New Immigration laws set one-year residency period for children of non-Belizeans who obtain citizenship; end attempts to obtain benefits from discarded Economic Citizenship Program

Published by BBNTEAM at October 14, 2023

Posted: Saturday, October 14, 2023. 9:56 pm CST.

By Aaron Humes: New legislation amending the Belizean Nationality Act seeks to close loopholes related to relationships through which individual obtain Belizean citizenship not lawfully due them.

One instance is non-Belizean parents who become Belizean nationals applying for their children to be recognized as Belizeans as well, some of whom have no other connection to the country. The other is those seeking citizenship through the discarded Belize Economic Citizenship and Investment Program (BECIP) which was abolished by Constitutional amendment in 2001 and through amendments to the Nationality Act in 2014.

Section 13 of the Nationality Act is being amended to provide that “a certificate of registration shall be granted to that child only if the child has resided in Belize for at least one year preceding the date of the application of the applicant parent.” An additional section expressly prohibits nationality for minors qualifying by descent from a Belizean if either parent was not a Belizean citizen at their time of birth, or obtained Belizean nationality thereafter, notwithstanding subsection 1.

Introducing the legislation during Friday’s meeting of the House of Representatives, Prime Minister John Briceño said the Government was trying to regularize a phenomenon observed by the Ministry of Immigration. One can become a Belizean by birth in Belize, by marriage to a Belizean, or registration after first obtaining permanent residency and living continuously in Belize for at least five years. This also applies to children born in Belize including issue from spouses where one or both is not a Belizean.

The scenario the Prime Minister described is as follows: “What happens when one of the non-Belizean parents subsequently marries a Belizean national? Under the Belizean Nationality Act that non-Belizean spouse is entitled to apply for Belizean nationality by marriage. In effect, if a Belizean marries a man or woman, marries a non-Belizean, that person has to be living for one year and then can get nationality. So quite often, that spouse having obtained Belizean nationality, then applies [for] nationality for the minor children, relying on the new acquired citizenship. And in that case, there is no residence required for these minors…”

The Prime Minister further explained that in some cases, a foreigner would marry a Belizean, and would then subsequently file for nationality for their children without the children visiting the country. He clarified that the Act cannot and does not apply to “roots Belizeans” born here who now live elsewhere and have children who would qualify as Belizean by descent.

In the case of the economic citizenship conundrum which was exposed as concealing corrupt practices, the P.M. said that “now we’re probably are maybe on the fourth and fifth generation of economic citizens; people are applying because of an economic citizenship program that was done during the time of their grandfather or even some instances their great grandfather.”

The legislation will prohibit any person from relying on “on economic citizenship relationship to obtain Belize nationality,” defined as “any relationship whether of descent or of marriage which can be traced back directly or indirectly to a person who obtained Belizean nationality by economic citizenship.”

Each Bill has been submitted to the Immigration and National Security Committee of the House for examination, consideration and report.

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