Belize visa and entry requirements

Belize is the CA-4 reset, and that is why people come here

Belize is not part of the CA-4 agreement that ties Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua to one shared 90-day allowance.

• Leaving CA-4 for Belize resets that clock. Come back across at Melchor de Mencos and Guatemala starts you at 90 days again.
• This is legitimate, not a loophole being tolerated - the four countries share an allowance with each other and not with Belize.
• A few days is enough, and Caye Caulker is a more pleasant place to spend them than a border town.

How long you get

• Your passport must be valid at least 3 months beyond arrival. Airlines commonly apply a 6-month test regardless.
• Extensions cost BZ$200 for each further 30 days, arranged at an immigration office before the current stay expires.

If your passport needs a visa

• A valid multiple-entry US or Canadian visa, or a valid Schengen visa, exempts you from needing a Belize visa. This is the route most people on visa-required passports actually use, and it is stated by Belize Immigration itself.
• Otherwise apply in advance. A Belize visa grants 30 days maximum.

The departure tax nobody budgets for

• Leaving by land, or by boat to Guatemala or Mexico, costs BZ$40 or US$20, in cash, at the border.
• It is not in your bus or boat ticket and there is no card machine. Keep the money back deliberately - people arrive at the border having spent their last Belize dollars and it is a genuine problem.
• Leaving by air, it is normally already in the ticket price.

The declaration

• Arriving at Philip Goldson airport you complete an immigration and customs declaration. There is a digital version at , and paper forms are still accepted.