Belize Still Pursuing Visa-Free Schengen Travel

Belize is still pursuing visa-free travel to the Schengen area, and Foreign Affairs Minister Francis Fonseca says the country remains in good standing and has made progress. A full waiver, however, has not been approved.  Fonseca points to changes that allow eligible Belizeans to obtain longer-term, multiple-entry visas, reducing the need to apply each time they plan a trip. He provided an update on where Belize stands.

The effort goes back more than a decade. Belize presented its case for a waiver to European officials in 2015, pointing out that applying for a visa meant travelling abroad because no Schengen member state maintained a consular office here.  The lobbying continued under then-Foreign Minister Eamon Courtenay, who held meetings with senior European Union officials in Brussels in February 2023. According to the Foreign Ministry’s report, Belize was told it met the required criteria, but more political support was needed to move the request forward.  Fonseca has continued raising the issue with European representatives. A significant change came in November 2025, when the European Commission approved a visa arrangement allowing eligible Belizean biometric passport holders applying in Guatemala or Mexico to receive multiple-entry visas valid for up to five years.  That makes repeat travel easier, but Belizeans still need a visa to visit the Schengen area. Fonseca has also cautioned that opposition to immigration among some European political parties remains an obstacle, and he does not expect a full waiver anytime soon./