Guatemala student visa (temporary student residence)

The student residence is for foreigners who will study at Guatemalan educational institutions. Article 7 of the residence regulation grants it for the duration of the school cycle or university course, according to the supporting documents, and article 5 lets students extend it for as long as their studies last, while other temporary residents must move to permanent residence after five years.

Nationals of visa-exempt Category A countries can enter and file the application at the IGM after arrival. The pending application authorises the stay while it is processed.

The general requirements are the completed application form; the original valid passport and a complete copy legalised by a Guatemalan notary, including the last entry stamp; a birth certificate only if your country has no diplomatic mission in Guatemala; a certificate of no criminal or police record from your country of origin or where you lived in the last two years, valid six months; a certificate of migration movements showing your last entry; and the receipt for the filing fee.

Specific to students are an enrolment letter from the Guatemalan institution bearing its signature, stamp and timetable or study plan, and a certificate of economic solvency, your own or from a person responsible for you. For minors, the parents' documents are added. The IGM asks for files in a lilac folder.

Under the IGM tariff (Agreement IGM-039-2025), you pay USD 25 when lodging the file and USD 100 for each year of residence granted. Payments listed in dollars are made in quetzales at the Bank of Guatemala's official rate on the day. Foreign documents must be apostilled or legalised and translated into Spanish.

After notification you have 30 days to register biographic and biometric data at the Register of Residents; registering late costs USD 200. Residents update their data every year. Answer any request for further information within 30 working days, and file the extension before the residence expires, since a lapsed residence means starting a new application.