The policy will be trialled on behalf of two companies in the first instance
Wayne Caines, Bermuda’s Minister of National Security, has announced in parliament during a debate on the Budget a scheme to enable work permits to be fast-tracked for two companies as part of a pilot programme designed to tackle delays in the processing of applications.
The companies involved in the pilot are Liberty Mutual and Sompo International, both of which were selected to take part in the trial because to their corporate citizenship credentials and certain other “key performance matrices” including training and development of Bermudians and how much annual revenue the companies bring to the island.
The minister stressed that the proposed faster process would not necessarily mean applications would not be subjected to the rigour of the vetting process. Instead in order to increase processing times certain steps may be eliminated. Applications would also be switched to an electronic platform in a bid to improve turnaround times and reduce human error.
Minister Caines noted that if the pilot is successful, the Immigration Department would consider implementing it more widely as the work permit process moved towards a more “risk-based approach”. He also noted that a public consultation would be launched soon to canvass opinion on changes to the various work permit categories.
