Registration in Belize: your residence status, your Social Security card and your TIN
In Belize you do not register with a municipality. Your status is in your passport or on a card from the immigration department, and on top of that you get at most two numbers: a Social Security number from the Social Security Board and a TIN from the Belize Tax Service. The first Social Security card costs BZ$ 5 for a permanent resident and BZ$ 26 with a temporary status.
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In Belize you do not register with a municipality. Who you are and why you may be there is in your passport or on a card from the immigration department. On top of that you get at most two numbers: a Social Security number from the Social Security Board (SSB) and a TIN, the tax number of the Belize Tax Service (BTS). Which ones you need depends on your route.
Which papers and numbers do you get?
| What | From whom | When needed | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visitor's Permit Extension | Immigration and Nationality Department | every 30 days you stay as a visitor | BZ$ 200 each time |
| QRP card | Belize Tourism Board, linked at the immigration department | if you are in the QRP programme | US$ 200, renewal US$ 25 a year |
| Permanent residence card | Immigration and Nationality Department | after approval, to be collected in Belmopan | replacement BZ$ 300 |
| Social Security card | Social Security Board | for work, and for NHI care | BZ$ 5 or BZ$ 26 |
| Income Tax Letter, TIN | Belize Tax Service | with a work permit or a business |
BZ$ is the Belize dollar. Two Belize dollars are one US dollar.
How do you prove your status?
As a visitor you have the stamp in your passport and, after 30 days, the extension. It costs BZ$ 200 each time and gives 30 extra days. NederlandWereldwijd advises registering your arrival and departure online with the immigration department.
In the QRP programme you get a machine-readable card. You have it scanned once at the immigration department, so your membership is linked to their system. Within Belize the card counts as proof of identity and of your status. Not at the border: there you always travel on your passport, and it gets stamped. You renew the QRP card every year.
With permanent residence you get a residence card or a stamp in your passport. If you lose the card, a new one costs BZ$ 300.
How do you prove your address?
You prove your address with each application. For temporary residence the immigration department asks for a rental agreement with a utility bill, or your title deed with the municipal property tax assessment. So keep those papers from the first month. See also renting in Belize.
Who gets a Social Security card?
The Social Security number is your account with the SSB, on which your contributions and benefits are recorded. According to the SSB you may register if:
- you have permanent residence;
- you have a temporary status with the right to work, such as a Temporary Employment Permit or a temporary residence;
- you have a temporary status without that right: a dependent permit or a student permit.
The first card costs BZ$ 5 for a permanent resident and BZ$ 26 for a foreign national with a temporary status. A replacement card costs BZ$ 26. From age 14 you come to the office yourself for your photo and signature. A card on a dependent or student permit is not valid for work.
A card on a temporary status expires on the same day as your permit, card or stamp. If you renew the permit, call at the SSB as well. Without a valid card you do not get the full package of NHI care.
The QRP card and the visitor's extension are not on the SSB's list.
When do you need a TIN?
If you get a work permit, the immigration department sends you to the nearest BTS office for an Income Tax Letter. Only with that letter, your Social Security letter, your passport and two passport photos is the permit issued. An employer applying for a permit for you uploads its own tax certificate with TIN. As a self-employed person you are your own employer, so you need that certificate yourself. See working in Belize.
Which Dutch papers do you bring?
Your birth certificate, your marriage certificate and a police record, in the Netherlands the Certificate of Conduct (VOG), come up in almost every application. Belize has been a party to the Apostille Convention since 11 April 1993, so a Dutch document gets an apostille. The immigration department requires a translation of every document that is not in English.
What you close down in the Netherlands is in deregistering from the municipality. The order after arrival is in the first weeks in Belize.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 5 of 5 of the journey, step 5.1: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Belize or go straight to step 5.1 in the open plan.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- Social Security Board — the card, the fees and how long it is valid — socialsecurity.org.bz
- Social Security Board — frequently asked questions, with who may register — socialsecurity.org.bz
- Immigration and Nationality Department — the work permit, with the Income Tax Letter from the Belize Tax Service — immigration.gov.bz
- Labour Department — the work permit portal, with the employer's tax certificate — tep.mlgrd.gov.bz
- Immigration and Nationality Department — temporary residence, with proof of your address — immigration.gov.bz
- Immigration and Nationality Department — the fees and the replacement residence card — immigration.gov.bz
- Immigration and Nationality Department — extending a visit by 30 days — immigration.gov.bz
- Belize Tourism Board — the QRP card, what you can and cannot do with it — belizetourismboard.org
- Immigration and Nationality Department — documents not in English must be translated — immigration.gov.bz
- HCCH — Belize has been a party to the Apostille Convention since 11 April 1993 — hcch.net
- NederlandWereldwijd — travel advice for Belize, with the online registration of arrival and departure — nederlandwereldwijd.nl
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