Economic Citizenship Program Rules to Be Adjusted, Says PM

In related news, the government is also looking to adjust the rules of the Economic Citizenship Program.  Through this program, Prime Minister Briceno says thousands have been able to get Belizean nationality.  He explained what the amendments to the Bill will entail.

John Briceno, Prime Minister of Belize: “Hundreds if not thousands have become Belizeans using the procedure since 2014. What happened again to give further explanation? If a person gets a nationality through the economic citizenship program, then that person becomes a Belizean, then their children apply for citizenship and so they become Belizeans. Then their children’s children apply because they have citizenship and now we’re probably are maybe on the fourth and fifth generation of economic citizens people are applying because of an economic citizenship program that was done during the time of their grandfather or even some instances their great grandfather. The bill we are tabling today will prohibit any person from relying on “on economic citizenship relationship to obtain Belize nationality.” The bill defines an economic citizenship relationship to mean “any relationship whether of descent or of marriage which can be traced back directly or indirectly to a person who obtained Belizean nationality by economic citizenship.”