Article updated on 01.21.23
Crossing the border between Mexico and Belize is relatively easy. The people are very friendly and helpful (especially on the Belizean side). They explain all the steps to follow so that you don’t have any problems during your stay in their country.
1. The administrative side of Mexico
Exit stamp, cancellation and refund of Mexican TIP
When you arrive at the border on the Mexican side, park your vehicle at the “Banjercito” building (2). On your way to the car park, you will pass a small “casita” (shack) (1) where you can get your passport stamped with the exit from the country.
Be careful not to get your passport stamped if you intend to return to Mexico after your visit to Belize.
Once you have stamped your passport and parked your vehicle in the car park of the “Banjercito” building (2), go to the counter to have your TIP cancelled and refunded. The staff member in charge will accompany you to your vehicle to take some photos.
Once this is done, you are free to drive to the Belizean border which is 2km away.
2. Disinfection of the vehicle
Optional step in our opinion
On the road between the Mexican border and the Belize border, you will find a disinfection hut for your vehicle (1). Disinfection of the vehicle costs between 10 and 15 BLZ dollars (depending on the customer’s head). Please note that they only accept cash (USD, pesos or BLZ).
You will receive a paper certifying that you have done this step. We were told by other travellers that this step was mandatory, but we never had any control over it. If we had to do it again, we would skip this step, as no one officially told us about this step on the Belize border.
3. Visa and vehicle importation at the Belizean border
When you arrive at the Belizean border, park on the right (1) and walk inside the emigration building (2) (on the left of the road).
In the building, you will fill in a form to apply for a visa. The visa is valid for 1 month and can be renewed several times. Once your visa has been issued and your passport stamped, you will go to the next counter (at the back of the building) (3) to complete the formalities for importing your vehicle. This step takes a little longer as the employee has to write down everything on paper (approx. 20 minutes).
Then you will have to find the agent in charge of payment (ask for the person responsible for paying the road tax) who will accompany you to your vehicle and who will make you pay the road tax (30 BLZ dollars). Payment can be made in cash (USD, pesos, BLZ) or by credit card (the easiest way is by cash).
You can then pick up your vehicle and drive to the border where they will check your documents and possibly the interior of your vehicle. On our side, they didn’t even open the cabinets so we advise you to shop in Mexico to save some money.
4. Vehicle insurance
On leaving the border, don’t forget to stop at the building on the right (4.) to purchase insurance for your vehicle. This is a simple civil liability insurance and costs 46 BLZ to be paid by credit card or cash for 15 days.
To summarise
It takes between one and two hours (maximum) to complete these different steps. For us, this border crossing was relatively simple. We are grateful to the agents on the Belizean side of the border who are extremely professional and explained each step very well.
To sum up:
- Mexican administration (exit stamp in passport and cancellation of TIP)
- Disinfection of the vehicle
- Visa and vehicle importation into Belize
- Vehicle insurance in Belize
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