Living in Gua. and Getting Citizenship - HOW?

Hello:

If I move to Antigua and decide to stay for three or four years to study Spanish I would also like to leave the country with a dual citizenship and have a Guatemalan passport.

Can anyone tell me who to hook up with during my first several months in Guatemala so I can start this process of acquiring citizenship leading to a second passport?

Thanks,  James

James, the 'legal' process to dual citizenship is long, nearly impossible and expensive.  This would include application for temporary residence, application for permanent residence two years later, and then application for citizenship a few years later.  Each of those steps is fraught with their own serious challenges; I know people waiting for five years for one or the other, at the cost of $500 to $1,000 each.

I'm told citizenship can be acquired for $50,000 if you know the right people.

guateliving wrote:

...I'm told citizenship can be acquired for $50,000 if you know the right people.


I know where you can get it for $15,000 and you do not have to live in Guatemala, but since I would like to go to Antigua to learn Spanish I would prefer going the slower route while living in Guatemala.

James

JamesB wrote:
guateliving wrote:

...I'm told citizenship can be acquired for $50,000 if you know the right people.


I know where you can get it for $15,000 and you do not have to live in Guatemala, but since I would like to go to Antigua to learn Spanish I would prefer going the slower route while living in Guatemala.

James


Okay, share!

hi
i would also like to know how can a person can get the citizenship of guatemala.
kindly let me know the process which a person need to follow. and what are the documents require.

Guateliving cannot reply as he is now in a US Federal prison.

Brooklyn7 wrote:

Guateliving cannot reply as he is now in a US Federal prison.


?????

their is any lawyer or some one who can Assists me.

Jeff Cassman aka Guateliving was arrested on October 5th in Antigua Guatemala and was deported back to the US to face federal charges.  There is more information about his arrest on his blog at www.guateliving.com.  He was offering advise on this subject of getting citizenship in Guatemala.  I would not believe very much of what he advised!

As far as lawyers to assist someone getting citizenship I cannot give any advise.

Where have you read that ? Can't find anything on this blog

www.tennessean.com/article/20101007/NEW … in+Guatemawww.nashvillepost.com/news/2010/10/6/captured

James...I had the services of an experienced immigration attorney and it took me over a year to get residency as a pensionado and then another few months to obtain the ID card...and now there's one more step to register that card...forget about dual citizenship.

hi  paladin


Can you share your experienced of imigration , and which is the best lawer to contact in guatamal. please help me. iwant to go by slow process also no problem

What kind of obstacles do Americans encounter in moving to Guatemala in order to start a business?  Is the nation of Guatemala generally friendly to foreign investment there?

hi
i am still looking how to get the citizenship of guatemala, kindly anyone their can help me out with the some usefull tips. on it , or a lawer who can help to process for the citizenship.

If anyone in this forum is still looking for an attorney, I'd be happy to recommend one.  I'm a US attorney, but am not trained in Guatemala law.  However, I have an extensive network of Guatemalan attorneys that focus on a variety of practice areas; business, immigration, energy, telecommunications, international law etc.

HI GringoLawyer
I would like to get a PR from Guatemala.can u help me this procedure

pls mail me

[email protected]

Got here from a search for something else. The thread is old but I figured it was worth a comment.
To get Guatemalan Citizenship (for someone who is not Central American) you need to get permanent residency (pink DPI) and have it for five years. You are then eligible to apply for Citizenship.

I have done this in Nicaragua and it ended up as a 2-year process but it is possible. Expect it to not be fun with a lot of "una cosa más" in the process.

Note that the law has a lot of "if you are special" loopholes such as "special service to Guatemala". I don't know anyone who has exercised any of these options.

When you ask for Citizenship the Guatemalan government ask you to renounce to your current one.. But if your country has dual citizenship at the end you will keep both.

This is typical -- same in Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Basically, you are asked to sign a form that says you are renouncing your former citizenship in favor of the new one/new allegiance. But, the form only goes in you new citizenship application file.

In the case of a US citizenship, each year the process to renounce gets harder. Recently, the fee went up to about $4000.