Belize Qualified Retired Persons: residence for those with US$2,000 a month in foreign income

The QRP programme was created by the Retired Persons (Incentives) Act to attract financially independent retirees, and it is administered by the Belize Tourism Board (BTB) rather than the Immigration Department, with a security clearance from the Ministry of National Security. Applicants must be at least 40 years old and show a pension, annuity, Social Security payment, investment income or other retirement income of at least US$2,000 a month from outside Belize, paid in US dollars, sterling, euros or Canadian dollars. They also sign an undertaking to bring the qualifying funds into a bank, credit union or licensed financial institution in Belize, which is evidenced again at each annual renewal. Eligibility is published by nationality group, covering Commonwealth countries, the United States, EU member states, listed Asia-Pacific countries and South American states.

Residence obligations are light: a QRP must spend at least 30 consecutive days in Belize each year and renew the ID card annually. In return, foreign-source income, capital gains and inheritances are exempt from Belizean tax, and in the first year after acceptance the holder may import household and personal effects, a motor vehicle no more than five years old, a boat and a light aircraft free of import duty, for personal use. QRP holders may buy land or a home. They may not take local employment, and running a business in Belize requires BTB approval; the amended Act introduced an investor track requiring a business plan, at least BZ$1 million (about US$500,000) of investment capital, proof of 90 days' residence and the employment of at least five Belizeans.

A spouse and children under 18 can be included as dependants, each paying the US$750 final fee and receiving their own card. The QRP card does not replace a passport at the border, and QRP status does not automatically lead to permanent residence. Permanent residence is a separate application to the Immigration Department: the applicant must have resided legally in Belize for at least one year, without leaving for more than 14 days in total in that year, and show financial stability and a clean record. Permanent residence fees vary by nationality, from BZ$1,000 for CARICOM nationals to BZ$4,000 for US nationals and BZ$6,000 for European nationals, with minors at half the adult rate.

Citizenship is available by registration after five years of permanent residence, provided the applicant has lived continuously in Belize, with absences of no more than 30 consecutive days or three months in total in any 12-month period. Belize permits dual nationality. Because the QRP regime's tax benefits apply to the programme itself, clients who later move to permanent residence or citizenship should review how their foreign income and assets will be treated under general Belizean tax law and in their country of origin. Belize's former economic citizenship programme closed in 2002 and has not been reopened.