Haiti

Why Haiti?

The UK Foreign Office (FCDO) advises against all travel to Haiti. This page says what that means and answers the question behind it.

We do not write this page to rate Haiti as a location but because people search for it. The answer is: Haiti is not a place to move to at present, for anyone. The FCDO advises against all travel to the country because of the volatile security situation, and there are no British consular officials in Haiti. Among the countries we do not advise on, Haiti is the only one to which the UK advises against all travel. Everything else on this page stands under that caveat.

• ✓The FCDO advises against all travel to Haiti, and British consular help in the country is severely limited
• ✓A high threat of criminal kidnap in any part of the country, at any time
• ✓Road travel is highly dangerous: armed carjacking is common, and criminal groups use improvised roadblocks to extort or kidnap motorists
• ✓Blocked roads and security incidents often disrupt transport and can lead to fuel and food shortages
• ✓The formal rules on residence, tax and naturalisation exist, but they describe an administration that is not working reliably at present

Residence permits and residency options

Tax in Haiti

Haiti's tax administration requires an income tax return from foreigners without diplomatic status who stay in the country for more than 183 days in the same tax year. Wages and salaries are subject to a five-band progression from 0% to 30%, a 20% withholding rate applies to non-resident professionals, and there is a minimum tax that is due even where tax residence is abroad.

One thing we deliberately do not state: whether Haiti taxes residents on their worldwide income or only on Haitian-source income could not be established reliably from the statutory text. Haiti is not covered in the relevant international tax overviews, and the tax code was not available in a version that answers the question clearly. So instead of a classification that looks good, we say what is open.

In practice it makes no difference anyway. The tax rate is not what decides a location where the water supply does not work reliably.

Citizenship: the route to a second passport

Haiti's nationality decree of 1984 provides for naturalisation after five years of legal residence, evidenced by the permis de séjour.

Five years of residence are not a realistic plan under present conditions but a rule without a use case. The Haitian passport also offers some of the weakest travel freedom in the world; as a second passport it is of no use to you.

We show the figure anyway, because an overview that leaves cells empty misses its purpose. It is a statement of law, not a recommendation.

Our Haiti insider tip: Cap-Haïtien

Cap-Haïtien in the north is the most plausible address in the country: the second-largest city, outside the centre of gang violence, with its own international airport. Plausible here does not mean recommended.

On costs, an honest assessment: local prices are low, but the bill for a newcomer looks different. Almost all consumer goods are imported, private security is not an option but a fixed cost, electricity in practice comes from your own generator, and medical evacuation insurance is part of the basic kit. That is why the card says Medium and not Low.

The cultural history, the food and the landscape of the north deserve a chapter of their own. They change nothing about the security situation.

Banking outside Haiti

In Haiti the banking question is a different one from everywhere else on this site: not where your structure sits, but whether payments work reliably at all. Criminals target people withdrawing cash or leaving banks, according to the FCDO, which says a great deal about everyday payments.

There is no sensible structure that can carry this location, because the problem is not a tax problem. We do not structure residences in countries whose administration we cannot treat as a procedural counterpart, and we would rather say so clearly than hint at a solution that does not exist.

Who is Haiti right for, and who not?

Frequently asked questions about Haiti