Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Fine Exemption of overstaying your migration visa

President Jimmy Morales has issued this agreement
allowing 90% of tax exemption for people who have over staid their tourist visa and are in an illegal situation.


Governmental Agreement number 104-2016Guatemala,
May 27, 2016
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC
CONSIDERING:That is constitutional role of the President of the Republic exonerate fines to those who have undergone the punishment for acts or omissions in the administrative order. Accordingly, it is considered appropriate to issue the temporary provision allowing foreigners to solve their situation before the immigration authorities of Guatemala, exempting them partially fine incurred for such an offense, which will regularize the migratory situation in which they are.
CONSIDERING:There are foreigners who have been punished for excess authorized stay within the Guatemalan territory, and who for various reasons have not paid fines that were imposed by the Directorate General of Immigration, Ministry of Interior, in accordance with the regulations with Migration Act and Regulations.
SO:In exercise of the functions under Articles 154 and 183, paragraph e), q) and r) of the Constitution of the Republic of Guatemala.
AGREES:
ARTICLE 1. Exemption from Fines.During the term of this Agreement, temporary authorized and specifically to the General  Director of Immigration, the Ministry of Interior to that request, and as provided in this Agreement, proceed to exonerate ninety percent (90% ) of fines they incurred for days in excess of authorized stay in the territory of the Republic of Guatemala in accordance with regulated in Article 109 of Decree No. 95-98 of Congress, Law on Migration and based in articles 94 and 95 of Government Agreement 529-99, dated July 20, 1999, Regulation of the Migration Act. 
ARTICLE 2. Subjects of exoneration.the exemption provided for shall be eligible under this Agreement, interested parties who voluntarily submit to the  General Director of Migration to regularize their status and authorization to continue his stay in the country and meet the sanction imposed after application of the exemption.
 ARTICLE 3. Proof.The General Director of Immigration must provide proof of payment authorized by the Controller General of Accounts, stating the receipt of the fine imposed by the exemption which this article refers to. 
ARTICLE 4. Applications.Applications submitted or submitted during the term of this Agreement to the Presidency of the Republic, for full or partial exemption from fines under Article 183, paragraph r) of the Constitution of the Republic, related to fines for excess of authorized stay, is to have been approved the percentage indicated, and the interested parties arrogate to the General Director of Immigration, for the implementation of this Agreement.For those interested not pay the percentage of the fine, during the term of this agreement, the exemption is void.
 ARTICLE 5. Applicability.This Agreement is not applicable on any fines already paid the person concerned.
 ARTICLE 6. Term.This Agreement shall take effect the day following its publication in the Journal of Central America and will be valid for one year.
JIMMY CABRERA MORALES





ACUERDO GUBERNATIVO NÚMERO 104-2016

Guatemala, 27 de mayo de 2016


EL PRESIDENTE DE LA REPÚBLICA


CONSIDERANDO:

Que es función constitucional del Presidente de la República exonerar multas a quienes han sido objeto de esa sanción por actos u omisiones en el orden administrativo. En consecuencia, se estima conveniente emitir la disposición temporal que permita a los extranjeros solventar su situación ante la autoridad migratoria de Guatemala, exonerándoles de forma parcial la multa en que hayan incurrido portal infracción, con lo que regularizarán la situación migratoria en que se encuentren.

CONSIDERANDO:

Que hay extranjeros que han sido sancionados por exceso de permanencia autorizada dentro del territorio guatemalteco, y que por diversas razones no han pagado las multas que se les ha impuesto por la Dirección General de Migración del Ministerio de Gobernación, de conformidad con lo regulado con la Ley de Migración y su Reglamento.


POR TANTO:

En ejercicio de las funciones que le confiere los artículos 154 y 183, inciso e), q) y r) de la Constitución Política de la República de Guatemala.

ACUERDA:

ARTICULO 1. Exoneración de Multas.

Durante la vigencia de este Acuerdo, se autoriza temporal y expresamente a la Dirección General de Migración, del Ministerio de Gobernación para que a solicitud del interesado, y conforme a lo dispuesto en el presente Acuerdo, proceda a exonerar el noventa por ciento (90%) de multas, en que hayan incurrido por los días en exceso de permanencia autorizada en territorio de la República de Guatemala de conformidad con lo regulado en el artículo 109 del Decreto número 95-98 del Congreso de la República, Ley de Migración y con fundamento en los artículos 94 y 95 del Acuerdo Gubernativo 529-99, de fecha 20 de julio de 1999, Reglamento de la Ley de Migración.

ARTICULO 2. Sujetos de la Exoneración.

Podrán acogerse a la exoneración dispuesta en el presente Acuerdo, los interesados que voluntariamente se presenten ante la Dirección General de Migración a regularizar su situación y autorización para continuar su permanencia en el país y cumplir con la sanción impuesta, una vez aplicada la exoneración.

ARTICULO 3. Comprobante.

La Dirección General de Migración deberá entregar el comprobante de pago, autorizado por la Contraloría General de Cuentas, en el que conste el recibo de la multa impuesta con la exoneración a que se refiere el presente artículo.


ARTICULO 4. De las Solicitudes.

Las solicitudes presentadas o que se presenten durante la vigencia de este Acuerdo ante la Presidencia de la República, para obtener exoneración total o parcial de multas conforme al artículo 183, inciso r), de la Constitución Política de la República, relacionadas a las multas por exceso de permanencia autorizada, se tendrán por aprobadas en el porcentaje señalado, debiendo los interesados avocarse a la Dirección General de Migración, para la aplicación del presente Acuerdo.

En el caso que los interesados no paguen el porcentaje de la multa, durante la vigencia del presente acuerdo, la exoneración queda sin efecto.

ARTICULO 5. Aplicabilidad.

El Presente acuerdo no es aplicable sobre las multas que ya hubiere pagado el interesado.


ARTICULO 6. Vigencia.

El presente Acuerdo empezará a regir el día siguiente de su publicación en el Diario de Centro América y tendrá vigencia de un año.



COMUNÍQUESE,



JIMMY MORALES CABRERA


ANAMARÍA DIEGUEZ
VICEMINISTRA DE RELACIONES EXTERIORES
ENCARGADA DEL DESPACHO



FRANCISCO MANUEL RIVAS LARA
MINISTRO DE GOBERNACIÓN



CARLOS ADOLFO MARTÍNEZ GULARTE
SECRETARIO GENERAL
DE LA PRESIDENCIA DE LA REPÚBLICA

 

Monday, May 9, 2016

Watch out when you hire professionals...

When you decide to live, relocate in a new country most probably you won't know the local language.
There fore it is extremely important to get the most knowledgeable person to help you sort out the daily chores associated with getting an insurance, importing a car, setting up a business..

The first place you should consult is your embassy.. As they have always a list of professionals that they have screened and can recommend with the certainty that they will be do the job.
I found out with my personal experience is that they do very good for general matters and they are very used to urban practices...
In the case of Guatemala for example when you want to invest outside the Capital or the main expat destination of Antigua. You encounter situations for example regarding land ownership that the lawyers from the city are not familiar therefore either will discourage you to do the deal or will give you hill advise recommendation to not knowing the local way of doing business.

The second place to find out recommendation for doctors, vets, and professionals of any kind it is on
the expat blogs.. I have found that expatexchange.com is a good provider of information as I personally contribute to the forums.. and the most used are the Facebook different groups of your country of destination...
Now I have been witness of embarrassing situation for expats where very often an expat used a lawyer to do some work that have to do with taxes for example and find out somebody recommended
by their landlord or through a Facebook page.. Always the argument is that these persons are insiders and get the job done quicker and cheaper... Well I know of cases when the expat whom have not yet got their residency have their passports doing the visa run.. basically you pay somebody to go to the border (Mexican One) and they give the appearance that you have gone to Mexico for a couple of days or 3 days and then come back to Guatemala allowing you to start another round of 2 tourist visa of 90 days. But the system has been modernized tremendously to make it more efficient and less corruptable.. As each time you could bribe somebody or at least the person offering the services of Visa Run you will be pretending to have leaved the country without having step out a foot..
So sometimes when expats will go to the airport they would have the bad surprised of not being in the computer as their stamps of exit and entry to Guatemala have not been recorder.. Giving you delay, headache and fine to pay...
Rarely Guatemala Immigration will banned you to come back.
This is an easy one to solve the worst is when you deal with process involving taxes to be paid.. you have to really use an accountant or "tramitador" you really can trust as so many expats who had business suddenly find out after a tax revision that all their taxes paid never got into the government vault.. but into the accountant you have used who had falsified deposit , signature and what ever was needed to make your taxes like they have been paid..
The worst case is for an expat that have used a "tramitador" (acceptance agent) recommended by somebody they thought they knew (a Guatemalan) and at the moment to leave by road the country they found themselves stock at the border because the custom agent can't find their last payment to renew the car visa as it appears never been paid and the document as receipt they exhibit are false.
Which put them in a very delicate position as they as well liable for having used a false acceptance agent and expose themselves to jail because it is a big felony and have to leave the country asap before they could be indicted by the justice. It doesn't mean they will lose their car but they will have to hire a lawyer to look into the case and pull out the right string to get their car release and being driven back to their own country..
Never work with somebody that doesn't have an office, that gives you only a phone number and his name.. no business name or card... Phones stopped to be answered and with only one name you can't do much..
So always privileged licensed professionals. (insurance broker, realtor) with formal office and workshop and with clients you can speak with for references..

Having these procedures in mind at the moment to contract professionals services will save you time
and if they might be a little bit more money then what some people want you to believe it is extra money worth to be paid as it is less problem in the future.


Tuesday, April 26, 2016

My Seven reasons to retire to Guatemala

Recently our colleague Josh Linnes from Viva tropical , specialized in Latin America Real Estate investment post a very interesting article on Seven Reason to retire in Guatemala. His list includes a low cost of living, living among the mayan, immerse yourself into history, lakeside life, beaches life, close to home, visa options.

I would like to complement his list with mine.. 
Long time expat in Guatemala, since 26 years, I have build business and family here. Lately actively involved in Real Estate in Guatemala and particularly in Lake Atitlan.

The first reason for me to retire live and plan to retire in Guatemala.. it is weather..
Named the country of eternal spring... it has the best weather you can expect , specially staying on the highlands.. an altitude of 1500 m ASL (4300 Ft) , average.. there you find the town of Guatemala city, Antigua Guatemala, and the area of Lake Atitlan. At this level no needs for heating system or cooling system.. you live pretty much all year round in shirt and shorts.. and the doors open to nature... Then you find two location at sea level with both their own characteristics Costa Sur and Rio Dulce.. A friend just came back from El Salvador and told me so hot , when you are used to Guatemala climate everything south is too hot..




The second Reason ... Affordable life style
Despite the Guatemalan Money Quetzal is very stable, making it expensive facing the Mexican Pesos.. you can enjoy a great quality of life. In terms of housing a lot of affordable options either to buy or rent. Plus it is as well easy to have staff to help you in your daily chores. All the goods imported might feel expensive but there is plenty to buy locally to compensate it. Guatemala is now competing directly with Costa Rica for its life style.

Third .. Great Medical facilities.
Medical facilities is a big theme for anybody wanting to relocate. Guatemala for that has not to be ashamed of . Check my other blog on this theme.

Fourth great food all year round.
With its excellent weather and location Guatemala produce fresh fruit and vegetables all year round. Lots of exportations gives you a great variety of vegetables (mini zuchini, baby vegetables..) , tropical fruit that you might never heard about. (zapote, mangostine, pitaya...). Excellent meat Guatemala exports meat to the US market. Check out Procasa the guatemalan leader company in meat processing.





Fifth Small country easy to visit
For the fact to be able to take your car and drive for a couple of hours and you end up in a very different environment.. From Guatemala city, 1 hour and you are in the colonial town of Antigua, 2 1/2 hours you are on the shore of the most beautiful lake of the world, Atitlan.
Drive 1 hour and you are on the shore of the Pacific and where you can do world class fishing. To the East 5 hours and you are in Rio Dulce the river of the movies Tarzan...
All through an excellent network of divided high way. Some of my clients drive deep in the high land toward Semuc Champey and the Peten and always marvel of the beauty.
A great way to appreciate the size of the country is to visit the "Mapa en relieve" in Guatemala City. It is a 3 D map , 100 years old representing the country on 2 scales
1:10,000 for horizontal measurements , y 1:2,000 for vertical ones.




Sixth Great internet 
Internet is very important today and you can find in the cities and close to them excellent facilites. The best system is to get a hardline from Claro the biggest company and get a kind of DSL line.. if not WIFI over the cellular network is also exploding with access to 4G speed by the company Tigo..For the reasons you need.. from being able to skype with the family and the grandchildren back home or because you are digital nomad you will find the system that work for you.
With internet Satelital for the ones in real need of performance..

Seventh great country for real estate investment
Despite Guatemala is not on the map for investment overseas.. it does offer excellent opportunity of investment.
Either because you want to relocate for a while here and will resell in the near future. Either
because you would like to take advantage of this still un discover market.
Watch out the trend and take advantage of being an early bird... there are plenty of great investment opportunities check the listing of the Chamber of Realtors of Guatemala and
for lake Atitlan real estate Atitlan Solutions real estate division at www.realestateatitlan.com




Thanks to share with people who might be interested .. and "Like" our Facebook Page 




Friday, April 8, 2016

Discover the City of Health in Guatemala

In Guatemala, very often the expats to be, wonder what kind of medical services they can get...

Well I have used several hospital for different reasons.. birth, kidney stones, brain tumors and I have always found services to be top of the line and very inexpensive comparing what I would have pay in the US for example.. Easily 4 times cheaper..

In Guatemala City you have what we call the avenue of the hospital, or the medical district  which is the diagonal 6 running in Zona 10. Along this avenue you find several well known hospital..

I have used Centro Medico for a friend of mine that had cancerous tumor in his brain. It was well attended, got quickly the test needed and the hospital was very efficient in communicating with his insurance to prepare is medical evacuation by air to Norway.
The hospital has also an heliport.
Website in Spanish only.


I have also used for the birth of my second daughter Hospital Esperanza on the same avenue. I have a special relation with this hospital because my French Medicare has a special agreement with the hospital allowing me to pay only a third of the bill.. My daughter was born in water and the doctor Jose Caballos and the hospital staff were very professional and accommodating.. This hospital is a university hospital. It has also an heliport. The birth costs around $ 2,000.00
Website only in Spanish


Now there are specials buildings in Guatemala called Clinicas where you find towers with all the field of medecine represented, a kind of centralized medical real estate. Most of them are for ambulatory medecine and you don't stay over night..   I have used the place for dermatology, knee ligament surgery.I have used Multi Medica in Zona 15 a couple of time.  Website in English. 

So for the ones that would like to have an insurance.. well being French I have my own from France
but you can find in Guatemala in the biggest bank insurance as they all have an insurance division. You can also contact Bupa . They have specials plans for Guatemala and it is international. 

One thing I would like to attract your attention is that Guatemala is becoming a strong destination for medical tourism.. and a big new project is coming out of ground in the outskirt of Guatemala ciudad, easy access from the airport. It will the mega health center of Central America.. A complex of building dedicated to health...  VittaCenter..

Taking from their website :" It is the largest project in Central America directed exclusively to the health sector and the first of its kind since 1973. It will have two buildings that house more than 200 medical clinics , hospital with a capacity of over 100 beds in private rooms, commercial, professional offices apartments and more than 1,500 parking units ." Check out their website it is pretty impressive.


So if you are thinking of relocating to Guatemala or to retire here be assured you will find the best medical facilities in case you need.. Now living here in my own experience because of the healthy life style you end up never going to the hospital...



Thursday, July 9, 2015

Guatemala Real Estate land for sale

Guatemala is a unique destination in Central America. Not much present in people minds when they are looking for a retirement destination. As the expat and retirement destinations are well promoted by various company like International Living but they have very specific destinations that they cover and Guatemala is not one of them. Other blogs like Expat blog   or



One of the kind property, great price all ready to be build. More information CLICK

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Podcast are great source of information for expats

I have been listening to Taylor White podcast on IREL podcasts.com since early stages and it is an on going source of information. To help you find, define and choose a  place to start your new expats life..  and as Guatemala is a strong potential destination for expats I invite you to listen to him and me discussing Guatemala and Lake Atitlan destination for retirement.