Aragón & Aragón / Guatemala Law Firm

We make a reference of it frequent asked questions that our visitors have made to us. Click in the name of it questions and will appear the preliminary answer. If you have a question that isn´t listed or did want to extend the answer or exist other details, please contact us.

Mercantile and Commercial Law

• ¿How to constitute Mercantile Societies or Companies in Guatemala?
• ¿Can be constituted and be registered in Guatemala Foreign Societies or Companies?

Migration and Visa

• ¿Which is the visa of businesses and how much time is valid?
• ¿Which is the visa of transit and how much time is valid?
• ¿How long must have a foreigner as a married person with Guatemalan to be able to choose to the permanent residence?
• ¿How long after having Temporary Residence can be asked for the Permanent Residence?
• ¿Inasmuch as time the visa of tourist or visitor is valid and inasmuch as time is extendable?
• ¿For what reasons can be lost the quality of resident?
• ¿What migratory category is necessary to be able to work in Guatemala?
• ¿What migratory categories exist to enter Guatemala?
• ¿What happens if a foreigner whom he obtained his Permanent Residence by Marriage divorces?
• ¿Can be obtained a visa outside Guatemala?

Usually the companies in Guatemala they are constituted like Joint-stock company. The joint-stock company is way more common and efficient to organize a company in Guatemala. Its characteristics main they are:

• The society must have two (2) partners at least. Each shareholder must have one action at least.
• That the society has a social denomination, that is not enrolled previously.
• That the share capital is not smaller of (Q. 5,000.00) five thousand Quetzals and that completely are paid.
• The administration of the society can be in charge of a single administrator or of an advice of administration. It is not necessary that the members of the administration advice are resident in Guatemala, but is recommendable which is designated at least to, for the fulfillment of the periodic obligations.
• The ordinary assemblies one (1) time to the year within the four (4) following months will meet to the closing of the fiscal year at least.
• The extraordinary assemblies are those that deal with any modification to the social writing, and all the others so that the law or the social writing therefore demands it.

• Check that is properly constituted in agreement with the laws of the country in which it will have been organized.
• Present copies registered letter of its constituent writing and its statutes, if it will have them, as well as of any modifications.
• Check that´s properly has been adopted a resolution by its competent organ, for these aims
• Constitute in the Republic an executive mandatory with plenty representation, ample faculties to make all the acts and legal businesses of its turn and to represent the society legally, in judgment and outside him, with all pertinent the special faculties that the Law institutes . If the mandatory will not have those faculties, he will be considered invested with them, by ministry of the Law.
• Constitute a capital assigned for its operations in the Republic and a guarantee in favor of third by a nonsmaller amount to the equivalent one in quetzals of fifty thousand dollars of the United States of America (US$ 50.000,00), which Registry will fix Mercantile, which the time will have to remain effective throughout that this society operates in the country, as well as to commit itself specifically to respond, not only with the goods that it has in the territory of the Republic, but also with that it has in the outside, by all the acts and businesses that celebrate in the country.
• To be put in oath under the jurisdiction of the courts of the country, as well as the laws of the Republic, by the acts and businesses of private right that celebrates in the territory or that there are to have its desired effects in him;
• Present a declaration of which neither the used society nor its representatives or will be able to invoke foreing rights, because they will enjoy solely the rights, and the means to exert them, that the laws of the country grant the Guatemalans. Declarar before retiring of the country, will fill the legal requirements.
• Letter of its last general balance sheet and state of losses and gains.
• the documents necessary to verify those ends will have to appear to the Mercantile Registry, for the effects to obtain the governmental, in agreement authorization the arranged thing in the Law.



¿Which is the visa of businesses and how much time is valid?


the visa of business is the one that extends those foreigners whom, acting in individual form or representation properly credited of a foreign organization of lucrative character, they love to enter the country by reasons for allowed businesses. This visa is valid by a term of 6 months and is extendable a single time. It can be extended by the Consulates of Guatemala and by the Main Director of Migration.




¿Which is the visa of transit and how much time is valid?


The Visa of Transit is the granted one to the foreigners whom they have to enter the country to be able to go to the country of its destiny. This Visa has a prorrogable validity of 72 hours, extendable in case of greater force exists than forces this person to remain more time in the country. This Visa can be asked for in the Consulates of Guatemala or any aerial, terrestrial or marine control post migratory, previous presentation of the visa of the destiny country .




¿How long must have a foreigner as a married person with Guatemalan to be able to choose to the permanent residence?


Will have to have by a year at least,as a married person with Guatemalan, to be able to choose to the permanent residence.




¿How long after having Temporary Residence can be asked for the Permanent Residence?


Can be chosen to the permanent residence when or it is 2 years old to live in Guatemala, that is to say, can at least be done the proceeding of permanent residence with a prudencial time before the temporary residence is overcome, 3 or 6 months before.




¿ Inasmuch as time the visa of tourist or visitor is valid and inasmuch as time is extendable?


The visa of tourist or visitor is valid by a maximum period of 90 days and is extendable a single time.




¿For what reason can be lost the quality of resident?


The resident quality can be lost by the following reasons:

• By breach in the payment of the taxes to that it has been commited.
• By falsification or alteration of the presented/displayed documentation.
• By resolution of competent judge.
• By absence of the national territory by 1 year, injustifided or without authorization.



¿What migratory category is necessary to be able to work in Guatemala?


The foreigners who have migratory category of temporary or permanent resident can work in dependency relation as long as they obtain the corresponding authorization of the Ministry of Work and Social Health Care.




¿What migratory categories exist to enter Guatemala?

The foreigners who enter Guatemala it can do under the following migratory categories:
• Non Resident: these are classified in:
• People in transit: they are the foreigners who enter the country by nobody of the places authorized and whose permanence does not exceed 72 hours, except for cases of greater;
• Tourist or visitors: the foreigners who enter the country with allowed aims, without immigration intention or calls to account, for reasons which they do not imply remuneration some and by a nongreater term of 90 days, extendable by a single time by another equal period.
• Resident: these are classified in:
• Temporary Resident: the foreigners who authorize permanence to them in the country by the period of 2 years, with the aim to dedicate itself to any allowed activity in temporary form.
• Permanent Resident: the foreigners who constitute their address in Guatemala. The people who can choose to this category are:
• Pensioners or rentists: the foreigners who count on allowed permanent income, generated in the outside of the country and which they decide to remain per indefinite time in Guatemala without dedicating itself to no remunerated job class, with exception of the cases established in the law.
• Investors;
• Smaller or unmarried spouse and children of the people mentioned in the previous numerals;
• Familiar foreigners of nationals, being understood like such to the spouse (at least 1 year of married), children and parents, when the Guatemalan nationality does not correspond to them; and,
• People who demonstrate outstanding performances in the fields of science, technology, the arts and the sport.



¿What happens if a foreigner whom he obtained his Permanent Residence by Marriage divorces?


the foreigner must ask for the Main directorate of Migration that ratifies its migratory category like permanent resident as long as it fulfills the requirements that the law for permanent residents establishes .



¿Se Can be obtained a visa outside Guatemala?


Yes, as long as the Consulate of Guatemala properly is credited and authorized to grant visas.