Overview
The Border Management Agency is the responsible administrative entity for the management of Belize’s border complex, including immigration, police, customs, the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) and Free Zone areas. Major border movement to Guatemala is related to crossing of pedestrians. The Free Zone area is active but less frequented than at the northern entrance points to Mexico. Administration of the Free Zone is under shared responsibility of a Belizean private group and governmental agencies.
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Border Crossing Location and Contact |
|
|---|---|
|
Name of Border Crossing |
Belize: Benque Viejo del Carmen |
|
Province or District |
Cayo District |
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Nearest Town or City with Distance from Border Crossing |
Benque Viejo del Carmen (1 km) |
|
Latitude |
17.05777778 |
|
Longitude |
-89.15500000 |
|
Managing Authority / Agency |
Border Management Agency |
|
Contact Person |
Mr Rolando Leon |
|
Travel Times |
|
|---|---|
|
Nearest National Airfield |
Maya Flats (3 km) Truck Travel Time: 10 minutes Car Travel time: 10 minutes |
|
Nearest Port |
Belize City (112 km) Truck Travel Time: 3 hours Car Travel time: 3 hours |
|
Nearest location with functioning wholesale markets, or with significant manufacturing or production capacity |
Spanish Lockout (30 km) Truck Travel Time: 30 minutes Car Travel time: 30 minutes |
|
Other Information
|
Road from Belmopan (main city of Belize) is in good condition, with fuel stations in Benque Viejo. The free zone area to Guatemala is very active in terms of commerce. Storage capacity of approx. 923 m2 (10,000 ft.2) is available in the Free Zone area for exports to Guatemala. |
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Hours of Operation |
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|---|---|
|
Mondays |
24 hours |
|
Tuesdays |
24 hours |
|
Wednesdays |
24 hours |
|
Thursdays |
24 hours |
|
Fridays |
24 hours |
|
Saturdays |
24 hours |
|
Sundays |
24 hours |
The opening hours of customs offices are from Monday to Friday 8:00 to 17:00.
Daily Capacity
Customs capacities to deal with cars is limited and becomes critical from 30 cars/hour due to the small border crossing. Trucks are not affected since they use different routes. The entrance to free zones involves different procedures which makes it is less vulnerable to traffic issues.
Customs Clearance
Trucks are charged with a parking fee per day. The price is relative to the size of the vehicle and starts from USD$ 30, which is the only additional charge raised by the border authority. Import duties are relative to the value of the goods imported. All importation paperwork can be done and clearance can be obtained within one day at the customs offices at the border. All vehicles are inspected before getting customs clearance.
For more information on customs in Belize, please see the following link: 1.3 Belize Customs Information.
For more information on government contact details, please see the following link: 4.1 Belize Government Contact List.
