BELMOPAN, Belize – Belize, one of the few Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries not included on a visa-free travel list released by Spain earlier this month, has sought to clarify its position on the issue.
In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade said it has noted recent media reports concerning the list published by Spain on July 14, this year, confirming visa-free access for citizens of 60 countries, including nine CARICOM member states.
The other CARICOM countries not included on the visa-travel list are Jamaica, Guyana, Suriname and Haiti.
In its clarification, Belize said it is also taking the opportunity to upgrade citizens on the status of its own engagement with the European Union (EU) on this matter.
It said that the recently published list is a “consolidated restatement” of the list of third countries whose nationals are already not required to hold a visa when crossing the external borders of the Schengen Area, as set out under European Union Regulation (EU) 2018/1806.
“Determinations of this kind are made collectively by EU Member States. Belize, alongside several other CARICOM Member States, currently remains listed among the countries whose nationals require a visa to enter the Schengen Area. A full waiver would require a formal legislative amendment at the EU level, a process that is separate from any single Member State’s domestic announcement.”
The Belize government said it wishes to reaffirm that it has, for a number of years, been actively engaged with both Spain and the EU in pursuit of a full Schengen visa waiver for Belizean nationals.
“This engagement produced a significant milestone in November 2025, when the European Union agreed that Belizean nationals holding biometric passports would become eligible for multiple-entry Schengen visas valid for up to five years.
“This measure has meaningfully simplified travel to Spain and the wider Schengen Area for business, tourism, education, and family visits, and represented a substantial improvement over the prior visa regime.”
The Belize government said that a comprehensive visa waiver agreement with the European Union remains under active discussion, and that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade “continues to press Belize’s case through the appropriate diplomatic channels.
“The Ministry considers full visa-free access to the Schengen Area, on par with regional partners, to be an important priority given the country’s longstanding relationship with the EU,” the statement added.
