Qualified Retired Persons Program (QRP) (Belize): Requirements
Belize residence route
Qualified Retired Persons Program (QRP)
Anyone aged 40 or over with 2,000 dollars a month of foreign income who wants a low-obligation base with strong tax treatment.
- Income threshold
- $2,000 / month
- Minimum age
- 40+
- Validity
- Indefinite while the conditions are met, with an annual renewal fee.
- Permanent residence
- The QRP is a parallel status and does not count toward permanent residency. Ordinary permanent residency in Belize requires one continuous year of physical residence and is a separate track.
- Processing
- 2 to 6 months
The legal basis
The Retired Persons (Incentives) Act, administered by the Belize Tourism Board.
The financial test in detail
At least 2,000 U.S. dollars per month, or 24,000 dollars per year, from a source outside Belize. This can be a pension, an annuity, Social Security, an investment account or other verifiable foreign income. A single qualifying income covers a spouse and dependent children.
Savings
None, though the income must be deposited into a Belizean bank account.
What the status gives you
- Renewal
- Annual renewal with the Belize Tourism Board and continued proof of the qualifying income.
- Work rights
- No employment in Belize. You may operate a business that earns income from outside Belize.
- How much time you must spend there
- One month per year, which may be split. This is the most relaxed presence requirement of any program in this atlas.
- Citizenship
- Not through the QRP. Ordinary naturalisation requires five years of permanent residence.
- Government fees
- Visa: 1,000 USD. Residence permit: 200 USD. A program fee of about 1,000 dollars plus an application fee, and an annual renewal.
- 1 Apply to the Belize Tourism Board Unusually, the retirement program is administered by the tourism board rather than by immigration. Applications go directly to the BTB.
- 2 Apostille documents FBI check authenticated federally, birth and marriage certificates apostilled. No translation is required because Belize operates in English, which is a meaningful saving.
- 3 Open a Belizean bank account The qualifying income must be deposited into a Belizean account. Belizean banks are thorough with American applicants because of compliance pressure.
- 4 Claim the import exemptions Household goods, a vehicle, a boat and a light aircraft can be imported duty free within a defined window after approval. Given Belizean import duties, this is worth planning around.
Your action Documents and authentication Government processing
Your document checklist for this route
11 documents in total, of which 6 need authentication: 2 through the U.S. Department of State and 4 through a Secretary of State.
- U.S. passport Identity and the physical book the visa is placed in. Lead time: Routine renewal takes weeks; check current published times
- Passport-format photographs Every application. Specifications differ by country and are enforced strictly. Lead time: Same day
- National long-stay visa application form The core filing. Almost always country-specific and often only valid if printed from the consulate portal. Lead time: Same day
- FBI Identity History Summary (background check) U.S. Department of State, Office of Authentications (federal) Apostille Almost every retirement and long-stay residence visa requires a national-level police clearance. For Americans that means the FBI Identity History Summary, not a local police letter, because consulates want a federal record covering all 50 states. Lead time: 1 to 10 days to obtain, then federal authentication
- Certified birth certificate Secretary of State for the issuing state Apostille Proves identity, nationality and, where relevant, family relationships for dependants. Lead time: 3 to 20 days depending on state
- Certified marriage certificate Secretary of State for the issuing state Apostille Required whenever a spouse is included as a dependant, and to prove joint income or joint savings. Lead time: 3 to 20 days
- Social Security benefit verification letter U.S. Department of State, Office of Authentications (federal) Apostille The single most-used proof of "guaranteed lifetime pension" for pensionado-style visas. Panama, Costa Rica, Colombia and Ecuador all key on it. Lead time: Same day online
- Private pension, annuity or 401(k)/IRA income letter Secretary of State for the issuing state Apostille Used where Social Security alone does not meet the threshold, or where the visa requires a lifetime guaranteed payment. Lead time: 5 to 20 days
- Bank and brokerage statements Proof of savings or liquid assets, used either instead of income or alongside it. Lead time: 1 to 10 days
- Medical certificate or health declaration Secretary of State for the issuing state Apostille Required by Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and several Latin American programs; usually a simple statement that you are free of specified communicable diseases. Lead time: 3 to 14 days
- Certified translation of the authenticated set Non-English-speaking destinations require the document and its apostille translated by a translator they recognise. Lead time: 2 to 7 days
Why applications on this route fail
- The QRP is not a residency track. If your goal is eventual permanent residence or citizenship, the ordinary residency route is the one you want, and it requires a full year of continuous physical presence.
- Missing the import exemption window.
- Assuming healthcare will be adequate. It is not, and a medical evacuation policy is a practical necessity rather than a luxury.
Apply here
- Belize Tourism Board: QRP Program The authority administering the retirement program.
- Belize Immigration Department Ordinary residency and citizenship.
- 1 Obtain the record Order certified copies from the issuing authority. Do not use photocopies, scans or hospital souvenir certificates.
- 2 Notarise if required Letters and affidavits need a notary acknowledgement before any state can authenticate them. Government-issued vital records do not.
- 3 County clerk (some states) A handful of states require the county clerk to certify the notary commission before the Secretary of State will act.
- 4 Authenticate State-issued documents go to the Secretary of State of the issuing state. Federal documents go to the U.S. Department of State Office of Authentications.
- 5 Apostille or legalise Hague Convention destination: an apostille finishes the chain. Non-Hague destination: the document then goes to that country embassy or consulate for legalisation. For Belize the apostille ends the chain.
- 6 Certified translation Translate the document together with its apostille. Translating first means paying twice.
- 7 File with the consulate Book the appointment at the consulate with jurisdiction over your state of residence and bring originals plus copies.
The expensive mistake: translating before the document is authenticated. The apostille or legalisation certificate is itself part of what the receiving government reads, so it has to be inside the translation. Do it the other way round and you pay for the same translation twice.
Qualified Retired Persons Program (QRP): common questions
How much income do I need for the Qualified Retired Persons Program (QRP)?
The published threshold is about $2,000 a month for a single applicant. At least 2,000 U.S. dollars per month, or 24,000 dollars per year, from a source outside Belize. This can be a pension, an annuity, Social Security, an investment account or other verifiable foreign income. A single qualifying income covers a spouse and dependent children.
Do I need savings as well as income?
None, though the income must be deposited into a Belizean bank account.
Can I work on this visa?
No employment in Belize. You may operate a business that earns income from outside Belize. This is the field applicants most often misread, and in several countries remote work for a U.S. employer counts as work performed locally.
What documents need an apostille?
For this route we count 6 documents needing authentication: 2 federal, through the U.S. Department of State, and 4 state-issued, through the Secretary of State of the issuing state. Belize is a Hague Convention country, so an apostille completes the chain.
How long does it take?
2 to 6 months
How much time must I spend in the country?
One month per year, which may be split. This is the most relaxed presence requirement of any program in this atlas.
Does it lead to permanent residence?
Permanent residence: The QRP is a parallel status and does not count toward permanent residency. Ordinary permanent residency in Belize requires one continuous year of physical residence and is a separate track.. Citizenship: Not through the QRP. Ordinary naturalisation requires five years of permanent residence..
Verified Sep 7, 2026
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This resource is provided free by Federal Apostille as an educational tool. It is not legal, tax, immigration or financial advice, and no attorney-client relationship is created by using it. Immigration rules, income thresholds, fees and processing times change frequently and often without notice, and consulates apply them differently. Always confirm current requirements with the official government source and the specific consulate that has jurisdiction over your U.S. state of residence before you act. Every figure on this site carries the date we last verified it and a link to the primary source.
