Belize: technology regulation at a glance

Framework: Financial Services Commission Act 2023 (Act No. 8 of 2023); Financial Services Commission (Digital Asset Services Licensing) Regulations, 2025 (SI No. 162, effective 30 December 2025); Financial Services Commission (Amendment) Act, 2026, regulator: Financial Services Commission (FSC) of Belize

Belize established its first statutory virtual-asset regime through the FSC Act 2023, which required a license for any commercial digital-asset activity and imposed a licensing freeze until 31 December 2025. Temporary licensing regulations (SI No. 162 of 2025) came into force on 30 December 2025 and are set to be superseded by the permanent FSC (Amendment) Act 2026, which has since been enacted. Personal ownership of crypto is unrestricted, but the permanent supervisory framework is still being finalised as of May 2026.

Framework: Data Protection Act 2021 (Act No. 45 of 2021); Senior Courts Practice Direction No. 18 of 2025 on Ethical Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence; National Digital Agenda 2022-2025

Belize has no comprehensive AI law. AI is regulated indirectly through the Data Protection Act 2021, which grants rights against solely automated decision-making, and through Practice Direction No. 18 of 2025, a binding Senior Courts order governing generative AI use in legal proceedings effective August 2025. Government AI policy is primarily economic in orientation, channelled through a national digital strategy and a 2025 Global Digital Services Investment Policy aimed at upgrading the BPO sector.

Framework: Data Protection Act, 2021 (Act No. 45 of 2021), supervised by the Data Protection Commissioner (Office of the Data Protection Commissioner) with a Data Protection Tribunal for appeals

Belize enacted the Data Protection Act, 2021 (Act No. 45 of 2021), assented to by the Governor-General on 29 November 2021 and fully in force from 1 January 2025. The law is modelled closely on the GDPR and applies to both the public and private sectors, regulating the collection, keeping, use, and dissemination of personal data. Oversight rests with the Data Protection Commissioner, who may investigate complaints, monitor compliance, and impose sanctions.

Framework: National Payment System Act, Chapter 266:01 (enacted 2017, revised 2020) + National Payment System Regulations, 2024 (SI No. 29 of 2024), regulated by the Central Bank of Belize

Belize has a formal licensing regime for payment service providers (PSPs) and electronic money issuers (EMIs) under the National Payment System Act 2017 (revised 2020), with implementing regulations issued in 2024. The Central Bank of Belize is the sole regulator and licensor for PSPs and EMIs, though an IMF technical assistance report published in February 2025 found e-money supervision remains nascent with only off-site monitoring conducted and no on-site inspections performed to date. No dedicated open banking framework or BNPL-specific rules have been established.

Framework: Belize Tourism Board 'Work Where You Vacation' digital-nomad program (administered with the Belize Immigration Department); complemented by the Qualified Retired Persons (QRP) Incentive Programme under the Retired Persons (Incentives) Act and standard permanent-residence rules under the Immigration Act.

Belize operates a dedicated digital-nomad pathway, the 'Work Where You Vacation' program, which lets remote workers employed by or serving clients outside Belize live there for up to six months (extendable) by meeting income and insurance thresholds. Separately, relocators aged 40+ can use the long-standing Qualified Retired Persons (QRP) Incentive Programme, and others can convert a year of legal residence into permanent residency. There is no traditional golden visa today, though a $500,000 investor fast-track to permanent residency was proposed in late 2025 and is not yet in force.

Framework: Cybercrime Act 2020 (Act No. 32 of 2020) and Data Protection Act 2021 (Act No. 45 of 2021), administered by the Data Protection Commissioner; no dedicated online safety or platform-regulation law

Belize's online regulatory framework rests on two pillars: the Cybercrime Act 2020, which criminalises illegal system access, online harassment, non-consensual image sharing, and child luring, and the Data Protection Act 2021, which entered full force on 1 January 2025 and imposes GDPR-style obligations on data processors. There is no comprehensive platform-liability or content-moderation regime equivalent to the EU Digital Services Act or UK Online Safety Act, and the internet operates without systematic state censorship.

Framework: Cybercrime Act 2020 (Act No. 32 of 2020) and Data Protection Act 2021 (Act No. 45 of 2021), coordinated by the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) and Data Protection Commissioner

Belize relies on two principal laws, the Cybercrime Act 2020, which criminalises unauthorised computer access, data interference, identity fraud, and cyber-harassment, and the Data Protection Act 2021, which imposes personal-data breach-notification duties. No overarching, NIS2-style critical-infrastructure cybersecurity obligation law is yet in force; the National Cybersecurity Strategy 2020-2023 has expired and, as of early 2026, a World Bank-assisted national assessment is underway to inform a successor framework.

Framework: Belize Companies Act No. 11 of 2022 (Cap. 250), administered by the Belize Companies and Corporate Affairs Registry (BCCAR) via the Online Business Registry System (OBRS)

Belize permits 100% foreign ownership in most sectors with no minimum paid-up capital requirement, making it one of the more accessible jurisdictions in the Caribbean for foreign entrepreneurs. Registration is conducted digitally through the BCCAR's Online Business Registry System (OBRS) and typically completes within 3-5 business days. Foreign nationals without a Belizean Social Security ID must engage a Licensed Registered Agent to file on their behalf.