a visa to visit^[1][3].
• How long you get on arrivalNormally up to 30 days^[2][3]. The officer at the airport decides.
• ExtendingA visitor's permit extension gives another 30 days and costs BZ$200 (US$100), the same for every nationality. You apply at the nearest Immigration Office^[4].
• In San PedroThe Immigration Office is at 13A Wings Plaza, units 4–6, Coconut Drive^[5].
• What you can't doA visitor may not work, paid or unpaid, or run a business without the Director of Immigration's consent^[4].
• ArrivingEvery traveller fills in the online immigration and customs declaration at ideclare.gov.bz, required at all ports since 1 January 2025^[22].

Confirm: the fee schedule on the Immigration site is dated 1 May 2020^[4]. Some recent guides quote BZ$100 for the first extensions; we use the official BZ$200. Immigration's visa table says US citizens need a visa once their stay passes 180 days; no such limit is listed for Canadians or Britons^[1]. That isn't a 180-day stamp: you still get 30 days at a time. Ask at the Immigration office before you reach six months.

From our own experience: in practice, long-stay visitors often renew month by month at BZ$200 each time; one of our editors stayed a full year this way.

The Qualified Retired Persons programme (QRP)

The QRP is Belize's retirement residency. It is still run by the Belize Tourism Board (BTB), not the Immigration Department. The 2023 amendment to the Retired Persons (Incentives) Act says applications go to the BTB^[7].

• Age40 or older. It was 45 until the 2023 amendment^[7][6], and many websites still say 45.
• IncomeAt least US$2,000 a month (US$24,000 a year) from outside Belize^[6]. It can come from a pension, annuity, social security, savings, home equity or other retirement income^[7].
• The deposit ruleYou undertake to deposit US$2,000 a month (by the 15th) or US$24,000 a year (by 1 April) in a Belize financial institution. An international (offshore) bank does not count. Miss it, and you lose the benefits^[8].
• Fees (US$, non-refundable)Application US$150 · applicant US$1,000 · each dependent US$750 · ID card US$200 per card · card renewal US$25 a year^[6].
• DependentsYour spouse and children under 18^[8].
• Time in BelizeAt least 30 consecutive days a year^[6][9].
• PaperworkApplication form, notarised birth and marriage certificates, police record, passport copies, a medical certificate including an HIV test, and photos^[6].
• Where to applyBelize Tourism Board, 64 Regent Street, Belize City · [email protected] · +501 227-2420^[6].

What you get

• The right to live in Belize with your dependents while you hold the designation, with a card that allows multiple entries without a visa^[7][6].
• Within your first year, you can import personal and household effects and an approved vehicle, boat or light aircraft free of import duty and taxes^[7]. The vehicle must be no more than five years old^[9]. If you sell or give the goods to anyone other than another QRP, the duty becomes payable^[8].
• No Belize tax on income from outside Belize, whether or not you bring it in^[8].
• You may buy land or a home for your own residential use^[7].

What you give up

• No work. A QRP may not take a job or run a business, trade or profession in Belize. There are two exceptions: work done mainly outside Belize with non-residents, and a business the BTB has approved^[7]. Dependents are under the same rule. If you plan to rent out a property, ask the BTB and an attorney first.
• If you later become a permanent resident or a citizen, your QRP status ends, along with its tax and duty benefits^[7].

Confirm: the 2023 Act also sets up a QRP "investor" route for approved businesses. Sources disagree on the amount: the Act's wording points to US$1 million^[7], while BTB material and law firms say BZ$1 million (US$500,000). If this matters to you, get the figure from the BTB in writing and check it with a Belize attorney.

Permanent residency

• The one-year ruleYou must have lived in Belize legally for at least one year before you apply, and been out of the country for no more than 14 days in total in that year^[10]. In practice that means a year of monthly visitor extensions, or a work permit.
• Other conditionsProof you can support yourself, and no conviction carrying a sentence of 12 months or more^[10].
• Fees (BZ$, adult)CARICOM $1,000 · Central America, Mexico and the Dominican Republic $1,500 · Commonwealth $3,000 · European $6,000 · Other $4,000. Minors pay half^[11].
• ProcessSubmit the application. You're interviewed by Immigration within about two weeks, with your referees, and later interviewed at home by police Special Branch. On approval you pay the fee and post a security bond. The card is ready in Belmopan about five weeks after payment^[12].

Confirm: the fee page doesn't say which band each country falls in, so we can't tell you whether US, Canadian or UK citizens pay BZ$3,000, BZ$4,000 or BZ$6,000. Ask Immigration which band applies to you before you budget. Fees are dated 1 May 2020^[11].

Temporary residence is a separate, investment-based permit. It needs investments in Belize worth at least BZ$500,000, and its fee is one-fifth of the permanent residence fee^[13]. The San Pedro Sun reported that in December 2025 Cabinet approved a new investor pathway to permanent residency at a $500,000 investment^[14]. We could not confirm that it has become law.

Working: work permits and self-employment

Foreigners need a Temporary Employment Permit from the Labour Department. An employer applies online for you (three job advertisements and a letter of intent are required); a self-employed person applies for themselves^[16]. Published annual fees include professional or technical $3,000, general $750, self-employed (non-agricultural) $3,000, self-employed agricultural $2,000, and import or export traders $1,500^[15].

Opening a business in San Pedro also needs a Town Council trade licence before you start trading, and that includes service businesses. The application fee is BZ$100, the licensing board meets in January, April, July and October, and a foreign applicant "may need" to show a work permit or residency card^[24]. Selling alcohol needs a separate liquor licence. See our Town Council guide.

Confirm: the fee page shows no currency sign^[15]. We assume Belize dollars, as elsewhere on the government site. Self-employed applicants are asked for a six-month Belize bank statement and proof of local ties, such as a land title^[16].

Citizenship

• WhenAfter at least five years as a permanent resident. In any 12-month period you must not have been away more than 30 days in a row or three months in total^[17]. Marriage to a Belizean for at least a year is a separate route.
• FeeBZ$300, paid on approval, after an interview and before a swearing-in^[18].
• Dual citizenshipBelize recognises it, according to the UK government^[19]. We did not find the rule stated on a Belize government page.

Remote workers: "Work Where You Vacation"

The Belize Tourism Board still has a page for its remote-work programme. It asks for income of at least US$75,000 a year (US$100,000 for couples and families) and travel insurance, and allows stays of up to 180 days. Fees are BZ$500 per adult and BZ$200 per child^[20].

This may no longer be running. The matching Long Stay permit page has disappeared from the Immigration Department's list of permits^[21]. Before you plan around it, email [email protected] and ask whether it is still accepting applications.

Which route fits?

• Retired, living on outside income, no plans to work here: the QRP is the simplest, and the duty-free import is worth real money. The trade-off is the work ban.
• You want to work or run a local business, or you want citizenship one day: spend a year as a visitor (keeping trips out under 14 days), then apply for permanent residency. You'll need a work or self-employment permit to work before and while you apply.
• Here for a season: monthly visitor extensions.