Working in Belize: the Temporary Employment Permit, three job adverts first and BZ$ 3,000 a year

Anyone who wants to work in Belize, employed or self-employed, needs a Temporary Employment Permit (TEP). You must already be living in Belize when you apply. The employer submits the application to the Labour Department; as a self-employed person you do it yourself. Within 30 days the Labour Department calls with the outcome. As a visitor or in the QRP programme you may not work.

What does a work permit cost?

The fees of the immigration department, since 1 May 2020, in Belize dollars:

Category	Duration	Cost
Professional, with a university degree (manager, doctor, architect, accountant, realtor)	one year	BZ$ 3,000
Technical worker (mechanic, electrician, nurse, administrative assistant)	one year	BZ$ 3,000
Self-employed, owner or manager, outside agriculture	one year	BZ$ 3,000
Self-employed in agriculture	one year	BZ$ 2,000
General workers, outside banana, sugar and citrus	one year	BZ$ 750
Religious, cultural, educational and voluntary work	one year	BZ$ 200
Import and export traders	one year	BZ$ 1,500

Two Belize dollars are one US dollar.

How does the application work?

The employer opens an account on the Labour Department's TEP portal and submits the application on your behalf. A self-employed foreigner may only do so for themselves. All documents must be in English, or translated.

For each application the portal asks, among other things, for:

• a scan of your whole passport, every page;
• a police record from your last country of residence and one from Belize;
• three job advertisements, the first, second and third;
• your diplomas, certificates and CV;
• a licence to practise your profession in Belize, for among others doctors, nurses, teachers and engineers;
• a letter of intent to employ from the employer.

The employer supplies its own papers: the articles of association, a trade licence if it operates in a city or town, a bank statement and its tax certificate with TIN. A new business adds a business plan.

After approval you collect the approval letter at the Labour Department and go to the immigration department. There you are told the amount. At the Belize Tax Service you request an Income Tax Letter. With your passport, that letter, your Social Security letter and two passport photos you pay, and the permit is issued straight away. You then apply for your Social Security card.

Working without a permit is not allowed, not even unpaid. The visitor's extension only applies if you "do not enter into employment paid or unpaid". And if your application is refused, you report to the immigration department to update your status.