Guatemala

Residencia por Rentista o Pensionado. Guatemala grants temporary, then permanent, residency to anyone with stable passive or pension income from abroad, without working locally.

Free · The law behind every answer · Checked Sep 27, 2026

Residencia por Rentista o Pensionado

Permanent residence directly, from day one, not permitting local work; renewed with proof of continued income every 5 years.

Who qualifies

Permanent lawful income from abroad of at least $1,250 a month for the principal applicant, plus $300 a month per dependant, under the regulation now in force.
Acuerdo IGM-016-2025, Reglamento de Residencias Guatemaltecas, Art. 33 (in force since Oct 7, 2025)
A valid passport, an embassy or consulate certification of its validity, and a clean police record from the country of origin or the last 5 years of residence.
IGM, Reglamento de Residencias
No paid work in Guatemala, and proof of continued income every 5 years for permanent residents.
IGM, Reglamento de Residencias

Whether you keep your U.S. citizenship depends on the route you take later.

Does it fit your family?

3 questions, from the program’s own rules.

Steady monthly income, from any source?

Not legal advice.

What it takes.

Income: Steady income each month, rising with each person who moves.
Just you$1,250
2 people$1,550
4 people$2,150
Time: 2–4 months typical processing.
Cost: About $425 total ($400 Instituto Guatemalteco de Migración fee plus a $25 filing fee), plus document legalization.
The hard part: The recurring proof-of-income renewal, every 5 years for permanent holders, plus the apostille burden on every document.

Dollar figures are converted from the local currency at the rate the program’s research used; the official figure is in the local currency.

Citizens by 2033.

If your first permit is issued in 2027 and you keep living there, this is the road.

2027
First residence permit
5 years, renewable for 5 years at a time.
2032
Apply for citizenship
With a language test and a civics test.
2033
Citizenship

Language: A practical Spanish exam.
Civics: An exam on the basics of Central American and Guatemalan geography and history.
Time away: Legal domicile and the five years right before applying. The 1966 text breaks the clock after an absence of more than six months in a row, or absences adding up to a year or more. A resident also needs migration permission to be away a year or more.
Two passports: It depends on the rules at the time and on your home country.

Under the 2025 regulation, rentier and pensioner residence is permanent from day one, with proof of continued income every five years.
Clock start: the law asks for five years of 'domicile', which suggests permanent residence. One secondary source says digital nomads need ten years in all. Not settled.
The absence and exam rules come from Law 1613 as enacted in 1966; later amendments were not checked.
Central Americans can apply directly to the Foreign Ministry; the years they need were not confirmed.
Renunciation of every other nationality is required at the ceremony, except for Central Americans; a Guatemala–Spain dual-nationality treaty exists but was not checked.
No official decision time found. The grant is discretionary.
How long the decision takes isn’t published; we allow a year.
Whether you can keep your current citizenship depends on the rules at the time and your home country.

The law behind these dates

IGM — Reglamento de Residencias Guatemaltecas, Acuerdo IGM-016-2025, arts. 5, 7, 27, 31–33, 51 · checked 2026-09-25
Gobierno de Guatemala — Naturalización concesiva · checked 2026-09-25
Ley de Nacionalidad, Decreto 1613 (1966, text as enacted), arts. 5, 32, 34, 37 (GLOBALCIT copy) · checked 2026-09-25

Living there.

Time you must spend there: No minimum days in Guatemala are required to keep permanent residence; renewal instead depends on re-certifying the qualifying income every 5 years.
Tax: Guatemala taxes on a territorial basis; foreign-sourced passive income is generally untaxed locally.

We never file a tax return. We tell you what applies and brief the professional who does.

Start today.

File the residency application with the Instituto Guatemalteco de Migración under the rentista/pensionado permanent-residency form.Open extranjeria.igm.gob.gt ↗
Round up the papers.
- Proof of steady income: at least $1,250 a month
- Request your FBI Identity History Summary
- Health cover for the move

Or let us run it.

$900for your first year as a founding member. Then $399 a year, automatically.Standard first year: $1,200. Everyone renews at $399.One membership, the whole family. Accounts and activation included.

17 steps, from the first paper to the passport. You do 4 of them: send what we ask for, sign, and show up. We run the rest, and keep every permit renewed on time. Accounts and activation are included, whether you move now or keep the plan ready. Accounts depend on provider availability. Government, record and approved third-party charges are extra.

Run it for my family →

ISSUED TO

YOUR FAMILY

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