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Svogelb
  6/10/2017 12:45 EST

Looking to move to Belize with my husband and 2 dogs. We are planning a visit in the next couple of weeks to explore the area a bit more. My husband is retired and interested in changing his Citizenship. Any help would be appreciated, especially the upsides/downsides to changing citizenship. You don't know what you don't know, right?

terrific
  6/10/2017 17:30 EST

Well the changing citizenship is a long process first he will have to reside in Belize for 12 months Extending his 30 day visa every month $25 us first 6 months, then $50 every month after that. He only allowed 14 days total outside of country in that time.
Now he can apply for residency fills in all forms gets police checks and medical checks and puts in Paperwork. now he waits still returning to Immigration each month with his $50. At this stage they are more relaxed with traveling out of country but do like yo to keep the monthly visits they do not appreciate the coming and going that precludes the monthly fee, so if your date is the 17th and you go away the 8th coming back the 15th dispite the Free 30 day visa you will get at customs they will question things like do you REALLY want residency, if you don't turn up at immigration until 30 days after the 15th.
The backlog for residency applicants with papers in is huge most waiting 2 plus years. Once the decision is forthcoming and you pay the requisite fees you can stop the monthly Immigration trip and come and go as you please.
Now you start the time period before you can apply for citizenship. This is written in the rues as 5 years residency before you apply for citizenship. They do not count the 3 4 or however many years it has taken to get the residency. After the 5 years as resident the paperwork can be submitted for citizenship don't know how long that takes or what hoops have to jumped through. but at Belize speed I doubt very much one can do the whole process start to finish in less than 10 years.
Good luck I won't be going this route as I am already retirement age now so Do not want to waste my golden years in Belize red tape. Will go QRP so i can come and go as i please and I can avoid the Immigration office monthly misery.

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bradinbelize
  6/13/2017 06:36 EST

What is your point to change CITIZENSHIP? What is your husbands goal with this? Unless you are a criminal or have a disgust for America to just a great extent that YOU NEVER WANT TO COME BACK (and some people will say that, then 10 years later they realize they made a horrible mistake and CAN'T COME BACK), it's then to late. Only a fe thousand people have ever renounced citizenship in the US since our country began (although apron. 70% that have done it, did it during the Obama administration). If you live out of the country for 9+ months you get the first $101,000 USD tax free, you can get ex-pat health insurance. Get RESIDENCY in Belize if you like, get ANOTHER passport in addition to your US passport (via DUAL citizenship, which is easy in some countries), but it is costly, expensive and time consuming, so you really should have a very good reason - otherwise, move where you want and enjoy. A US passport is the "Gold Ticket" worldwide so you should think long and hard before getting rid of it. Do residency if you like (person above gave you all of the basics and approx. timelines) and maybe that's worth it. But you can just move to Belize, enjoy and retire (or get a work permit, which takes about a year), residency and as long as you are out of the US for 9+ months annually, you can avoid taxes (assuming a max of $101,00 USD annual income and you don't own property, etc. in the US after that). It's a much bigger deal and lifelong repercussion renouncing citizenship (and let's say someone in his family dies and he can't come back for the funeral or can't come back to see a loved one on their death bed - does he really want that? Options are nice and this is the biggest option you will EVER make in your life.

phantone
  6/14/2017 10:55 EST

There is a difference between changing ones citizenship and adding another. The former is pretty permanent and the latter may be undesireable. You can however, get permanent residency and have the best of both worlds. Citenship, when traveling, is not always as simple as one would think. If you are injured abroad, and require medical services not available whereever you are injured, the protocol is to send you to the nearest country in which you are a citizen. So if traveling in sourther Mexico and you are involved in a car accident. You need life saving surgery, they ship you to Belize as a citizen there. The state run hospitals in Belize are not where I would want to take a major, life saving surgery. Trust me you would'nt want to either. (There are private hospitals there that are perfectly fine . . . . ) I am not trying to dissuade you just merely hoping you will consider, what you probably haven't considered. Changing citizenship is even more dire. Imagine having to seek permission to enter the USA. Get a visa. If you leave something you love in the USA and change citizenship, you may be saying good-bye forever to that thing or person.

Check into Belize's retirement program. If you qualify, age, income, etc.... that is the way to GO! Enjoy.

I am a dual citizen having obtained my Citizenhip in Belize through naturalization. That means I married a local girl and had a few pups. ;-)

Svogelb
  6/19/2017 12:02 EST

Thank you for the information. My husband has actually retired, so I believe he would qualify for the QRP program. However, I don't think the QRP program will allow him to avoid US taxes. Do you know if there is a website that details the tax impact of being a QRP versus actual citizenship?

Svogelb
  6/19/2017 12:07 EST

Thanks for the info and congrats on the wife an pups. :-)
So, it sounds like the QRP program, which he would qualify for, would protect the first $101K from taxes? Is that correct? What about if you keep a property in the US, will that disqualify you from having to pay US taxes?

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Svogelb
  6/19/2017 12:16 EST

He has many reasons. He has always loved the culture. During his first career, he worked for an oil company and was stationed overseas and fell in love with the culture. He'd love to move to Costa Rica, but I don't speak Spanish and was more attracted to Belize because of its proximity to the US and English speaking country. Based on your reply, it sounds like if we maintain a property in the US, then the income wouldn't be protected from US taxes. Would it change things if I had a property in the US and he did not. I don't want to give up my citizenship, (for many of the reasons that you cited), but I am not sure the impact that it would have on him obtaining citizenship. Any idea? Do you know of a good lawyer that could walk us through the process and detail the impact of the decisions to guide us in the right direction?

phantone
  6/19/2017 12:18 EST

GBU - Below is a copy and paste from www.irs.gov. Basically, under IRC 61 you are taxed on your world wide income, however derived. (That is a quote.) However, as you will see below you may exclude a substantial amount of income earned while abroad. Still have to file, but as of 2015 the amount was over US100,000.00. The amount is currently over $105,000.000. If taxes are deducted automatically you should get it all back the following tax year. You must meet the requirements detailed on the IRS website. For example; you must be outside of the US for at least a proscribed amount of days. (I think it is currently 340 days of the year. This so you can visit and not lose the exclusion.) Also under the BRP (Belize Retirement Program) you will pay no local income taxes . . . .hope this helps.



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Foreign Earned Income Exclusion

If you meet certain requirements, you may qualify for the foreign earned income and foreign housing exclusions and the foreign housing deduction.
You can use the IRS’s Interactive Tax Assistant tool to help determine whether income earned in a foreign country is eligible to be excluded from income reported on your U.S. federal income tax return.

If you are a U.S. citizen or a resident alien of the United States and you live abroad, you are taxed on your worldwide income. However, you may qualify to exclude from income up to an amount of your foreign earnings that is adjusted annually for inflation ($92,900 for 2011, $95,100 for 2012, $97,600 for 2013, $99,200 for 2014 and $100,800 for 2015). In addition, you can exclude or deduct certain foreign housing amounts.

You may also be entitled to exclude from income the value of meals and lodging provided to you by your employer. Refer to Exclusion of Meals and Lodging in Publication 54, Tax Guide for U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad, and Publication 15-B, Employer's Tax Guide to Fringe Benefits for more information.

phantone
  6/19/2017 12:22 EST

I forgot to mention that I lived in Belize for several years before becoming a citizen and I paid a total of ZERO income tax to the US Gov't. I filed every year I was there . . . . FYI I hold a masters degree in Federal Income Taxation . . . . LL.M. taxation. But I am not a tax practitioner. Please consult your own attorney concerning legal advice or make yourself familiar with the IRS website. Lots of info there.....

phantone
  6/19/2017 13:26 EST

I am unaware that owning property in the US affects in any way, the fact that you are outside of the US for at least 340 days in a given tax year. I collected rent from the US in Belize before selling those assets, I reported that income as being earned inside the US and paid the appropriate tax when due. I reported my income earned, practicing US law in Belize, each year an paid zero tax because the amount was less than the allowable exclusion under foreign earned income. Easy peezy.

phantone
  6/19/2017 13:28 EST

I am unaware that owning property in the US affects in any way, the fact that you are outside of the US for at least 340 days in a given tax year. I collected rent from the US in Belize before selling those assets, I reported that income as being earned inside the US and paid the appropriate tax when due. I reported my income earned, practicing US law in Belize, each year an paid zero tax because the amount was less than the allowable exclusion under foreign earned income. Easy peezy.

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phantone
  6/19/2017 13:29 EST

I am unaware that owning property in the US affects in any way, the fact that you are outside of the US for at least 340 days in a given tax year. I collected rent from the US in Belize before selling those assets, I reported that income as being earned inside the US and paid the appropriate tax when due. I reported my income earned, practicing US law in Belize, each year an paid zero tax because the amount was less than the allowable exclusion under foreign earned income. Easy peezy.

Svogelb
  6/21/2017 19:38 EST

Thanks for the advice. I'm a CPA, but tax was never my specialty. It's so complicated and you don't know what you don't know. Of course, it doesn't help that the tax laws are always changing. We will keep digging into it, and in the meantime plan a trip to explore the area some more. I would like to live in a community of fellow ex-pats. Advice on that?

phantone
  6/22/2017 09:55 EST

There are primarily five expat centers in Belize. San Pedro, San Ignacio, Belize City, Placencia and Corazol, I am familiar with all but the last. Expats are everywhere in Belize, with the "undesireables" somehow managing to find there way south and central. Punta Gorda and Orangewalk are towns that are responsible for phrases like;. "Nice places to visit, but I would'nt want to live there". I found the largest concentrations nearer to the sea not surprisingly. I mean, why move to the Caribbean and not live near it? First three years in by the sea. San Ignacio is now home. Though we do have a spot out in San Pedro . . . .

bradinbelize
  6/22/2017 11:09 EST

SVogel. You're a CPA? Read the IRS rules. Unless your husband is trying to protect many millions of dollars, why would he give up his citizenship? Very simple.

1) Everything owned in the US is taxed, pure and simple - no way around that unless you sell all US assets.

2) All income made worldwide is taxed UNLESS you reside outside of the US for 330+ days and make under $101,000 USD annually (this number changes and increases slightly each year). First $101,000 is tax-free

So, if he makes the income OUTSIDE OF THE US, then the first $101,000 is tax exempt (Assuming he is living AND earning that income outside of the US and spends at least the 330+ days outside of the US)

So, the simple questions are these:

1) Doe's he make more than $101,000 annually (not including Social Security and gov't disability, etc. - ACTUAL INCOME

2) any gov't payment from the US gov't is going to be taxed (no way around that)

3) google FATCA - Obama's long-armed grabbing hand to grab everything from all Americans worldwide.

4) I am not a CPA, just a business person that looks these things up, ask a lot of questions and looks after my business interest, but have learned a great deal. If you want to send me a private message and just outline your income and basic info, I will give you my thoughts for what they are worth but giving up US citizenship isn't going to help you one bit (and will make your life much harder in the long run) unless you are willing to sell and liquidate EVERYTHING in the US, own nothing in the US and give up any and all gov't pensions, social security, etc. - Maybe you have many millions and can do this - if so, congrats and give up the citizenship and enjoy your life anywhere in the world, but if that is the case go to Leichtenstein or Switzerland where can live like a king and have the best of everything.

Something in your situation doesn't seem to add up?

3)

ixchelha
  6/23/2017 15:05 EST

Hi Phantone

I can't agree with your view that undesirables go to Punta Gorda or the idea that "PG is a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there". I lived in PG.

I knew a lot of great people in PG and I lived close by for 7 years. Relocation choice really does come down to individual preference. If you want a watered down rerun of life wherever you came from don't go to PG/Toledo.

If you still enjoy adventure, innovation and freedom go south.

bobbyveee
  6/23/2017 17:43 EST

And want rain and humidity. No thx

5allan1
  6/23/2017 18:15 EST

Agreed. Toledo district gets 200 mm rain/year.
Last time I visited there it smelled like slow death- malaria, amebic dysentery, and nightmares. It was the end of the line alright. Not suitable for most retirees.

DDR
  6/28/2017 04:31 EST

When I read The US govt charges one US$2,350 to renounce citizenship? They the USgovt has got to be crazy.

The IRS even taxed Boris Johnson (London mayor) who lived in the US a few months as a toddler.

The US govt is nuts and broke.
That makes them dangerous ;)

Svogelb
  6/29/2017 16:02 EST

Taxes in the country are crazy - you work your hard your whole life, creating a business and jobs for the economy, pay taxes and sell the business and then give half to Uncle Sam.
Anyway - it's kind of comical reading some of the posts on this forum. Some people seem so angry and hostile. I just don't understand why. People are just asking for advice and people get down right nasty. Not just this blog but others on the forum. What's the big deal.

jerric
  6/29/2017 16:35 EST

Many are struggling and their hardships come out in negative ways. But any advice given for free is worth exactly what you paid for it, so always be wary and take advice with a grain of salt

jerric
  6/29/2017 16:35 EST

Many are struggling and their hardships come out in negative ways. But any advice given for free is worth exactly what you paid for it, so always be wary and take advice with a grain of salt

bradinbelize
  7/20/2017 09:12 EST

I will try to clarify based on a new comment of yours.

1) If you are outside the US for a certain number of days for the TAX YEAR (calendar year, you are exempt from EARNED income. Currently numbers are around 335+ days a year and the maximum income that can be earned tax free is $101,000 (check the IRS rules, as this changes each year).

2) ANYTHING you own IN THE US (your house, cars, etc.) will be taxed as it is now - no way around that except to sell everything. liquidate and take your money with you (not a great plan), or leave money in your 401K or retirement fund (again, it is then subject to those particular rules).

Money that you put in the bank in Belize or elsewhere is subject to FATCA as well.

There are links on this forum webpage to the LEFT NAVIGATION BAR that will give you FATCA basics.
If you contact me through a PM, I would be happy to discuss options with you based on your own particular situation.

jlydia
  7/21/2017 00:34 EST

What are the positives and negatives of getting a visa for a year and after that what do u have to do to stay in the country?

DDR
  7/21/2017 11:49 EST

Suriname-their president is wanted for smuggling,one of his relatives in in US prison for smuggling.They won't extradite to US.

Either will Guyana.If you want heat and humidity goto Miami : )

Lahry
  4/30/2018 07:50 EST

QRP?

Lahry
  4/30/2018 07:50 EST

QRP?

bobbyveee
  4/30/2018 17:29 EST

What are you wanting to know?

jlydia
  4/30/2018 20:42 EST

Qualified Retirement Program
Google it for more info.

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