Working in belize

Daver61
You will find Belize protects the jobs here for Belizeans. If you have a highly technical skill that is not held by a Belizean you might have a chance. If a job is able to be done by a person from Belize then you would probably not get a work permit. Also be aware that the average worker makes in a day what we are used to in less than a hour.

In my opinion and experience, Belize is a great pl;ace to retire, or live off of a portable income, but if you need to work maybe not so much.

Hope this helps

Regards Bill

Good Morning, I believe some of the replies are repeated hear-say, and not actual experience. I know several expats who own businesses. Example Kim owns a small store, and had to pay $2600 for a work permit. Eric, a American who works behind the counter, because she could not get a Belizean, makes $40 bzd a day. He had to pay $1600bzd for his work permit. Go figure? I with be going to the ministry of labor myself this coming week, and will post on how it goes. As far as working, it is not all black, and white, and lines do get blurred.

Cochise8933
I usually don’t get involved with the smug remarks of others, but since you started with “Good Morning, I believe some of the replies are repeated hear-say, and not actual experience.” and since the only other reply was mine, well………….. that was personal

Sounds to me like we agree pretty much, except thank you for providing the cost of a work permit (that is the minimum you would pay), which if you worked for 8 hours a day for 5 days a week would take two months to pay for using your figures and simple math. Working in Belize is pretty much black and white, but you are right that the lines do get blurred, and there are situations where someone could work, so it is important to read the actual question and responses. One will probably not get a work permit to do a job that can be done by someone from Belize, which is what I stated in my reply and also that wages are less per day then a tech. would make in an hour in Canada, again using your figures BZ$40.00/day would be US$20.00/day and on a good day with the exchange rate would be CAN$ 14.50/day.,

But yes there are options to work, and this is not “repeated hear-say” but the results of my already doing the research that you propose to do this coming week, so I will look forward to your post and the results of your research, and where I have gone wrong.

Some options to work for example would be;
One could find a job in an existing business, providing you have a required skill that is not held by a Belizean you could probably apply for and obtain an expensive work permit or if they could not fill the position locally. And, I don’t buy that with the high unemployment rate a store owner could not find a Belizean to work, unless again the store sold very specialized merchandise. In fact when you applied for your permit (which as you know would not happen over night in Belize) I would not be surprised if the officer didn’t call their friends one by one to let them know that the job was available and your permit would ultimately be refused.

One could definitely open their own business, but again if the actual work can be performed by a Belizean you would probably not get a work permit to work in your own business, you would have to hire a local and would only be permitted to manage the business.

One could also apply for permanent residency. Once approved you would be free to work in Belize. But first you must live in Belize for one year before you can apply, and then the process to get approval could take up to another two years, I know several Americans that have been waiting at least that long. So if choosing this option you better be able to support yourself for 3 years before you could work.

And, I stand by my closing comment that, “In my opinion and experience, Belize is a great place to retire, or live off of a portable income, but if you NEED to work maybe not so much".

On a less controversial note, good mechanics are hard to find. Mechanics are everywhere, but actually getting your car fixed has been somewhat challenging for us. I would for sure pay someone who would actually fix the car, but getting a work permit may prove to be a challenge.

Good Morning, Kim could not fill the position of store clerk with a Belizean. She had went through several gals, and their is more to the story. Store out in middle of nowhere, slow traffic and long hours.
Their are two contractors in Progresso area, one being a Canadian, and another an US. Both have Belizean workers. Maybe Bill with agree with me on this one? You need to come down; developed some contacts, and get to know the lay of the land. Also like Bill said, and others pay will be substantially less. Example: Good Chinese motorcycle mechanic in Orange Walk $15.00bzd per hour. Last time I took my quad in the states hourly rate was $95US.

you may own a business but you may not work there.  Part of getting by in a third world culture is you always become what the guy in front of you is needing.