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Obtaining Residency In Honduras
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On
September 3, 1991 the Honduran National Congress passed a law
permitting retired and income resident immigration into Honduras.
This law, set up to encourage such immigration, allows specific
privileges allowing personal effects, household items and a vehicle
to enter the country without taxation. These residency laws are
administered through the Honduran Institute of Tourism, all other
residencies and visas are governed by other government ministries
such as the Direccion General de Poblacion y Politica de Migratoria
and the Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores.
Definition: There are two categories
of residents:
1. Retired resident (residente pensionado)
2.
Income resident (residente rentistas)
• Retired resident is
exactly that, a person living on a retirement income.
• Income
resident lives on an income from another country or investments in
Honduras.
Honduran nationals may also apply for the benefits
of this law if they retired from an international institution,
foreign government or international organization in the private
sector. They must have resided outside the country for no fewer than
ten years.
Submitting paperwork:
It is
recommended your paperwork and requests be submitted to the Miami
Consulate of Honduras, 300 Sevilla Ave. Suite 201, Coral Gables,
Florida 33134, Telephone (305) 447-8927. It would, of course, seem
logical to send the paperwork to the Honduras Embassy, 3007 Tilden
Street, NW, Washington, DC 20008, telephone (202) 966-7702. But past
applicants have indicated their charges are higher, the service is
slow and  paperwork
gets lost. However if you live in another part of the country it
would be best to check with your nearest Honduran Consulate and see
if they can handle it. Use only the major consulates (Consulates
General) such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and so
forth.
Specific paperwork or red tape required:
A cover letter requesting residency as a retired resident
or income resident. This letter needs to explain your circumstances
and desire for residency.
• Secure the application “Solicitud de Ingreso como
Inmigrante a la Republica de Honduras” from either the Institute of
Tourism in Honduras or Honduran Consulate. When completed the
application must be accompanied by a 10 lempira stamp, two $50 US
stamps and a consular seal. The foregoing fees are subject to
change
• Three passport sized photos (2”X 2”) of yourself and
each of your dependents. These need to be submitted with the
application.
• Also secure the form from the Institute of
Tourism that states you are not a member of the Communist Party and
will respect Honduran laws. This form must be stamped by the Consul.
Lacking the form you can just write this information on paper and
make one copy.
• Submit your birth certificate and two
copies along with a Spanish translation. This also must have a
consular form authenticating the certificate. The birth certificates
must also be submitted for spouses and all dependents accompanying
you.
• A form provided and stamped by the Consul verifying
your papers conforms with Honduran immigration law.
• A copy
of your marriage certificate if you are married and your spouse is
also applying for residency. If the certificate is in a language
other than English, it must be translated into Spanish. The Consul
will need to authenticate the certificate, add a $50 stamp and the
consular seal.
• A letter and one copy from your medical
doctor declaring that you are in generally good health. Specifically
they wish to know that you do not have any contagious or infectious
diseases like AIDS or tuberculosis. This letter must also be
translated, have a $50 stamp attached and the consular seal as well
as being notarized by the Consulate.
• A letter and one copy
from your local police department verifying you have lived there for
at least six months and have no criminal record. This letter must be
no more than six months old at the time of approval. When submitted
the letter must be in a sealed envelope This letter must also be
translated, have a $50 stamp attached and the consular seal.
• Work contract or a letter and one copy from the Social
Security Administration, your retirement plan or both verifying you
will receive at least $600 every month for life. This must also be
translated into Spanish, have a 10 lempiras stamp and a $50 fee.
This document must also be notarized at the Consulate.
• A
valid passport.
The originals and copies must be submitted as
indicated.
When the paperwork is completed:
Following this paperwork the Consular's Office will
require a short interview. Specifically they will ask you to
complete three other forms asking personal details and the name and
address of your Honduran lawyer. Often this additional paper work
can be done by mail. You will sign a promise to convert $600 into
lempiras every month of your stay in Honduras and stay a minimum of
four months out of every year. A copy of your Honduran bank
statement proving the money exchange must be sent to the Honduran
Institute of Tourism. They are required to file and keep track of
the forms. The Consulate will usually require an appointment for the
interview. If all the paperwork is in order, a six (6) months visa
is issued and stamped in your passport.
Paperwork in Honduras:
Once all the
paperwork is done your Honduran lawyer submits the package to the
Institute of Tourism. The Institute will evaluate and approve or
deny the application in 15 to 20 days. However, be forewarned, if
you are missing so much as a signature, stamp or seal the entire
package will be returned.
Final approval
: When you get
approval of your residency you will receive an ID card valid for two
years. It will be issued by the Direccion General de Poblacion y
Politica de Migratoria. With this card you are free to come an go as
you please. Remembering however you must live in Honduras for a
cumulative total of four months per year, don't cause any trouble.
Renewal of your residency is automatic, but you must submit
application each time to the Institute of Tourism and documentation
from the Direccion General de Poblacion y Politica
Migratoria.
Income residents (residente rentista):
The procedures as indicated above also apply to income
residents (residente rentista). The difference is that your monthly
income must be $1000 and you must promise to exchange this amount
every month you are in Honduras with a minimum stay of four months.
The government is not concerned with how you arrive at this $1000,
it may come from rental property in your country of origin, a
business you own or have an interest, stocks, bonds or whatever. It
is necessary that your foreign bank verify the income is regular and
meets the basic minimum.
Investment alternative:
An
alternative is to invest $50,000 in Honduras. This investment could
be in industry, agriculture, farming, crafts, tourism or another
business approved by the Institute of Tourism. Should you invest
this amount you will be exempt from spending four months of every
year in the country in order to maintain your residency.
No age limit: There is no age limit
for retired or income residents, nor is there restriction on the
number of dependents. Your income from outside of Honduras is not
taxed.
Employment: You
will not be allowed to work for someone else in Honduras. But you
can start your own business, do consulting, work for the government
or autonomous educational institution, or for an educational or  health organization. However income
from these sources will be taxed.
Fees: The Institute of Tourism does
not set the fees the consulate offices can charge for authenticating
your documents or those $25 stamps. Because of this you may see a
difference between what you and someone else has paid. New York
Consulate charges between $500 and $600 and the Miami $550 for
processing the paperwork.
Lawyer must submit paperwork: It is
required that your paperwork be personally submitted by a Honduran
lawyer to the Tegucigalpa office of the Institute of Tourism. You,
unfortunately cannot do it yourself. Seems like they have built in a
source of income in this application process. Present fees to the
lawyers run from $450 to $600 upwards to $1500, this is in addition
to all the authenticating and stamps you have paid for in processing
the paper work. Even though you may plan to live outside of
Tegucigalpa I would recommend you have a lawyer in Tegucigalpa
process your paperwork. This might be better than depending on a
lawyer from another part of the country to make a trip there solely
on your behalf.
Allow yourself sufficient time:
This
is a lot of red tape, all I can suggest is to exercise patience,
begin your application process at least six months before you
leave your country. Get all your paperwork authenticated, stamped
and rubber stamped by the consulate before you leave. Then take it
to your Honduran lawyer for final processing when you arrive in
Honduras.
Final approval is made in
Honduras: It is usually not possible to get final
approval of your resident status before you come to Honduras. This
final process must be done by your lawyer in Tegucigalpa. However it
will save you a lot of agony if you complete the requirements as
outlined above before you leave.
Requirements after obtaining residency:
All this is new and actual regulations in some cases are
still being worked out. What is mentioned here is information as
stated in the original law and subsequent regulations, however, like
a lot of things in Honduras there is a difference between what is on
the books and what is done in practice. It is said that there is a
limit of $20,000 of household goods that may be brought in under the
exemption. This was not in the original law, but as mentioned, the
Institute of Tourism is the agency that makes the actual
regulations.
Every attempt has been made to make this
information as accurate as possible. Regulations change, officials
may interpret things differently, this information is meant as a
guide and not necessarily the last word on the subject.
Getting the benefits: Now that you are
free to come and go in and from Honduras, your belongings and
vehicle are not. Here are the procedures for obtaining your benefits
of residency.
Paperwork required for
permission to allow your household goods and vehicle to enter
Honduras without taxation :
• A photocopy
of your residency certificate.
• A list of all household
goods typed on forms provided by the Institute of Tourism. Prepare
eight (8) copies of this. • A description of your vehicle and a
photocopy of your ownership certificate. Make eight (8) copies of
this also.
All of the above documentation must be signed by
the resident and your lawyer. The shipping point or point of entry
must be listed. A 10 lempiras stamp must be attached. This tax free
privilege is a once time offer, make the best of it as it won't come
again. Your vehicle, however, will be allowed replacement every five
years or sooner if it was stolen or destroyed in fire, collision or
accident.
HONDURAN RESIDENT VISA
REQUIREMENTS FOR U.S. CITIZEN
Before requesting the Resident Visa, the Applicant
should have the following:
Passport, valid for a year, at least.
1. -
Certificate of Birth;
2. - Police Record;
3. - Health
Certificate;
4. - Certificate of Income (Bank References or a
letter from the employer will be acceptable) (Please
establish how you will receive your money while you are in
Honduras).
All of the above documents should be authenticated
by:
1. - The Secretary of State of the corresponding State where
document was issued.
2. - The Department of State Authentication
Office.
3. - By the nearest CONSULATE OF HONDURAS. A service
charge of US$50.00 per document should be paid by cash or Money
Order (payable to the CONSULATE OF HONDURAS).
Three (03) passport size photos of the applicant.
The applicant should take the documents to the
nearest CONSULATE OF HONDURAS, where the following forms have to be
filled and/or signed:
1. - Application, to be filled and signed before
the Consul, and payment of US$150.00 (One hundred and fifty
dollars), required per person
2. - A Sworn statement declaring that the applicant
does not belong now, nor has belong anytime in the past to the
Communist Party, to be signed in the presence of a Consular Officer,
and payment of US$50.00 (Fifty dollars), required per person.
3. - A Sworn statement declaring that the applicant
will abide by the laws of Honduras, to be signed in the presence of
a Consular Officer, and payment of US$50.00 (Fifty dollars),
required per person.
After filling out the above requirements that the
applicant will be issued a tourist visa that will be used to travel
to Honduras where the application for residence and other documents
will be filled at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tegucigalpa,
D.C., Honduras. The applicant must continue the procedure, through a
lawyer, in order to obtain the resident visa.
For further information, please contact the nearest
CONSULATE OF HONDURAS.
HONDURAN CITIZENSHIP
REQUIREMENTS
A United States citizen may apply for Honduran
nationality when one or more of the following requirements have been
met:
After residing in Honduras for three consecutive
years
Those obtaining their naturalization by Decree of
the National Congress for their extraordinary services to Honduras.
The immigrants that, as part of selected groups
brought by Honduran government for scientific, agricultural or
industrial purposes, meet the legal requirements after one year of
residing in the country; and,
Those marrying a Honduran by birth.
Except in the case referred to in number two above,
the applicant should resign to his or her previous nationality and
express, before competent authorities, the wish to acquire the
Honduran nationality.
The migración (Mon–Fri 8am–noon and 1–5pm; tel 665
0582) is conveniently close by in El Centro, (downtown Puerto
Cortes) at 5 Av and 4 C.
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