Persons entitled to registration as citizens

(1) A person who – (a) has attained the age of eighteen years and is of sound mind; (b) has been resident continuously in Belize for a period of five years immediately preceding the date of the application; and (c) is and intends to continue to be ordinarily resident in Belize, may apply for registration as a citizen of Belize. (2) Subject to the other provisions of this Part, a person to whom this section applies may, if he has the qualification set out in sub-section (1), be registered as a citizen of Belize on his making application in that behalf to the Minister in the prescribed manner. (3) Notwithstanding sub-section (2), the Minister shall not register as a citizen of Belize, a person who– (a) is not of good character; (b) has been convicted by a competent court in any country of a criminal offence for which he was sentenced to death or has been detained under a sentence of imprisonment of twelve months or more imposed on him on his conviction of a criminal offence by such a court, and in either case, has not received a free pardon in respect of the offence; 12 (c) has engaged in activities, whether within or outside of Belize, which, in the opinion of the Minister, are prejudicial to the safety of Belize or to the maintenance of law and public order in Belize; (d) has been adjudged or otherwise declared bankrupt under any law in force in any country and has not been discharged; or (e) not being the dependant of a citizen of Belize, has not sufficient means to maintain himself and is likely to become a public charge. (4) The Minister’s refusal, under sub-section (3), to allow the application of any person for registration as a citizen of Belize shall be final. (5) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the Minister shall not consider an application for registration as a citizen of Belize or register a person as a citizen of Belize unless the application in respect of that person has been reviewed by the Nationality Scrutinizing Committee. (6) For the purpose of this section, a person is “resident continuously in Belize” if that person has been granted permanent residency in accordance with this Act, or at any time prior to the commencement of the Belizean Nationality (Amendment) Act 2018, and upon being granted permanent residency has not resided outside of Belize other than temporarily – (a) in the course of his employment in Belize; (b) for medical and health reasons; or (c) for purposes other than those referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b), if such periods do not exceed thirty consecutive days or accumulate 13 to a total of three months in any twelve month period.