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Like almost all of the articles on Belize FAQs, this piece on Temporary Residency by Investment in Belize was inspired by questions we found in many Belize-related forums online.
However, for this topic, we have discovered that there is little official information available, and few anecdotal experiences to report, so here we attempt to take a deep dive and read between the lines to try to figure out what is really happening with this new path to residency in Belize.
Over the past several months, I have seen a large number of posts sponsored by several consultancy companies here in Belize. These posts seem to be offering a ‘new, easier path to Residency in Belize,’ and many of them appear to refer to a new Temporary Residency by Investment program offered by the Belize Department of Immigration.
However, these sponsored posts seem to imply that there is a new program under which one can make a simple property investment in Belize and receive a shortcut to Residency.
I do not believe that this is the case, yet when I post comments to question these consultancies on their posts, my questions have been ignored, and in some cases deleted.
Why Are People So Interested in Residency in Belize?
For many people who want to move to Belize, gaining Permanent Residency in the country is a primary goal. There are a number of reasons people seek Residency here, but one of the primary reasons people seek Residency is that once you are granted Residency, you no longer need to go to the Immigration Office each month and pay $200 BZD ($100 USD) for each family member to renew their Tourist Visa. You are granted official Immigration status to remain in the country.
Other reasons for desiring to be established as a Resident in Belize include that Permanent Residents have the ability to legally work in Belize without a Work Permit, and many parts of daily life, including things like opening a bank account at a local bank, and dealing with anything related to setting up and running a business, including a rental property, are much easier after one has Residency.
As we discuss in our article on Permanent Residency in Belize, one of the first difficulties that folks encounter with this process is that one must remain in the country for most of their first year in Belize, only being permitted to leave the country for no more than 14 days during the first year here.
However, when folks make the decision to make an international move, many of them often have loose ends to tie up in their home countries, so they find the time-in-country requirement to be difficult.
Next, while one can apply for Residency after meeting the time-in-country requirement, to be granted Residency takes a lot longer, often a total of between two and three years in Belize before Permanent Residency is finally fully approved.
Many people get really frustrated at the open-ended nature of this process, so there are always people looking for shortcuts to Residency in Belize.
What is Temporary Residency by Investment in Belize?
At the beginning of this article, I described several sponsored posts from consulting companies here in Belize which were offering a “new,” easier path to Residency in Belize. And while these posts do not mention Temporary Residency by Investment in Belize, from the details they provide, it appears that this is the program to which they are referring.
From the Belize Immigration website, at first glance, this Temporary Residency by Investment in Belize program does appear to require only a simple investment of $250,000 USD; however, if one goes on to examine the documents required by Belize Immigration when applying for the program, a different standard emerges.
One detail to note is that Temporary Residency is, exactly as the name implies, a limited grant of Residency in Belize. The Department of Immigration Website states:
A Temporary Residence status is given for a period of only one (1) year, and becomes renewable at the end of that given period.
Belize Immigration Website
As one can easily see from this description of the program, it is not really a work-around for the long, often unpredictable Permanent Residency process, but a Temporary Residency status for people in specific circumstances.
What is Actually Required for Temporary Residency by Investment in Belize?
When we look a little closer at the documents required when applying for this ‘new’ path to Residency in Belize, we discover that a simple investment in residential property in Belize would not qualify for this path to Temporary Residency by Investment in Belize.
The Belize Immigration Website lists the following as documentation which is required to be submitted when applying for this program:
Documents You Need
Belize Immigration Website: Temporary Residency
- Passport
- Police Record
- Letter to Director
- Evidence of Residence in Belize
- Evidence of Investment in Belize
While this list appears to be pretty straight forward and simple at first glance, when we take a look at the details of what is truly required, it becomes obvious that this program is intended for one who makes a fairly substantial COMMERCIAL investment in Belize rather than the simple purchase of a home or property.
The required documentation to apply for Temporary Residency by Investment in Belize includes the following:
Evidence of Residence in Belize
You must provide evidence that you have residence in Belize, in the form of
- rental or lease agreement and a utility bill; or
- property title and property tax assessment by municipal authority
Evidence of Investment in Belize
You must provide details and evidence of investments in Belize valued at not less than BZ$500,000.00 dollars.
The following documents must be provided
Belize Immigration Website Temporary Residency
- title of real estate ownership
- business or personal bank statements
- company registration certificate or other certification showing your interest in a Corporate body as owner of the body or of a Majority or controlling interest
- Trade license
- Social security registration or card
- General sales tax returns
- Income tax returns
When we take a closer look at this list of requirements for the Temporary Residency Program, first, under the Evidence of Residency in Belize section, we note that one must be living in Belize, or at least have a valid lease agreement from a landlord in Belize in order to meet the qualifications.
In other words, this is likely not a vehicle for folks who are still in the US or Canada planning their move to Belize and looking for a fast track to long-term Immigration status.
Next, in the section titled Evidence of Investment in Belize, one can quickly see that many of the criteria here require documentation from government of Belize entities that one has a legitimate interest in a commercial activity in Belize.
Things like a Company Registration Certificate, a Trade License, General Sales Tax Returns, and Belize Income Tax Returns all require that one is involved in an operational commercial entity in Belize.
For me, it is pretty obvious that the Temporary Residency by Investment in Belize program is, unlike what I have been reading in the posts of the consulting companies here in Belize, a program for folks who have legitimate commercial interests in Belize, and not a “new, easier way to Residency in Belize.”
How Much Does It Cost to Apply for Temporary Residency by Investment in Belize?
Like for Permanent Residency, the cost to apply for Temporary Residency by Investment in Belize depends on one’s nationality. And remember, this type of residency requires annual renewal, which means that one will need to both assemble documents every year, and submit the application fee to renew.
According to the Belize Immigration website, the fees are:
Temporary Residence
Temporary Residence status is valid for only ONE year.
Temporary residence fee is 1/5 of permanent residence fee based on your nationality.
The temporary residence status may be renewed every year.
Belize Immigration Website: Residence Fees
For those from the US, the regular Residency Application Fee is $2000 USD, so the Application Fee for Temporary Residency by Investment in Belize will be $400 USD per person, and for Canadians, as members of the Commonwealth, the regular Residency Application Fee is $1500 USD, so the Application Fee for Temporary Residency is $300 USD.
Can I get Temporary Residency by Investment in Belize with My AirBnb Rental Property?
This is a question which I have about the Temporary Residency Program, and it is a question that I have seen posted quite a few times in the Belize forums; however, I have been unable to officially confirm whether or not Owing a Vacation Rental in Belize would qualify one to apply.
However, in a discussion in which I was involved in one of the Belize online forums, one person wrote:
I own a house and have licensed rentals in Belize that are BTB certified, require me to hold a business license, and I have a regular employee. I was told, in person, in Belize City at the Immigration Office and again in Belmopan that it “didn’t really qualify as a business.”
I’m putting that in quotes because that is exactly what I was told. My $500k+ investment in Belize that keeps travelers coming back to spend their money isn’t really a commercial interest to them.
Of course a single anecdote is not official confirmation, but thus far, this is the only direct experience I have read about this situation despite having asked questions in the forums for months.
When I looked at the requirements to apply for the new program, and I saw the requirement for General Sales Tax Returns, I was suspicious about whether or not a Vacation Rental would qualify because in many, if not most cases, rentals in Belize pay Accommodation Taxes, but not General Sales Taxes; thus, Vacation Rental owners would not generally be issued Belize General Sales Tax Returns.
Residency by Investment in Belize final thoughts
As I stated in the introduction to this article, I became interested in the Temporary Residency by Investment in Belize program because I had seen several Belize-based consulting firms sponsoring posts in the Belize forums offering what they seemed to imply was a “simpler, faster way” to be granted Residency in Belize, with the only qualification being an investment of $250,000 USD made in Belize.
However, after taking a close look at the official information pertaining to to the Temporary Residence by Investment program described on the official Belize Immigration Website, it appears obvious to me that this program is designed solely for one who makes a legitimate COMMERCIAL investment in Belize.
And while I found only one case study in which someone was willing to come forward and declare that she was told by multiple Immigration Officers in two different Immigration Office locations that an Airbnb rental property does not qualify as a commercial investment under this program, from my understanding of the business documentation required, it appears that the purchase of a rental property to be used as an Airbnb rental would likely not meet the requirements for this program.
Thus, like for many of the other claims I’ve seen over the years which pop up in the Belize-based forums, usually from companies or individuals offering to “expedite” the Permanent Residency in Belize process, this new Temporary Residency Program is unlikely to apply to the average person looking to buy or rent a house and move to Belize.
While I have communicated with a few folks who claim that hiring an expediter of some sort to help push their Residency application through the immigration process here in Belize seemed to be successful, I have spoken with more people who believe that hiring a third party to handle their immigration process was simply an additional expense at best, and in some cases actually slowed down the process.
If you really want to move to Belize, but you are not going to make a large investment to start a business right away, one simply needs to become familiar with the process of being granted Permanent Residency in Belize and accept the simple fact that this can be a time-consuming, and, at times, frustrating experience.
For traditional retirees, you can also check out the Qualified Retirement Program (QRP), which has been managed in Belize, for many years now, by the Belize Tourism Board. If you are interested in the QRP program, check out our comparison of the QRP program with Permanent Residency.
Finally, while I know that much about the Temporary Residency by Investment in Belize Program is still unclear, I hope that this article was informative for those who are considering Belize as their new home.
For those of you in the planning stages of a move to Belize, along with our articles on many of the practical aspects of moving to and living in Belize, don’t forget to check out our Interview with an Expat in Belize series for a look at how folks in many different life situations, and living in different parts of the country, have navigated their move and their new lives here in Belize.
And, if you are considering a move to Belize, you might want to check out our book: Belize FAQs: A detailed guide for those interested in moving to Belize. In the book, there are more than 150 pages of Belize FAQs at your fingertips. And Belize FAQs is available in both paperback and Kindle formats.