Guatemala: residency routes
Revisado el 2026-09-23 · Vastura Travel research. Las reglas cambian — confirme con un notario o abogado local antes de mover dinero.
Temporary residency (1–5 years)
Granted by the Instituto Guatemalteco de Migración (IGM). Categories include worker, independent/freelancer, remote worker (introduced 2025) — foreign income of at least US$2,000/month, student, investor — at least US$100,000, religious, researcher, and athlete/artist.
- Fees: US$25 filing, plus US$200 (1 year), US$300 (2 years) or US$500 (3–5 years).
- After 5 years of continuous temporary residency you can apply for permanent residency.
Permanent residency directly
- Rentista / pensionado: provable passive income (pension, dividends, rent, annuity) of at least US$1,250/month, plus US$300 per dependent. Fee US$400. Salary from your own business does not count as passive income.
- Marriage to a Guatemalan (after 1 year): fee US$700.
- Family ties to a Guatemalan; Central American citizens after 1 year of temporary residency.
Documents usually required
- Passport valid for 6+ months.
- Birth certificate, apostilled, with a sworn Spanish translation.
- Criminal record certificate no more than 2 years old, apostilled.
- Proof of income (bank or pension letters), apostilled.
- A Guatemalan address and 5×5 cm photos.
Dependents file together. Processing commonly takes 2–6 months.
Staying as a visitor
Tourist entry is 90 days under the CA-4 agreement (Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua count together), extendable once.
Fuentes
- https://livinginguatemala.com/tramites/guatemala-residency
- https://consortiumlegal.com
- https://atitlanvida.com/live/residency-visas
- https://thelatinvestor.com/blogs/news/guatemala-buy-land
- https://generisonline.com
- Constitución Política de la República de Guatemala, Arts. 122–123
- Ley de Reservas Territoriales del Estado, Decreto 126-97