As vaccination campaigns swept the globe for inoculations well underway, tourism-reliant nations began opening their borders once more—incentivizing vaccinated travelers by waiving certain entry requirements. In February 2021, Belize became one of the first countries in the world to implement exemptions for vaccinated passengers to skip testing. Now, effective August 9th at nearly 6 months later, Belize re-instates the entry requirement for all travelers—both fully vaccinated and unvaccinated travelers—to present or undergo a COVID-19 test for entry.
The Caribbean and Central American nation’s removal of the exception comes amidst concerns the Delta variants. While Belize has not seen a considerable number of new cases, hospitalizations, or deaths due to the Delta variant, the testing rule is being put back into place as a precautionary measure to ensure that doesn’t happen.
A press release from the Belize Tourism Board states: “These measures are being put in place in view of the increased risks posed by recent variants of the Covid-19 virus and in an effort to protect both international visitors and the local population.” All passengers 5 years and older are required to present a negative test.
Testing Requirements at Ports of Entry

Photo by the Belize Tourism Board
All passengers will be required to submit proof of a negative test. If the test is PCR-based, it needs to be taken a maximum of 96-hours before arrival, and if the test is antigen-based, the time frame is 48 hours. Children under the age of 5 will be exempt from testing. If for some reason the test is not valid, passengers will be tested at the airport at their own expense of $50 USD. Only cash is accepted at this time; credit card machines and ATMs are not available in the Health Testing Unit.
Crossing into Belize via open land borders (Northern and Western borders) will require testing done in real-time. Antigen-type rapid tests will be administered to all land border passengers over the age of 5 at a cost of $50 USD. External PCR or antigen tests already performed before crossing the land border will not be accepted.