Skilled Labour Force

The Belizean Workforce:

    • Diverse and Multilingual population (official – English followed by Spanish and other native languages)
    • Sixty percent of the population is Bilingual (Source: SIB)
    • As of mid-2022, the total population of Belize is 441,471 with a young, vibrant, and quality labour force of 191,728 and an unemployment rate of 5%. (source: SIB)
    • Competitive labour costs, with a minimum wage of BZD $5.00 or USD $2.50 per hour.
    • Belize has nineteen (19) tertiary and 62 secondary educational institutions nationwide, offering technical and vocational training programs through the Institute of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (ITVET). (Source: Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Technology)
    • The government subsidizes industry-driven training programs through the Belize Training and Employment Centre (BTEC), a unit of BELTRAIDE

Belize’s young, diverse, and talented labour force ranges in age from 20 to 34. see Figure 1 and Figure 2 (Source: SIB). For more detailed labour statistics, kindly visit the Statistical Institute of Belize’s (SIB) Website

Figure 1: Bar Chart Representing Labour Force by Age 2022 (Source SIB)
Figure 2: Pie Chart Representing Labour Force by District (Source: SIB)

ONLINE TEMPORARY EMPLOYMENT PERMIT (TEP) APPLICATION

Belize maintains an investor-friendly work permit regime that facilitates the importation of skilled labour during the initial phases of development, complemented by knowledge transfer programs. The initial step in the application process requires employers to establish an account on the online system and subsequently submit temporary employment permit applications on behalf of prospective employees.

 

Who Can Apply for a Temporary Employment Permit

Both Belizean and foreign employers can apply for temporary employment permits for prospective foreign employees. Employers are typically legally registered businesses, but self-employed foreigners may also function as employers.  Only employers are authorized to apply for these permits.

 

1.  Company or Business
      A company or business is defined as one of the following:

        • Limited Liability
        • Sole Owner
        • Partnership
        • Overseas
        • Diplomatic Agencies
        • Not for Profit
        • NGO
        • Educational

 

2.  Self-employed Belizean
      A self-employed Belizean can apply for a temporary employment permit for a foreigner they wish to hire.

 

Documents Required:

To complete your Employer’s profile, you must submit the applicable documents from the list below.

    1. The maximum size of a document is 10MB.
    2. Please make sure all documents are in English. If the original document is not in English, then provide an accompanying English translation.
    3. You can only upload documents with the following extensions: pdf, zip, png, jpg, and jpeg

 

Company/Business

    1. Articles of Association
    2. Memorandum of Association
    3. Certificate of Good Standing
    4. Certificate of Registration
    5. Trade License (if operating within a city or town)
    6. Business Plan (New businesses)
    7. Local Bank Statement (6 months transactions for new businesses)
    8. Income Tax Certificate (Tax Identification Number TIN #)

 

Self-Employed Foreigner

    1. Business Plan
    2. Local Bank Statement (6 months transactions)
    3. Land Title/Lease
    4. Updated Land payment receipt
    5. Original Marriage Certificate
    6. Declaration witness by a Commissioner of the Supreme Court (Common Law relationship
    7. Birth Certificate of each child
    8. Proof of Citizenship of Spouse (Birth Certificate/Permanent Residence/Nationality)

 

Please Note:

The Ministry of Rural Transformation, Community Development, Labour, and Local Government’s Employment Unit facilitates connections between employers and job seekers. The Employment Services System (ESS), a computerized system, captures employer vacancy information and matches it with job seeker education, experience, and skills to generate candidate lists for specific jobs. The ESS also generates statistics and predefined reports, categorized by demographics, geographic location, industry, and job type.

Ministry of Rural Transformation, Community Development, Labour, and Local Government

#5163 University Blvd

City of Belmopan

501-822-2679

info@labour.gov.bz

Download Work Permit Application
Click Here for ESS
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