It’s been years in the making but finally on September 15 1999 the government of Belize announced it’s new residency program for gringos. Officially called the Belize Retired Persons Program it has a lot to offer a select group of people. The law offers so much freedom that attorneys are saying it is the best program of it’s kind anywhere in the world. You don’t really have to be retired , you don’t have to spend a certain amount of time in Belize and you can live tax free. You have to admit that sounds almost too good to be true.
Who Can Qualify?
Any citizen of the United States, Canada, The U.K. and Northern Ireland or Belize who is at least 45 years old. Dependants of the qualifying person include spouses and children under 18, or up to 23 if enrolled in a university.
The qualifying person must have either a pension or annuity of any type, including Social Security of at least $1,000 U.S. per month, or $12,000 U.S. annually. Or an income from any source outside of Belize of $2,000 U.S. or $24,000 U.S. per year. Bear in mind this could be from virtually any source, business, investments, stocks, bonds, rental property, as long as it is generated outside of Belize. The income requirement would remain the same regardless of the number of dependents the applicant has.
Once accepted into the program, the qualified retired person would be required to deposit this money in U.S. funds in any bank in Belize, either monthly or by April 1st each year.
What If I’m Not Ready To Retire?
Even though this is called a program for retirees you do not have to really be retired to qualify and benefit. Note the following examples:
You can set up an office in Belize and run your business from there, (taking advantage of the low overhead costs, and tax free status we might add ) and still qualify for this program, as long as none of the money your company earns comes from a source within Belize. In this age of e-commerce and telecommuting , this scenario could work for a vast number of people.
You can be an artist, writer, or photographer, drawing inspiration from the tropical beauty and larger than life characters in Belize, and still qualify under the “retiree ” program, as long as you don’t sell any of your work in Belize.
Live Tax Free In Belize
Under this law once you become a Qualified Retired Person, you are exempted from “the payment of all taxes and levies on all income or receipts that accrue from a source outside of Belize whether such income is passive or earned and whether or not such income is remitted to him in Belize.”
What does this mean? You’ll be exempted from all Belizean taxes, including income tax and business tax. Some feel this is the best benefit of the program.
Import Your Belongings Duty Free
You will be allowed to bring the following with you into Belize and not have to pay customs duty:
Up to $15,000 of your personal belongings and household items. These can be new or used and there is no specifications as to what items this can include.
Any type of motor vehicle up to three years old. You may bring in a new vehicle every 5 years, and sell or export your previous vehicle.
Any type of boat used for personal purposes or pleasure.
Private aircraft ( weighing less than 17,000 kg.) You must have a Private Pilot license to fly in Belize. You can get a license in Belize or have your exsisting license validated there.
What will It Cost?
In total it will cost $700 U.S. to join this program. A non-refundable application fee of $100 U.S. must be submitted with the application. Then once you are accepted a program fee of $500 U.S. is required. Another $100 U.S. is required at the time your Qualified Retired Person Status identification card is issued.
Remember that these fees are paid only by the qualifying person and that his/her spouse and dependents are accorded the same status at no additional charge.
There is no minimum residency requirement for this program. In other words your free to come and go as you please, you don’t have to spend a certain amount of time per year in Belize. And you can terminate your participation at any time. We like the freedom this affords and see it as a tremendous advantage over other countries immigration packages.