Since I first started regularly following discussion forums and Facebook Groups about Belize in 2018, working in Belize as a foreign national has been one of the most often discussed topics among people interested in moving here.
While for many years, it seems that a majority of the expats who moved to Belize were retirees, purchasing either a second home to use to escape the cold winters up north, or moving down full-time seeking an affordable retirement option, many more folks are now looking to move to Belize earlier, either working remotely, or seeking a way to support themselves on the local economy here in Belize.
Prior to attaining Permanent Residency in Belize, one needs to obtain a Work Permit to legally work in the country. Here, we take a look at the Work Permit process and what one needs to do if they plan on working in Belize.
Can a foreign national legally work in Belize?
The short answer to this question is yes. The long answer, however, like for almost anything involved with the bureaucracy in Belize is: It’s complicated.
As you can see in the image of the Belize Visitor’s Visa above, even the stamp placed in your passport explicitly prohibits the Tourist Visa holder from engaging in any type of employment or business activity in Belize.
Technically, one needs a Work Permit for even volunteer work here, but there are some community organizations who do seem able to provide opportunities for folks to do service work without a hassle from the government. When I lived in San Pedro, the local humane society, SAGA, encouraged even short-term visitors to come in and walk the dogs. Also, Rotary in San Pedro was very active with community service work which was open to non-residents.
How do I get a Work Permit to work in Belize?
Until one is a Permanent Resident, there are essentially two ways to start working in Belize legally, and both require the foreign national to acquire a Work Permit:
- Work for a Belizean Company: The company will then assist you in applying for a Work Permit
- Work as a Self Employed Foreigner One can create a new business entity in Belize, and then the company can apply for a Work Permit for the owner.
Getting hired by a Belizean company
While Belize has a population of only around 420,000 people, the country, traditionally, has suffered from high rates of unemployment and under employment. Thus, the government of Belize is quite protective of its labor force, reserving as many jobs as possible for Belizeans.
While a Work Permit is issued by the Department of Immigration in Belize, the business must apply for a Work Permit for the prospective foreign employee with the Department of Labor.
A company must be able to demonstrate that they are unable to find a Belizean candidate to fill a position before they are permitted to hire a foreign national. The company must show evidence that it advertised at least three times for the position, and it was unsuccessful finding a Belizean employee. The idea is that recruiting foreign nationals should be reserved for importing skills which are not available in the local workforce.
Thus, people with special training and skills, such as an airline engine mechanic, for example, will likely have an easier time securing a Work Permit than someone without specialized training.
In order to hire a foreign national, according to the Belize Department of Labor, the company must submit the following general documentation about the business:
Company/Business
Belize Department of Labor: Temporary Employment Permit Application
- Articles of Association
- Memorandum of Association
- Certificate of Good Standing
- Certificate of Registration
- Trade License (if operating within a city or town)
- Business plan (New businesses)
- Local bank statement (6 months transactions for new businesses)
- Income Tax Certificate (Tax Identification Number)
Along with this general information, the company must also submit the following documents for each potential hire:
Belize Department of Labor: Temporary Employment Permit Application
- Complete passport (All pages in the passport must be scanned, zipped and uploaded as one zip file)
- Police record (From last country of residence)
- Police record (From Belize)
- Job advertisement (First Ad)
- Job advertisement (Second Ad)
- Job advertisement (Third Ad)
- Qualifications (Diplomas, Certificates, Resume)
- License to operate in Belize (Doctors, Nurses, Teacher’s, Engineers, etc)
- Letter of intent to employ from employer
- Evidence to prove need for new Pastor/Missionary
- Recommendation or support letters are required from applicants (employers) on behalf of prospective employees.
It is pretty easy to see from this list of requirements, that while it is certainly possible for a company in Belize to hire a foreign national, it is a fairly cumbersome process. Having had some experience of the bureaucracy while owning a business in San Pedro, I can not imagine this process taking less than several months, optimistically.
Starting a business in Belize and getting a Work Permit as self employed
Like for a Belizean business looking to hire a foreign national, if you want to apply for a Work Permit as self employed, there are a number of requirements from the Department of Labor:
Self employed foreigner
Belize Department of Labor: Temporary Employment Permit Application
- Business plan
- Local bank statement (6 months transactions)
- Land Title/Lease
- Updated land payment receipt
- Original marriage certificate
- Declaration witness by a Commissioner of the Supreme Court (Common Law relationship
- Birth certificate of each child
- Proof of citizenship of spouse (Birth Certificate/Permanent Residence/Nationality)
Along with this information, the applicant will also be asked to supply many of the documents requested in the second list in the section above, passport pages, Police Record, etc.
The Department of Labor also states that “a self-employed foreigner cannot apply for any other person than him/herself.”
Many tourist areas in Belize, such as Ambergris Caye, also require a valid Trade License and other licenses to do business on the island, so in many cases, one likely will need to set up a Belize business entity, an LLC.
I set up an LLC; it was not overly complicated, but foreign ownership of a Belizean company has recently become a bit more complicated and expensive, as anyone who is not yet a Permanent Resident, now needs to have a local representative file their renewals each year, and this likely means paying a lawyer a fair chunk of money annually to do your corporate filings.
What is the cost of the Work Permit?
After you receive notification that your application for a Work Permit has been approved by the Department of Labor, you next take your acceptance letter to the Immigration Office nearest the Department of Labor office where you applied.
At the Immigration Office, you will pay your fee for the Work Permit, and get the stamp added to your passport. The price of the permit is dependent upon the job category; however, most foreign nationals from North America will fall into these categories:
Profession Duration Fee Professional Workers (Holders of University Degree) One Year $3000.00 BZD Technical Workers One Year $3000.00 BZD Self Employed Workers (i. e. owners or managers) One Year $3000.00 BZD Belize Department of Immigration
As you can see from the chart, all of these categories require a payment of $3,000 BZD, and they are valid for one year after being issued; thus, one needs to renew a Work Permit each year, paying the fee for each renewal. Also, note that the fee is quoted in Belize dollars, so the cost of the Work Permit is $1500 USD per year.
While one is working in Belize on a Work Permit, they can simultaneously be working toward qualifying to apply for Permanent Residency, and after one is granted Permanent Residency, they are then legally permitted to work in the country without a Work Permit.
Final Thoughts on Working in Belize
First, I must say that in many, if not most circumstances, I believe that it is very difficult for a foreign national to come down and earn a living working in Belize. Remember, the minimum wage in Belize is $2.50 USD per hour, and basically all other salaries are adjusted accordingly. Teachers, nurses, doctors, professional, and technical workers of all sorts are paid a small fraction of what they would earn in North America.
Many folks also dream of coming down to Belize and running a cute little B&B, a beach bar, a dive shop, or some other tourism-related business. Of course, there are folks who have done this and have been successful, but there are many others who were not. I had 15 years in the tourism industry on Kauai before moving to San Pedro, and I found the business environment to be really challenging, despite the many years of experience.
Moving to a new country and figuring things out takes time even if you are retired and don’t need to produce an income. I would be very cautious about buying or starting a business in Belize in an industry in which you have little or no experience. Learning both the basics of running the business while sorting out the Belizean bureaucracy has driven many expats back to North America, with considerably less money than they had when they started.
If you do want to start a business in Belize, one very important factor to understand is that everything will take much longer than you anticipate, so you really need to have enough capital to both weather the business start-up expenses and delays, and also enough money to live on. I suggest that one plans for a year without income and has enough money to sustain themselves here for a year or more.
Of course, if one has mostly passive income from rental property in North America, or is perhaps working online for a US or Canadian company, this is an entirely different work situation than needing to produce an income here in Belize.
Like for most everything else here in Belize, if you do plan to be working in Belize, just make sure that you understand exactly what you are signing up for, and approach the process of starting a business or getting a Work Permit with a great deal of patience.