Residence routes to Belize: QRP, permanent residence, work or partner

You move to Belize without a visa in advance. You enter as a visitor and then choose one of four routes: the QRP programme for retirees, permanent residence after a year, a work permit, or a route through your Belizean spouse. With the QRP you may stay as soon as you are accepted. For permanent residence you first live in Belize for a year.

The amounts below are in US dollars (US$) or Belize dollars (BZ$). The Central Bank of Belize has kept a fixed rate since May 1976: BZ$ 2.00 is US$ 1.00.

Which route suits you?

Route	For whom	The bar	Fees
QRP (Qualified Retirement Program)	40 and over according to the BTB, with a pension or other income	US$ 2,000 a month from outside Belize, deposited with a bank in Belize	US$ 150 application, US$ 1,000 programme, US$ 200 per card
Permanent residence	anyone who has lived legally in Belize for a year	at most 14 days outside Belize in total during that year	BZ$ 6,000 for Dutch nationals, children half
Work permit	employee or self-employed	application through the Labour Department	BZ$ 3,000 a year for a professional or self-employed person
Spouse of a Belizean	married people	citizenship after one year of marriage	BZ$ 300 on approval

How does the QRP work?

The Belize Tourism Board (BTB) runs the programme. According to the BTB you are 40 or older and receive an income of US$ 2,000 a month or US$ 24,000 a year from a source outside Belize, in dollars, pounds, euros or Canadian dollars. That can be a pension, the Dutch state pension (AOW), an annuity, investments or savings. You promise in writing to deposit that amount with a bank in Belize: under the Act by the 15th of each month, or the full annual amount by 1 April. Your spouse and children under 18 come along as dependants, for US$ 750 each.

You pass a security check and submit, among other things, a police record no more than six months old and a medical certificate with an HIV test no more than three months old. Each year you spend at least 30 consecutive days in Belize. You renew the membership before 31 December; the card then costs US$ 25.

The benefits are set out in the Retired Persons (Incentives) Act. In the first year you bring your household goods and a car without import duties. Income from outside Belize is free of tax in Belize, even if you do not transfer it (section 4(4)).

Working in Belize is not allowed (section 5). Anyone who still wants a business can become a QRP Investor: US$ 500,000 in capital, five Belizeans employed and at least 90 days lived in Belize.

The QRP is not permanent residence. For the immigration act and the nationality act a QRP member counts as a non-resident (section 4(5)). And anyone who stops depositing or does not renew loses all exemptions at once, under section 3(2).

The BTB gives 40 as the minimum age. The latest consolidated text of the Act, the revised edition of 2020, still says 45, as does the 2011 one. An amending act from 2023 (Act No. 13 of 2023) would introduce 40, but that text could not be opened. Go by what the BTB tells you when you apply. If you're between 40 and 44, check before you apply.

How do you obtain permanent residence?

At the time of applying you must have lived legally in Belize for at least a year and been away for no more than 14 days in total during that year. You show that you can support yourself; a pension counts. Your passport must carry an arrival stamp at least a year old.

You bridge that year as a visitor. On arrival you get 30 days; the Visitor's Permit Extension gives 30 extra days for BZ$ 200 each time. The immigration department explicitly names that extension for people "investigating the possibilities of settlement". Working, paid or unpaid, is not allowed with it.

The file requires a medical examination by a doctor in Belize, an HIV, VDRL and TB test, and a police record from Belize that is valid for six months. Only a legally married spouse appears on the same application. An unmarried partner applies separately.

After you submit, an interview at the immigration department follows within two weeks. The police visit you at home within three months after that. After approval you pay the fee and provide a security bond. You collect the card five weeks later in Belmopan.

A temporary residence of one year exists only for people who have invested at least BZ$ 500,000 in Belize.