Belize Moves to Match Immigration with Labor Needs

Can Belize attract foreign workers and investors without losing control of its immigration priorities? That’s the balance the government says it wants to strike through a proposed amendment to the Immigration Act. The legislation would give the Labor Commissioner a seat on the Visa Vetting Committee, ensuring labor shortages in agriculture and other sectors influence visa approvals. It would also establish an investor residence program, offering qualifying foreigners a new pathway to live in Belize in exchange for investment. Minister of Immigration and Labor Kareem Musa breaks down the proposal and what it could mean for the country’s workforce, economy and immigration system.

 

Kareem Musa, Minister of Immigration and Labor

“The Immigration amendment bill has several objectives, one of which is to include the Labor Commissioner as a member of the Visa Vetting Committee because currently she does not sit on that committee and a lot of the factors and considerations that are deliberated at this committee are whether or not are the individual seeking visas are going to be applying likewise for labor permits and so those two things are interconnected. We are also under the Immigration amendment bill, Madam Speaker, seeking to allow the Director to issue Temporary Employment Visas to for three particular industries, mainly the agriculture-agrobusiness sector, construction and hospitality industries because we find that these are particular areas or sectors that have significant labor shortages, of course the consideration will always be that we find Belizeans to fill the vacant posts. This bill seeks to introduce an investor permit for investor residency. As you know, Belize is competing in an increasingly global market for capital, talent, innovation and entrepreneurship and a well structured residency by investment program would give Belize another tool to attract qualified investors who can establish businesses, support development, create employment and contribute meaningfully to our economy.”

 

Musa points to the example of Panama’s permanent residency program which has generated over a quarter billion dollars in new investment since 2020. 

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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