Legal Aspects Passports & Visas Foreign travelers must carry a passport valid for at least the next six months. Upon arrival, you’ll be issued a free entry permit. This visa can be issued for one (1) month or up to three (3) months. The monthly visa can be renewed each month for up to three (3) months, for a fee. If you plan to stay for over a month, it is worth it to ask for the free three (3) month visa upon arrival. US, Canadian, Mexican, and most European Union countries do not require the visa prior to arriving in Honduras, but they do require a valid passport. Honduran laws require that you have your passport with you at all times. However, a photocopy of your passport is acceptable. Visas have to be renewed by the expiration date. If you are visiting, you can stay up to 3 months. If you only received a 1 month visa, you can renew it for up to 3 months. To renew the visa, you go to the Immigration Office at the back of the small park opposite the HSBC Bank in the center of Coxen Hole. If you received a 3 month visa, there is no renewal to do but you will have to exit the country after that period. Note that going to neighboring countries like Nicaragua or Guatemala is not considered as exiting Honduras as they are part of the Central America alliance. There are 5 countries that are part of this alliance: Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Honduras. Belize and Panama are not part of that alliance. There is an airport tax to be paid when leaving the country. The price is about $35 US dollars and is paid at the special booth in the airport, just before entering the security area. There are two (2) forms of permits: Residency permits (for pensioners and investors) and permanency permit (for executives and employees of Honduras businesses). Both types give you permission to stay and reside in Honduras. They have to be renewed annually in the immigration office located in La Ceiba (the Roatan office cannot renew those permits). It is necessary to have your residency or permanence to obtain a work permit. Employers can help you obtain a work permit but they rarely get involved with that process on the islands. However, you can apply successfully for a permanence if you act as the executive of an existing Honduran corporation that has a track record. You have to demonstrate that the company has been profitable for a year in order to be able to apply for the permanence. Once you have applied for your residency or permanence, you will get a "Constancia" that allow you to to renew your visa monthly for a small fee (around $15). This can be done until you get your residency or permanence. Make sure that you do renew your visa every month: otherwise, you will run into more red tape when your permanence or residency is about to be delivered, incurring further delays. Note that the information provided by most Honduran embassies and consulates in various countries is outdated. It is highly recommended that you avoid spending thousand of dollars back home; you almost certainly will have to start over when you get here and it will cost you again. The only documents you need to apply for residency/permanency once in Honduras are a police report from your country that is less than six (6) months old and your passport. Financial or bank statements can also be useful depending on the type or permits for which you are applying. The other necessary documents will be produced here in Honduras with the help of your attorney. Driver's licenses are issued by the police station located on the road between Sandy Bay and Coxen Hole. It is not easily visible from the road because it is on top of a steep hill. You will need 2 wallet-size photos and your passport. The fee is below 1,000 Lps. There might be a test involved but it is rarely requested. If you are employed or if you purchase a vehicle or big items, you will need an RTN Number. That is a personal Honduran Tax number. Businesses and legal entities need their own RTN numbers. Your attorney can also help you get your RTN number(s). There are two (2) different business structures available in Honduras: the individual business license and the incorporation. The individual business license is called an Individual Merchant status and has one individual owning the entire interest of the business with unlimited liability. The incorporation structure that can take two different forms: a) The Limited Liability company, S. de R.L. (Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada) uses a firm name and its partners are liable only to the extent of their contribution. Operations Permit & Sales Tax Businesses operating in the Bay Islands need to obtain an Operations Permit from the municipal office in Coxen Hole. That Operations Permit must be displayed in your place of business. There is also a monthly fee to be paid in order to maintain the permit. Along with the Operations Permit, you will also obtain a green card that states that your business is a taxpayer. You also need to collect a 12% tax and remit it to the municipal government. On the Bay islands, all business issues are done with the municipal government. You can find more details about these issues in the Doing Business section. To set-up or buy a business, it is advisable to talk to a professional. Specialized attorneys offer that service. Tax reports are handled by knowledgeable accountants. Corporate Income Tax A yearly corporate income tax has to be paid by the end of April. Duties have to be paid on things you bring into Honduras. Some changes will occur following the implementation of Zolitur, the free trade zone program that has been adopted for the Bay Islands, planned for December 2007. We will keep you posted of changes as they happen. Certain mail and parcel services (for instance RAS Xpress) take care of paying duties for you and bill you on your monthly invoice. That is usually the case for smaller shipment. However, if you have a bigger shipment take care of your own shipment, for instance, if you have some belongings shipped through Hyde Shipping/Naviera Hybur, you will have to settle the duties yourself. The procedure is the following: you get the paperwork, i.e. the manifest from Hyde, then go to see a broker who will prepare the paperwork for customs. You may have to go to the Customs Office if you need to verify rates or need special arrangements. You pay the broker the necessary fee, who will give you the paperwork that will allow you to have your goods released from Hyde Shipping. You go back with the paperwork and present it to the Customs Officer at the warehouse and they release your shipment. The Customs Office is located at the back of the small park opposite the HSBC Bank in the center of Coxen Hole. It is important to avoid making enemies in the Customs department. Even though it sometimes requires a lot of patience, it is necessary to keep your cool. Some people are finding the hard way that it doesn't pay to be overbearing with Customs Officers: their shipment may be delayed indefinitely. Obtaining officials' cooperation is crucial. Buying property requires a few precautions, to avoid being victim of corruption and crooked deals. The first step is dealing with a reputable agent. Talk to people who have dealt with agents and get references. You can chose to hire a buyer's agent, i.e. someone who represents you, the buyer, and does not represent the client. This means that the agent works in your favor at all times rather than work mostly for the seller. A lot of real estate Web sites have excellent advice to offer you. Talk to other people who have purchased on the islands. There are lots of stories and different experiences (that we cannot put in writing) that will help you evaluate your situation and avoid common pitfalls. Be weary of too tight deadlines. Everything goes slowly here and it is most likely that things will take more time than anticipated. Provide for that type of contingency in your documents. You may come across unanticipated or never seen before situations. That is not unusual since things are done differently here. Title insurance is an excellent precaution. Some pieces of land are in dispute and could be tied up in courts for years. It has also happened that predated documents have been registered at a later date with corrupted officials. This being a third world country, you should take more precautions than less. You will need a building permit and the plans need to be signed by an accredited Honduran architect or engineer. The quality of the work can vary greatly from one builder or contractor to the other, given that there are no specific codes for anything. That is why you need to deal with reputable companies. Keep in mind that estimates are not always accurate, both in the costs and timeframe. An interesting tidbit: it is hard to find windows and screens that fit properly in Honduras. A lot of screens have big gaps on at least one side, defeating the basic purpose of a screen. When I tried to ask the reason for the gaps, I was told that it is to make it easier to remove the screen from the window... Dealing with the Law When a Crime Happens If you are the victim of a crime, call the police immediately. They will be most helpful, but do not expect any result. The police force has very few cars. They mostly go around in the motorized tricycles that you often see on the road. They have no way of getting anywhere fast. They are working with very little and do not have many resources. If some of your items are stolen, it's unlikely they will be found. If you get attacked or assaulted, you are on your own until probably well after the deed is done. Then you will have to deal with the legal aspects. Read more about this here.
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