• About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms
  • Unsubscribe
No Result
View All Result
Live and Invest Overseas
FREE REPORT
BEST PLACES TO RETIRE
*No spam: We will NEVER give your email address to anyone else.
  • HOME
  • COUNTRIES
    • Top Destinations
      • Portugal
      • Panama
      • Belize
      • France
      • Colombia
      • Dominican Republic
      • Thailand
      • Mexico
      • Spain
      • Argentina
    • Browse All Countries
    • Best For
      • Retire Overseas Index
      • Health Care
      • Cost of Living
      • Investing in Real Estate
      • Editor’s Picks For Retirement
      • Establishing Residency
      • Starting an Online Business
      • Single Women
      • Playing Golf
  • BUDGETS
    • Super Cheap ($)
      • Cuenca, Ecuador
      • Chiang Mai, Thailand
      • The Philippines
      • Las Tablas, Panama
      • Granada, Nicaragua
    • Cheap ($$)
      • Algarve, Portugal
      • Medellin, Colombia
      • Boquete, Panama
      • Carcassone, France
      • Buenos Aires, Argentina
    • Affordable ($$$)
      • Abruzzo, Italy
      • Barcelona, Spain
      • Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic
      • Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
      • Costa de Oro, Uruguay
    • Luxury On A Budget ($$$$)
      • Ambergris Caye, Belize
      • Paris, France
      • Panama City Beach Area
  • Real Estate
  • ARCHIVES
    • Living & Retiring Overseas
    • Raising A Family Abroad
    • Foreign Residency & Citizenship
    • Offshore Diversification
    • Our Latest On Coronavirus ⚠️
  • Making Money
    • International Real Estate
    • Banking
    • Employment
    • Investing
  • CONFERENCES
  • BOOKSTORE
Live and Invest Overseas
  • HOME
  • COUNTRIES
    • Top Destinations
      • Portugal
      • Panama
      • Belize
      • France
      • Colombia
      • Dominican Republic
      • Thailand
      • Mexico
      • Spain
      • Argentina
    • Browse All Countries
    • Best For
      • Retire Overseas Index
      • Health Care
      • Cost of Living
      • Investing in Real Estate
      • Editor’s Picks For Retirement
      • Establishing Residency
      • Starting an Online Business
      • Single Women
      • Playing Golf
  • BUDGETS
    • Super Cheap ($)
      • Cuenca, Ecuador
      • Chiang Mai, Thailand
      • The Philippines
      • Las Tablas, Panama
      • Granada, Nicaragua
    • Cheap ($$)
      • Algarve, Portugal
      • Medellin, Colombia
      • Boquete, Panama
      • Carcassone, France
      • Buenos Aires, Argentina
    • Affordable ($$$)
      • Abruzzo, Italy
      • Barcelona, Spain
      • Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic
      • Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
      • Costa de Oro, Uruguay
    • Luxury On A Budget ($$$$)
      • Ambergris Caye, Belize
      • Paris, France
      • Panama City Beach Area
  • Real Estate
  • ARCHIVES
    • Living & Retiring Overseas
    • Raising A Family Abroad
    • Foreign Residency & Citizenship
    • Offshore Diversification
    • Our Latest On Coronavirus ⚠️
  • Making Money
    • International Real Estate
    • Banking
    • Employment
    • Investing
  • CONFERENCES
  • BOOKSTORE
No Result
View All Result
Live and Invest Overseas
No Result
View All Result
Home How to

Assessing Your Best Overseas Residency Options

Extraordinary Times Make This An Urgent Agenda

Lief Simon by Lief Simon
Mar 01, 2022
in How to, Offshore
0
Sunset in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Adobe Stock/Alonso Reyes

252
SHARES
3.4k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

If you haven’t already established residency in another country, I’m writing today to urge you to consider the idea now.

We’re living through extraordinary times. More than ever before, it’s critical that you have a backup plan…

And that plan should include the right to reside full time and indefinitely in another country if and when you decide you want or need to.

If you’re interested in becoming a resident of another country because you actually want to live in that country, both the why and the where are obvious… and the how and the how much aren’t discriminating factors but administrative practicalities to work through.

If, however, you’re looking to establish residency overseas as an escape hatch so that, should things go really sideways in whichever country you currently call home, you could pack up and show up, residency card in your pocket, ready to settle in, then the where is a factor of your personal preferences (where do you enjoy spending time?) weighed against the how and how much particulars.

If you’re looking for a bolt-hole Plan B residency, easy and cheap become important.

In this context, Belize, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, and Panama stand out as top choices.

Panama, for example, offers more than a dozen residency visa options, including a competitive pensionado option for retirees and a new Golden Visa-type option.

Belize offers two good choices for how to establish residency in this country—its Qualified Retired Person (QRP) program, which is another competitive retiree visa, and what I refer to as its “just show up” program.

For the latter, you enter the country on a tourist visa then renew that tourist visa every month for a year. At the end of the 12 months, you’re a full-fledged resident. It doesn’t get easier than that, and the only cost is the monthly tourist visa renewal of US$100.

You don’t need an attorney, you don’t need to show any minimum income, and you don’t need to make any lump-sum investment. You do, though, need to remain physically present in Belize that entire first year, while you’re renewing your tourist status month-to-month.

Every option has its pluses and its minuses… meaning you’ve got to do your homework.

Here are eight questions to ask about any residency visa you’re considering, to help you make an apples-to-apples comparison of your best choices:

1: Must you use an attorney to process the application?

In Panama (where the attorneys made the law), the answer is yes. This adds not insignificantly to the cost. In most countries, an attorney is not required. You can process your application yourself if you’d like. We’ve known many who’ve handled their own residency applications, but we don’t usually recommend it, especially if you aren’t fluent in the local language.

2: What are the government and other fees?

These can vary from a low of about US$500 (in Colombia) to a high of about US$2,000 (in Belize and Panama). These are ballpark figures. The fees, of course, vary depending on the specific visa you’re applying for.

3: What will your attorney charge you if you use one?

The attorney fees are on top of the government fees and can double the overall cost of the exercise. Again, though, in most countries, you can keep this cost to zero if you’re up for the adventure of managing the process yourself.

Start Your New Life Today, Overseas

A world full of fun, adventure, and profit awaits! Sign up for our free daily e-letter, Overseas Opportunity Letter, and we'll send you a FREE report on the 10 Best Places To Retire In Style Overseas Today

4: What are the physical presence requirements?

I mentioned that, if you pursue the “just show up” option in Belize, you’ll have to invest a full year living in that country to qualify. In Colombia you need to visit the country once every six months if you have a temporary residency permit and once every two years if you have permanent residency. Panama wants you to stop by at least once Every two years after you’ve become a resident, even if only for a day or two. Etc.

5: Does the residency you’re considering lead to citizenship?

This may or may not be an agenda for you, but, if it is, understand the implications of the visa track you’re pursuing from the start. Some pensionado visas do not lead to citizenship.

6: Among pensionado visa programs, a key factor is the required minimum monthly income amount.

Ecuador is one of the lowest (at US$425); Belize is one of the highest (at US$2,000). Some countries that offer pensionado programs consider only pension or Social Security income. Others (Belize, for example) are willing to look at any reliable income stream. Belize, in fact, doesn’t even need to see a reliable income stream. Just show Belize that you’ve got US$24,000 (US$2,000 per month), and you’ve met the income requirement for the first year.

7: Among investor visa programs, the capital requirement is key, as well as where you’re required to put that capital.

Must you invest in a bond? A business? A piece of real estate? Or is the lump-sum “investment” really just a gift to the government?

Finally, here’s the single most important thing to understand about your options for establishing residency in another country…

Residency options, rules, requirements, restrictions, costs, and procedures change. Last year, for example, big-deal changes were made to Panama’s Friendly Nations visa program… and 2022 has seen important changes to Portugal’s Golden Visa program.

When you find a residency visa program that works for you, act on it.

Lief Simon
Editor, Offshore Living Letter

Tags: 'Belize''Ecuador'Colombiainvestor visa programsMove abroadOverseas Residency optionsPanamapensionado visa programsplan bQRPQualified Retired Personsecond residencyvisa options
Share110Tweet59
Previous Post

Finding Our Dream Life Overseas In Cascais, Portugal

Next Post

Thailand And Laos Are Great Expat Destinations, But Which One Is For You?

Lief Simon

Lief Simon

Lief Simon has lived and worked on five continents and traveled to more than 60 countries. In his long career as a global property investor, Lief has also managed multimillion-dollar portfolios of rental properties, for others and for himself. He offers advice on international diversification in his twice-weekly Offshore Living Letter and monthly Simon Letter dispatches.

Related Posts

Adobe Stock/dudlajzov
Lifestyle

My Biggest Regret After Living In Bellapais, Northern Cyprus

by Robin Davie
June 21, 2022
0

Above Kyrenia, Northern Cyprus's main tourist town, perched in the foothills of the Kyrenia Mountain Range, is the unbelievably beautiful...

Read more
Quaint colorful houses of the Alsatian city of Colmar, France

How To Tell If You’ve Found Your Ideal Home Overseas

June 14, 2022
Serene street in Colonial Zone of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

8 Things You Need To Know About Bank Financing Overseas

June 13, 2022
General view of apartments for rent in Portimao, Algarve, Portugal

The Best Property Deals To Expand Your Portfolio Offshore

June 10, 2022
Street in small town in Umbria Italy in summer

The Secret To Being Happy In Your New Life Overseas

June 5, 2022
Beautiful panorama over the cityscape of Camara de Lobos in Madeira island, Portugal

Keep Your Money From The IRS With Overseas Real Estate

May 15, 2022
Scenic view of traditional cycladic houses on small street with flowers in foreground, Oia village, Santorini, Greece.

Questions You Must Ask Before Buying A Home Overseas

May 12, 2022
Next Post
Clear water beach in Thailand to the left and Wat Xieng Thong (Golden City Temple) in Luang Prabang, Laos to the right.

Thailand And Laos Are Great Expat Destinations, But Which One Is For You?

Start Your New Life Today, Overseas

A world full of fun, adventure, and profit awaits! Sign up for our free daily e-letter, Overseas Opportunity Letter, and we’ll send you a FREE report on the 10 Best Places To Retire In Style Overseas Today.







LIOS Resources


  • New To LIOS
  • Ask An Expert
  • Media Center
  • Contact Us
  • FAQs

Quick Links


  • Best Places To Live
  • Best Places To Retire
  • Finding A Job Overseas
  • Real Estate

Sign up for our free daily e-letter, Overseas Opportunity Letter, and get your FREE report: The 10 Best Places To Retire Overseas In 2022

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms
  • Unsubscribe

© 2008-2021 - Live and Invest Overseas - All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Countries
  • Budgets
  • Archives
  • News
  • Events
  • Bookstore
  • Newsletters
  • About Us
  • Members Area
  • Contact Us

© 2008-2021 - Live and Invest Overseas - All Rights Reserved.

Sign up for FREE and learn how to live the good life on a modest budget, find bargain property, and more. Plus, check out our free report on the 10 BEST PLACES TO RETIRE.

RETIRE OVERSEAS AND LIVE LIKE ROYALTY

The World’s Best Places To Be In 2022?

Discover Them Here…