Following on the heels of similar changes that have occurred in the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands government departments of Labour and Immigration have officially merged bringing them both under the same ministry for the first time.
The minister responsible for Labour, Vincent Wheatley, said while there will not be an immediate physical change, other changes such as an e-government platform to link the two departments electronically will be implemented.
The changes will take the application process online however the payment of fees will have to be done in person. Wheatley said new work permits will be processed during the pilot phase, while permits that are already in the system will be grandfathered in over time. It is anticipated that the move will considerably reduce the processing time for the issue of permits.
