Application for indefinite stay to engage in gainful employment

(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, a national who seeks to remain in Belize beyond the period stated in section 19B, for the purpose of engaging in or finding gainful employment with an employer or as a self-employed person, shall, within thirty days from the date of expiration of that period, submit an application to the department in the approved form together with– (a) the qualifying certificate issued by the competent authority of a qualifying Caribbean Community State certifying that the national is recognised by the Government of that 30 qualifying Caribbean Community State as a Caribbean Community skilled person; (b) a valid passport, valid for at least six months from the date of entry, issued by a qualifying Caribbean Community State to the national, the spouse or any dependant of the national, or other form of identification issued by the Minister to the national, the spouse or any dependant of the national; (c) the approved fee; and (d) a police record of– (i) the national; (ii) the spouse of the national; or (iii) any dependant, above the age of seventeen, of the national. (2) The department shall submit the qualifying certificate submitted under sub-section (1)(a), to the Ministry with responsibility for Trade for verification of its validity. (3) A national under sub-section (1), the spouse, or any dependant of the national, may engage in gainful employment with an employer or as a self-employed person, pending the verification of validity of the qualifying certificate. (4) Subject to section 5 of the Caribbean Community (Free Movement of Skilled Persons) Act, the department shall, within thirty days of submission of an application, grant the applicant, or the spouse or any dependant of that applicant, indefinite stay. CAP. 17:02.