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Joined: Oct 1999
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Marty Offline OP
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After working for 30 or 40 years of your life, it is normal to want the opportunity to be able to retire. If you are lucky, you may even be able to retire young. �Either way, most people look forward to retirement, as it is often a time for relaxation. A time when all your hard work has paid off and you can enjoy the fruits of your labor in the country of your dreams. Since many folks have chosen Belize as their ideal retirement destination, the Belize Tourism Board has decided to create a retirement program that facilitates retirees. It is called the Qualified Retired Person (QRP) Program.

The Qualified Retired Person Program was introduced by the Belize Tourism Board (BTB) in 1999. �It is a retirement program that was established especially for individuals who have an expected income from a pension, an annuity or an investment and are looking to live in a warm, tropical climate such as Belize.

The Qualified Retired Person Retirement Program (QRP) has many benefits.� Those benefits are as follows:

1. Import your personal household effects free of duty and taxes.

2. Duty Free and Tax Exemptions when importing your Motor Vehicle, light aircraft or boat every 5 years

3. Exemption from all taxes on income and receipts

4. Spouse and Children under the age of 18 are included in the program

5. Permission to conduct business from within Belize if business activities are conducted outside the country.

6. Allows the applicant to maintain their non-residency status for purposes of banking with an international bank in Belize.

The qualification requirements to enter into the retirement program are quite simple. The applicant needs to be forty-five (45) years and older and may be a citizen of any country except Belize. The retirement program does not only stop with the applicant. Instead it gives the applicant the option to include his/her spouse and children under the age of eighteen. If the applicant has a child who is 23 years old or younger and enrolled in a University, that child may also qualify to become a dependant and enjoy the same luxuries.

To begin the process, the applicant is encouraged to obtain assistance from a Registered Agent, an Accountant or an Attorney to prepare the paperwork. �There are two forms to complete which are the Application Form and the Terms and Conditions. �The applicant is required to submit supporting documents such as Birth Certificate, Marriage Certificate, Authentic Police Report, Passport, Proof of Income, Medical Examination and Photos. �Once these are submitted and approved by all parties involved, the normal time frame to obtain QRP Status is approximately 2-3 months.

Under the retirement program you do not become a resident of Belize, however you are welcomed to stay in Belize as long as you want without having to make a monthly payment of US$25.00 to the Immigration Department. You are also allowed to do your banking at any of the local or international banks in Belize.� You may also set-up a Belize International Business Company (IBC) and establish a trust.

Although you may not be gainfully employed while in the program, as long as you maintain the Qualified Retired Person status, you are encouraged to invest in the country, hire Belizeans and even profit from the established business. �Therefore, the retirement program is a win/win for everyone.

You can always contact Atlantic International Corp. Services Ltd to see if the Qualified Retirement Program is right for you. It can be the best decision you make for your retirement and it can even encourage you to retire early. Come and experience Belize today!

Source


Joined: Sep 2013
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Are there any US Citizens on this forum living in Belize under this program?

Joined: Nov 2000
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There are lots of us


Harriette
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Thanks for your response! Everything that I had read said that so many had reported problems with obtaining citizenship that they recommended just moving under the regular laws. How long have you been in Belize? Have you had any problems under the qrp guidelines? Does it mean that you can't apply for citizenship after 5 years?

Joined: Oct 2001
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Originally Posted by IslandLife4Me
Thanks for your response! Everything that I had read said that so many had reported problems with obtaining citizenship that they recommended just moving under the regular laws. How long have you been in Belize? Have you had any problems under the qrp guidelines? Does it mean that you can't apply for citizenship after 5 years?


QRP and Citizenship are completely different items.
Residency under QRP program does not qualify towards the 5 years one must reside in country prior to applying to be a naturalized citizen.
Suggest you seek info from Belize Tourist Board directly about the QRP program, and then from Immigration about Citizenship.


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I am still in the study and planning stage of figuring out which route is best for us and what the benefits are either route. I have stumbled upon your name in quite a few places on the net in that reading if you are the Diane of Bob and Diane Campbell. I still can't find your website though that has been recommended many times to read and referenced as a must before making any move or property purchase.

Joined: Nov 2000
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In 2003 I paid $1,8++ USD to an agency to get my QRP. I was accepted very quickly. However they could not produce any residency cards so I had to carry my paper work with me.

When exiting the country the immigration people would not accept my paperwork and treated me like a resident of the US = I had to pay exit fees.

Several years later they contacted me and upon paying another $50 BZ I was mailed a residency card. However, immigration did not honor this either.

When returning to BZ the airline in the US demanded to see my residency card and pointed out that it had expired. WHAT?

In small print at the bottom it stated "Temporary Resident" with an expiration date one year after issued.

I am supposed to go in each year and pay the $50, give them a new photo and get a new card.

The last time I did all this they lost the paperwork and I never got a new card.

The reason the airlines want proof of residency is because I buy my round trip ticket originating and ending in Belize. Their rules say I can not do that unless I am a resident. I have had to buy a 'pass through" ticket on to some other country and just get off in Belize,

Since I have been here 10 years I am putting in for citizenship but the area rep is holding it as they are considering changing the law and that could save me a lot of money.

FYI: The Belize Tourism Board never consulted the Immigration ministry before launching the program so Immigration does not recognize this act.

More than you wanted to know?


Harriette
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Harriette, what was the overall advantage for you? Sounds like you had to put up with a lot of hassle over the years.


I'm happier than a pig in s__t...a foot on the sand...and a Belikin in my hand!
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Absolutely not Harriette...it's exactly what I want to know. smile I had read several places that it was drastically cheaper to travel by bus to Mexico to fly back to the states, but that you would need to be a citizen of Belize to do tha without hassle. Pushing a pencil, it appeared to pay for itself in the year until PR and 4 more until residency fees in airfare savings in just a few trips. If we move our business here closer to Atlanta making it our US airport, it already goes from $1500 a person to $600. At a family of 4, that pays for itself very quickly as well. I know there are hundreds of different ways of doing things...we aren't in a hurry, are 1 very patient and one very impatient people LoL. I'm the planner that weighs out every option and presents (with complications and other factors that could arise along the way) it makes us work great as a team. He is retirement age in Belize, I am not. For all I know it may work best that each of us do separate options. Do you know of any resource that might help with a lot of information like this and investment and retirement funds all in one place Other than the $400 Belize Bueprint for A New Life in Belize?

Joined: Sep 2013
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However....if all it costs is $400 for all of that information in onr spot as a resource and reference guide, that doesn't really sound like a bad deal at all. Sounds like a retirement plan of income for saving others a lot of time, money, many other headaches, and bad investment decisions along the way.

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