Belize to Issue Regional Visitor Cards for Mexicans From Five Southern States

Chetumal, Quintana Roo — Belize’s immigration office will formally begin issuing a Regional Visitor Card (TVR) to Mexicans from Quintana Roo, Yucatán, Campeche, Chiapas and Tabasco starting November 1, following months of negotiations and more than five years in which local border passes were suspended.

The card is designed to make travel easier to Belize, the only Central American country with English as its official language.

Speaking after a business meeting, Efren Pérez, national president of the Belize Tourism Industry Association (BTIA), and Josué Osmany Palomo Hoil, head of Coparmex Chetumal, confirmed the launch of a strategic agenda for the southern Mexico–Belize border, with Governor Mara Lezama expected to take part at a later date.

Expanded service hours at the border

The Belize immigration office operates in the border zone and has been running for two months by appointment only, on Mondays. Beginning in November, the service will be offered daily, Monday through Friday.

Before the TVR program, Mexican tourists could enter Belize only with a passport and special permits.

Cross-border traffic between Mexico and Belize at the two bridges has been uneven so far this year, with a decline in Belizean visitors to Chetumal in recent months after crossings reached historic levels of between 500,000 and 600,000.