Working in Guatemala as a French Citizen: Residence, Salaries, Contributions and Taxes

The stay of under three months without a visa is for tourism: to work, the French citizen applies for a long-stay visa from the Guatemalan embassy, then for a residence authorisation from the Guatemalan Migration Institute, which can take several months (France Diplomatie). The “migrant workers” category of temporary residence distinguishes three routes: through a Guatemalan employer, through a foreign employer or self-employed. Its duration covers the contract, with a maximum of five years.

The file includes the application form, the original valid passport and its legalised copy with the last entry stamp, the criminal and police record, the certification of migration movements, proof of payment and the legalised employment contract, with, where applicable, the certification from the Ministry of Labour. The employer must provide its tax number (RTU), its business licences, its financial statements, its annual tax return and a letter describing the duties and the length required. The fees are 25 dollars for filing, then 200 dollars for one year, 300 for two years and 500 for three to five years. The holder completes a biometric registration within 30 days of notification and updates their data every year.

See also the guide for employees working abroad and the page on living in Guatemala for settling-in formalities.

The Ministry of Labour publishes the minimum wages by economic zone every year: zone 1 covers the department of Guatemala, zone 2 the rest of the country. The amounts vary by activity (non-agricultural, agriculture, export and maquila) and are calculated by the month or by the day. A monthly productivity bonus is added in every case.

Above the floor, pay is negotiated according to the post, the sector and the city; the informal sector employs the majority of the workforce according to France Diplomatie, which makes salary comparisons harder to read. The “Economic indicators” block of this page updates growth, inflation, unemployment and the exchange rate.

Every employer is required to register with the social security scheme and to register its workers; the obligation applies from three workers, a one-worker business being able to use the voluntary insurance schemes (IGSS). The employee and employer contribution percentages do not appear on the pages of the institute’s website consulted: they are to be confirmed with the IGSS, whose contact centre is 1522.

The member receives care in the IGSS units (outpatient consultation, hospitalisation, rehabilitation, psychological and social support, orthopaedic devices and prostheses on medical indication) and, in the event of incapacity through illness or accident, cash benefits equal to two thirds of the daily wage. To be entitled to care, the worker must show four contributions in the last six months. The beneficiaries are the wife or female partner, if she meets the conditions, and children under seven. The page on the healthcare system in Guatemala details the cover.

Guatemala does not appear on the list of international tax treaties published by impots.gouv.fr (the French tax authority’s website). The domestic-law rules of each country therefore apply, with no treaty mechanism for eliminating double taxation. Guatemalan income tax is run by the Superintendency of Tax Administration (SAT), whose scales and regimes are read on the administration’s website for the tax year concerned; the site was not accessible when this page was written, and no rate is therefore given here.

A French employee who keeps French-source income remains subject to the French rules applicable to non-residents: the minimum rate is 20% up to a first income threshold and then 30%, with an option for the average rate (impots.gouv.fr). The situation is checked with the French tax authorities before departure.

In the absence of a social security agreement, an employee sent by a French company can be seconded outside an agreement: they remain affiliated to the French scheme for three years, renewable once, covered up to the benefits they would have received in France, on paid invoices using form S 3125c. Contributions are paid in France as if the activity were carried out there, without exempting them from any contributions due in Guatemala (CLEISS). See seconded or expatriate.

An employee on a local contract, by contrast, leaves the French scheme and comes under the Guatemalan scheme; the CFE (Caisse des Français de l’étranger, the French expatriate health fund) is added to local affiliation without exempting them from it. A self-employed worker can apply for temporary migrant worker residence on their own account. For remote work, no dedicated category appears among the temporary residences published by the migration institute; see the guide to digital nomad visas and confirm with the institute.

An assignment in Guatemala is prepared with France Diplomatie’s recommendations. In the capital, public transport is advised against, except the green Transmetro buses; radio taxis, yellow taxis and ride-hailing services are preferable to white taxis hailed in the street. Zones 3, 6, 18, 19, 21 and 24 are to be avoided, as well as certain parts of Mixco and Villa Nueva; zones 1, 2, 5, 7, 8, 9 and 17 are visited by day only. Coaches expose passengers to extortion near the borders, and France Diplomatie advises favouring top-end coaches, agencies or international flights.

For business travel, it is recommended to carry your passport and driving licence at road checks and to stay courteous; attempts at extortion by members of the security forces are possible. The road causes about three times as many victims as crime: avoid driving at night and on secondary roads, and use chauffeur-driven hire from recognised agencies. Insurance covering care and repatriation is among the preconditions for any assignment: see the page on expat health insurance.

According to France Diplomatie, GDP is around 120 billion dollars, or a little under 7,000 dollars per inhabitant. Services account for about two-thirds of GDP, industry a little over a fifth and agriculture less than a tenth (World Bank). The United States is the country’s leading customer (32% of exports), ahead of El Salvador (13%) and Honduras (11%), and remittances from the diaspora, settled mainly in the United States, represent 20% of GDP.

French exports to Guatemala run to tens of millions of euros. The currency is the quetzal. The main cities of activity are Guatemala City, Mixco, Villa Nueva, Quetzaltenango, Escuintla and Antigua; the most visible openings for a French manager or technician are in services, industry and agribusiness.