American citizens can stay up to 6 months out of each year on a Tourist Visa by law. That means if you stay for 6 months you are supposed to leave for 6 months before you return. Thats the law but no one actually checks that you leave for 6 months. Many expats live in Jamaica year round on a Tourist Visa but return to the US for at least 30 days every 5 or 6 months. You can get a business visa or work permit for up to one year but both of these are more difficult to attain and require quite a bit of paperwork.

If you are retired or on some form of fixed income it is easier to apply for Permanent Residency.


Read more at these official websites:

Requirements for Entry Into Jamaica:
http://www.congenjamaica-ny.org/visas.htm

US Travel Office:
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1147.html

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00abuse

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I appreciate the insight. Do you know the ramifications if you were to stay more than 6 months out of the year? I'm wondering how they would even check.

Where from in the states are you? We live in Atlanta. I'm 32, my fiancee is 36 and our son is 4.

I saw one of your replies on another thread and liked your idea of establishing a U.S. Corporation as an overseas company in Jamaica and then try and gain a work permit to essentially work for yourself. If you don't mind me asking, what do you do for work? I know that ideally, as you mentioned, it would be easier to earn your income from the U.S. while residing in Jamaica. But of course, that requires being able to find something you can do online/remotely. I know of a few American companies down there such as ACS. But even for a lot of their positions you mush be a Jamaican resident. We have a fixed monthly income that I believe we could live on but the goal is for at least one of us to work so we can earn some income. I am a project manager and it's typically difficult to find 100% remote project mgmt work. I think I would either find a different profession where I can make my income online or by some other means where I physically don't have to be in the U.S. or ultimately gain legal employment in Jamaica.

Is there a local community of expats down there in Jamaica? I guess that would depend on where you live.

I appreciate the response and hopefully we can keep in touch.

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00abuse

Sorry for my delayed reply. I crashed my mini bus and broke my leg. Been laid up awhile but moving around more. I work online managing my own network of websites. It's convenient for me to work from just about anywhere in the world. Setting up the corporation was a hassle but it can happen. There are no instruction as to how to do this and no one in the local government knows what to do either. I literally had to teach people how to do their job in some cases or at least inform them it was their job in the first place. Seems one hand has no idea there is another hand or what its doing.

I understand you can be kicked out for a year for violating the time limits and if you stay a really long time or break a law they can kick you out for 10 years.

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00abuse

I appreciate that info. Do you have to get a special visa to stay 6 months?

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00abuse