Guatemalan flag

  • Language: Spanish.

  • DTC with Italy: No

  • Prefix: +502

  • Population: 16.9 million

  • Currency: Guatemalan Quetzal

  • Crypto Friendly: Yes

  • ︎Residence abroad without time limits: No

  • Judicial records and pending charges: Yes Required

  • Estimated time to obtain residency: 50 days

  • On-site procedure: Yes

  • Requires Company to obtain residency: No

  • Cost of living: medium-low

  • Life quality: High

  • Compulsory Local Health Insurance upon Request for Residence: No

  • Citizenship: Averagely easy after 5 years of permanent residence

  • Property Right Index 2020: 100 ( go to the website )

  • Guatemala Fisco : Guatemala FiscoToday

  • Health System: Mixed, public and private, the latter highly efficient. Better to make sure to live on site due to high costs.

  • Covid Management and Regulations : Highly flexible. Requires vaccine for incoming tourists. Source

  • NATO/OTAN : not belonging ✓

Residency in Guatemala

Quick menu

Guatemala is not generally considered a tax haven. It doesn't come close to the stigma of Panama or Costa Rica when it comes to tax evasion.

However, for many, Guatemala is still synonymous with war, socio-political instability and more or less rampant corruption combined with crime and money laundering. This reputation is partly well deserved and partly an unfair remnant of a troubled past.

General info

Incorporating in Guatemala can take a long time

While the time to incorporate a company is in theory just a couple of days, it usually ends up taking several weeks to complete. The cost of setting up is usually very high compared to Panama and even Uruguay. The high costs are largely due to the complexity of the paperwork and the lack of competition.

Limited Responsibility Society (SRL)
To set up an SRL company in Guatemala, the following requirements must be met:
  • At least one founder. It can be corporate.
  • Minimum two shareholders. It can be corporate.
  • No residency requirement for directors and shareholders.
  • A local legal representative must be appointed.
  • Minimum paid-up share capital of GTQ 2,000.
  • Registered office in Guatemala.
Anonymous Company (SA) SA, Anonymous Company
Available and used frequently. The requirements are very similar to SRL:
  • At least one director. It can be corporate.
  • Minimum two shareholders. It can be corporate.
  • No residency requirement for directors and shareholders.
  • A local legal representative must be appointed.
  • Minimum paid-up share capital of GTQ 5,000.
  • Registered office in Guatemala.
  • The shareholders of an SA are not subject to public disclosure.
Taxation
Territorial taxation, whereby only local income is taxable. The local income tax rate is 25%.
Record keeping
In line with international standards, but since it has to be done in Spanish, most people outsource the whole procedure.

How to take up residency in Guatemala

Phase one / Application for a 90-day residence permit
To apply for the 90-day residence permit at Guatemalan Immigration, the applicant must provide:
  • Two recent photographs
  • A valid passport
  • A sponsorship letter from a Guatemalan sponsor
  • Proof of financial resources of both the applicant and the sponsor
  • Submit your application and supporting documents at the Central Guatemalan Immigration Office.

Generally this visa is issued fifteen days after the application.

Phase two / Ordinary visa application
Before the expiry of the 90-day residence permit (phase one), an aspiring resident must apply for a "Visa Ordinaria" which allows residence in Guatemala for six months and is renewable thereafter. The applicant must resubmit:
  • Another statement of support from the applicant's Guatemalan sponsor
  • Proof of applicant's financial resources
  • A report on the criminal record of the applicant for residency in Guatemala
  • A medical report
  • A criminal record and pending charges
  • A birth certificate authenticated by a Guatemalan consulate in Italy.
  • Pending approval of the ordinary visa, an applicant can work if permission is granted by the Ministry of Labor of Guatemala City. According to the Guatemalan immigration authorities, the ordinary visa takes up to two months to process, during which time the immigration office only keeps a validated photocopy of your passport.
Third step / Ordinary Visa Extensions
The ordinary visa can be extended in increments of six months. All documentation required in steps one and two must be resubmitted when requesting an extension. Upon expiry of the fourth extension, i.e. after two years of residence under the ordinary visa, the applicant can qualify as a legal permanent resident of Guatemala.

Cost (subject to change)

  • 90-day visa Q115.35
  • Ordinary Visa Q115.35
  • Ordinary Visa Extension Q115.35

The Oficina de Extranjeros at the Central Immigration Office also issues other types of visas to foreigners:

  • Student visa: valid for one year. Required for elementary, high school and university students.
  • Courtesy visa: valid for one year. Issued to members of the diplomatic community. Visas for foreign retirees.
  • Temporales Visas: Issued for 12 months to foreign teachers or students.
  • Visas for Religious Workers: Valid for two years. To proceed with an ordinary visa, contact us via form or email. In addition to obtaining your residence in Guatemala, you will probably be interested in creating a life insurance policy on your taxation, taking up a second tax residence, in a country with territorial taxation, such as a Residency Visa in Panama or one Residency Visa in ParaguayYou'd also be tempted to find out what advantages it would have to move to the Mexican economic giant, taking up residence in Mexico

To start your residence transfer procedure, contact us at info@studiopanamaitalia.com, sending us a copy of your passport, and the precise dates to start and take up residence in the country of your preference, or contact us via the contact form on this website or via whatsapp-telegram at +1 786-623-8177

How to send money to Guatemala or from Guatemala?

Use Remitly , our official partner, to send money abroad instantly.