Who Can Qualify
- Anyone 45 years and older from the U.S.A., Canada, United Kingdom, Europe, Commonwealth countries, Belize and any other country.
- Qualified persons can include their spouse, dependendants 18 years of age and younger, college students dependentant up to 23 years old.
- Belizeans who are 45 and older can qualify if they are returning to live in Belize.
Documents Required
- Submit Application Form (See Application Form)
- Birth Certificate Copy for each member of the family (Notarized)
- Marriage Certificate Copy, (if married and spouse is a dependant) (Notarized)
- Authentic/Original Police Record from last place of residence, issued 1 month prior to application for applicant, wife and children 18 years and older.
- Passport Color Copies of Complete Passport (including all blank pages) for each family member, each page must be certified and stamped by a Notary Public from your place of residency.
- Proof of Income
An official statement from a Bank or Financial Institution from the country of residence certifying that the applicant is the recipient of a monthly income of a minimum of US $2,000.00 through a pension or annuity that has been generated outside of Belize.
* Please note that after approval into the program all retirees are to open a Local Bank Account and deposit their monthly pension funds. The Belize Tourism Board will request bank statements on a yearly basis to show proof of income and compliance with the retirement program.
- Medical Examination plus AIDS test for each member of the family.
- Four front and four side passport photographs of each family member.
Note: Items 5, 7 and 8 can be completed in Belize when you are visiting.
Incentives and Benefits
- Qualified Retired Persons can import personal effects free of import duties;
- Qualified Retired persons are strongly encourage to procure a vehicle in Belize, no older than three years. However, we will facilitate duty and tax exemption on an imported vehicle. Motor vehicles must be no older than 3 years from the present year;
- Qualified Retired Persons can import a boat free of import duties to be used for personal use;
- Qualified Retired Persons are exempted from payment of all taxes on income received from outside Belize.
Note: All importation must be done within a year after the date of approval into the program. A
Master List of household & personal effects must be submitted for approval before shipping.
General Information
- Qualified Retired Persons are not allowed to seek employment in Belize, however, voluntary work and business investments are encouraged;
- Qualified Retired Persons will be asked to submit a yearly bank statement showing compliance with the financial requirements of the program;
- You will be required to renew your retiree status every year;
- You will require a Customs Broker to process you importation of personal effects, vehicle or boat at your expense. You can request Broker available or check in the yellow pages;
- You are not allowed duty free on items used to repair or build, neither tools of their trade;
- You must spend an equivalent of 1 month in Belize annually to maintain your retiree status.
Note: If you desire to apply for Work Permit and Permanent Residence your Retirement Card will be revoked and payment will be required for all Duty Free Items.
Application Processing Fees
- Our application processing fee for a Single Applicant and follow up on Retiree Card and Customs Letter for Duty Exemption is US $700.00 in addition to general sales tax of 12.5% plus estimated miscellaneous expenses of US $100 for local courier, telephone, fax, e-mail, photocopy and office supplies.
- Processing of Additional dependent to the same application pays a fee of US $75.00, plus 12.5% general sales tax for a total of US $84.37.
- The program fee to the Belize Tourism Board is US $1,200.00 for a Single Applicant; additional dependant pays a fee of US $750.00, which includes fee for the issuance of the Retirement Card. Note that payments to the BTB must be paid by form of a US Bank Draft, US Cashier’s Check or US Cash.
- A Non-Refundable application fee of US $150.00 payable to the Belize Tourism Board must accompany the application and required documents.
- Kindly note that the below does not include medical examination expense, photographs, notarization of documents and overseas couriers for the application. Any additional work will be at a fee of US $50.00 per hour.
Processing Fee for Single Applicant for Retiree Program |
US |
$ 700.00 |
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Administration & Miscellaneous Expenses |
|
$ 100.00 |
|
|
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General Sales Tax (12.5% of $800.00) |
|
$ 100.00 |
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TOTAL FEES |
US |
$ 900.00 |
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