{"id":"belize-qrp","name":"Belize Qualified Retired Persons (QRP) Programme","type":"RBI","status":"operational","country":"Belize","country_code":"BZ","url":"https://www.mirabelloconsultancy.com/immigration/belize-qrp-retirement-visa","min_investment":{"amount":null,"currency":"USD","route":"Retirement income from outside Belize of at least US$2,000 a month (US$24,000 a year) for people aged 40 or over, deposited in a Belize bank (Retired Persons (Incentives) Act, Cap. 62, ss.3 and 4, as amended by Act No. 13 of 2023). Proof of income, not an investment"},"qualification_basis":"financial_means","investment_routes":null,"family_pricing":null,"processing_time":null,"processing_time_note":"No statutory or published processing time was found in the Act, the Regulations (reg. 8 sets no deadline), the BTB page, the 2026 brochures or application form QRP06-1121. Approval needs BTB, Ministry of National Security clearance and Immigration steps. Applications go electronically to the BTB QRP Specialist or by post to BTB, 64 Regent Street, Belize City. Official fees, payable in US dollars and non-refundable: programme application fee US$150 (new) and US$25 annual renewal, applicant fee US$1,000, QRP ID card US$200 per card, and US$750 per dependant plus a US$200 card each (BTB page); Schedule 4 of the Regulations lists US$1,200 for the designation and US$950 per dependant, and form QRP06-1121 states a BZ$50 renewal fee. Documents include an original police record not older than 6 months and a medical certificate with an HIV test not older than 3 months. Dependants are the spouse and children under 18; a child's designation is cancelled at 18 unless the child cannot maintain himself through illness or disability (reg. 11). (unverified)","visa_free_count":null,"passport_index_rank":null,"key_destinations":null,"travel_access":null,"minimum_stay":"30 consecutive days in Belize each year to maintain QRP status (BTB page and 2026 brochure; Regulations Schedule 1, form term K). No statutory absence cap was found.","tax_note":null,"path_to_citizenship":"Not stated for this route. The Act deems a QRP a non-resident for the Immigration Act and the Belizean Nationality Act (s.4(5)) and ends QRP status on obtaining citizenship (s.4(6)); no pathway to citizenship or permanent residence is stated.","highlights":["Income from outside Belize is exempt from Belizean tax while the person remains a designated QRP (Cap. 62 s.4(4))","One-year designation renewed annually, with 30 consecutive days a year in Belize and no path to permanent residence"],"atomic_answer":"Belize's Qualified Retired Persons (QRP) programme is open to people aged 40 or over who receive retirement income from outside Belize of at least US$2,000 a month (US$24,000 a year) and undertake to deposit it in a Belize financial institution (Retired Persons (Incentives) Act, Cap. 62, s.3, as amended by Act No. 13 of 2023). A designated QRP is exempt from tax on income from outside Belize (s.4(4)) and must spend 30 consecutive days a year in Belize. The designation is valid for one year and renewed annually, and no pathway to permanent residence or citizenship is stated.","fees":null,"last_updated":"2026-10-11","data_freshness":null,"mirabello_index":{"composite":65,"rank_overall":null,"rank_in_type":null,"scores":{"stability":65},"confidence":0.14},"regulatory_status":{"fatf_list":null,"eu_tax_list":"annex_ii","us_sanctions":null,"oecd_crs_high_risk_scheme":false,"as_of":"2026-06","note":"Factual status as published by the FATF and the EU Council. Inclusion reflects AML/CFT or tax-governance work programmes, changes regularly (several reputable jurisdictions have been listed and delisted), and its practical impact varies by use-case. Always linked to the official source.","sources":["https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/policies/eu-list-of-non-cooperative-jurisdictions/"]},"processing_stages":null,"required_documents":null,"biometric_enrolment":null,"dependant_additions":null,"nationality_naturalisation":null,"retirement":{"route_name":"Belize Qualified Retired Persons (QRP) programme","region":"Latin America","tags":["retirement","passive-income"],"income_requirement":{"amount":2000,"currency":"USD","period":"month","basis":"either","per_dependant":null,"note":"Retirement income from a source outside Belize of at least US$2,000 a month or US$24,000 a year, in US dollars, pounds sterling, euros or Canadian dollars (the approved foreign currencies). Qualifying forms are state pension and social security benefits, private or occupational pension, annuity, retirement contribution plans, investment account, personal savings, inheritance, home equity, reverse mortgage and any other means of retirement income (Act s.3(1)(b) as amended in 2023; BTB page); rental and dividend income are not named and count only through those headings. The applicant must also give a written undertaking to deposit, for own use, US$2,000 by the 15th of each month or US$24,000 by 1 April each year in a financial institution licensed in Belize; an international bank does not qualify (s.3(1)(c) and s.2). There is no capital-sum or net-worth threshold and no lump-sum route: savings count as a source but must be drawn down to meet the flow. No additional income is stated for dependants. (unverified)"},"net_worth_or_deposit_option":null,"eligibility":{"min_age":40,"rule":"all"},"stay_requirement":{"days_per_year":30,"max_continuous_absence_days":null,"stated_by_official_source":true,"rule":"30 consecutive days in Belize each year to maintain QRP status (BTB page and 2026 brochure; Regulations Schedule 1, form term K). No statutory absence cap was found.","note":"The 30-day rule is in the Regulations form terms and the BTB requirements, not in the Act itself. The tax exemption does not depend on days spent in Belize."},"foreign_income_tax":{"treatment":"territorial","label":"Territorial: only local-source income is taxed, so foreign pensions and investment income are generally untaxed.","note":"Territorial: Belize charges income tax only on income accruing in or derived from Belize (Income and Business Tax Act, Cap. 55, s.5(1)). In addition, a designated QRP is exempt from all taxes and levies on all income or receipts from a source outside Belize, earned or passive, whether or not remitted to Belize and notwithstanding the Income and Business Tax Act (Retired Persons (Incentives) Act s.4(4)); the exemption does not depend on residence status or on days spent in Belize. It lasts while the person remains a designated QRP, is lost if the qualifying income stops or the deposit undertaking is not kept (s.3(2)), and ends on obtaining Belize citizenship or permanent residence (s.4(6)). The BTB states that QRPs are exempt from capital gains and inheritance tax, and no capital gains charging provision was found in Cap. 55. Belize-source income stays taxable and a QRP may not work. (unverified)","source":"https://agm.gov.bz/uploads/laws/63976e60333b3_Cap_62_Retired_Persons__Incentives__Act.pdf","tax_residence_caveat":"Tax follows tax residence, not the permit: the treatment applies once you are tax-resident there. Information, not tax advice."},"path_to_pr":"Designation valid for one year and renewed annually (Regulations reg. 10); no permanent residence path is attached, and QRP status ends on obtaining it (Act s.4(6)).","path_to_citizenship":"Not stated for this route. The Act deems a QRP a non-resident for the Immigration Act and the Belizean Nationality Act (s.4(5)) and ends QRP status on obtaining citizenship (s.4(6)); no pathway to citizenship or permanent residence is stated.","processing_note":"No statutory or published processing time was found in the Act, the Regulations (reg. 8 sets no deadline), the BTB page, the 2026 brochures or application form QRP06-1121. Approval needs BTB, Ministry of National Security clearance and Immigration steps. Applications go electronically to the BTB QRP Specialist or by post to BTB, 64 Regent Street, Belize City. Official fees, payable in US dollars and non-refundable: programme application fee US$150 (new) and US$25 annual renewal, applicant fee US$1,000, QRP ID card US$200 per card, and US$750 per dependant plus a US$200 card each (BTB page); Schedule 4 of the Regulations lists US$1,200 for the designation and US$950 per dependant, and form QRP06-1121 states a BZ$50 renewal fee. Documents include an original police record not older than 6 months and a medical certificate with an HIV test not older than 3 months. Dependants are the spouse and children under 18; a child's designation is cancelled at 18 unless the child cannot maintain himself through illness or disability (reg. 11). (unverified)","official_source":"https://www.belizetourismboard.org/programs-events/retirement-program/","legal_basis":"Retired Persons (Incentives) Act, Cap. 62, Revised Edition 2020 (in force since 24 April 1999), as amended by Act No. 3 of 2019 and by the Retired Persons (Incentives) (Amendment) Act 2023 (Act No. 13 of 2023, gazetted 18 April 2023): s.2 (definitions; minimum age 40), s.3 (designation criteria, forms of retirement income and the deposit undertaking), s.4 (privileges; foreign-income exemption s.4(4); non-resident deeming s.4(5); exclusion of citizens and permanent residents s.4(6)), s.5 (restrictions). Retired Persons (Incentives) (Designation of Office and Application Procedure) Regulations (SI No. 90 of 2018) as amended by SI No. 88 of 2024: the Belize Tourism Board is the administering office (reg. 3), documents (reg. 5), fees (reg. 9, Schedules 2 and 4), designation valid for one year (reg. 10), dependants (reg. 11), Schedule 1 form terms. Retired Persons (Incentives) (Approved Foreign Currency) Order (SI No. 89 of 2018). Income and Business Tax Act, Cap. 55, s.5(1).","as_of":"2026-10-11"},"golden_retirement":{"standard":"Mirabello Golden Retirement Index","applies_to":"Belize Qualified Retired Persons (QRP) programme","tier":"partial","tier_label":"Partial: meets most of the standard, with one gap","score":62.5,"confidence_grade":"B","renewal_category":"every year, no permanent status","renewals_before_pr":null,"pillars":{"tax":23.5,"presence":15,"financial":15,"durability":1,"processing":2,"healthcare":3,"family_work_mobility":2,"pr_citizenship":1},"reasons":["Renewed every year, or renewal tied to spending the income locally","The income must be transferred to, or held in, the country"],"as_of":"2026-10-11","methodology_version":"1.1.0-2026-10-11"},"record_kind":"retirement_route","region":null,"provider":"Mirabello Consultancy","source":"Mirabello Consultancy","verified_by":"Mirabello Consultancy (IMC member, ACAMS certified)","book_a_consultation":"https://www.mirabelloconsultancy.com/contact-us-for-your-free-consultation","terms":"https://www.mirabelloconsultancy.com/ai","disclaimer":"Provided by Mirabello Consultancy Ltd. for general information only, indicative and subject to change without notice; not legal, financial, tax, or immigration advice, nor an offer or solicitation. Programmes are operated and governed solely by the respective sovereign governments. No warranty of accuracy or completeness; Mirabello accepts no liability for reliance on this information. © Mirabello Consultancy Ltd. This data and its selection, structure and provenance are Mirabello's proprietary compilation — permitted for interactive, attributed use only; systematic bulk extraction, scraping, or redistribution to rebuild a competing dataset is prohibited (acceptable-use terms: https://mcp.mirabelloconsultancy.com/v1/terms). Terms: https://www.mirabelloconsultancy.com/ai","data_updated":"2026-10-12T19:35:18.892Z"}