My Belize Citizenship Application is Off to Belmopan!

Early this year, I buckled down and started my Belize Citizenship Application.  In earnest.  I’ve had a few false starts over the years….filling out one form or applying for my police record but I never gave it my all.

Starting my Citizenship process, For REAL This Time:  Post on March 11

And now  – the inch-thick packet of papers is off to its final destination – the capital of Belize and the head immigration office in Belmopan!

My exams and paperwork from the Police and The Polyclinic:  July 2022

And I have the coolest and most comprehensive receipt (as well as a photocopy of the whole thing for my own peace of mind) – so I want to share it with you. I might get this framed.

I put some leaves over information that is not mine.  I don’t want to share anyone’s name without their permission.

Let me pause, quickly, to answer the questions that I always get from my non-Belizean readers:  What?!  You are renouncing US citizenship?  No.  This will be dual citizenship.  Do you get big tax advantages?  No.  This has nothing to do with taxes.  Soooo…why are you getting Belize Citizenship?

I love this country, and it is my home.  I have no residence in the US, I have no plans to return there permanently (though you never know what happens)  Belize is my full-time residence and has been for over 15 years.  I would like to vote here.

An additional benefit that someone reminded me of:  if accepted (in 1-8 months I was told 🙂 ) I will be part of CARICOM – and can work and travel freely throughout the CARICOM region.

Oh and…did Jeff apply to?  No, not yet, though he has been a resident of Belize longer than I have.  (I got permanent residency in 2010).  He was lollygagging…

(I don’t have any plans to move to Barbados or Suriname but it’s nice to have those options?)

So…all the boxes are ticked.  Additional paperwork needed to be added (bank statements, land certificates), and plenty of Justice of the Peace stamps were acquired.  (I think I’ve visited immigration 7 or 8 times over the last few weeks)

Immigration couldn’t have been nicer or more helpful.  This is not the immigration department I remember from my residency days.  There was never a line – ever.  An immigration delight.

The application is on its way.  HOORAY!

You can read more information about moving to Belize and life in Belize in my Expat Series