Bermuda’s minister of national security has provided an update on proposed changes to the territory’s work permit policies
Speaking in the House of Assembly today, Wayne Caines called on the public to make recommendations on the proposed changes to Bermuda’s work permit regime particularly with regard to the types of jobs that are currently listed in the closed, restricted, special and open categories of the work permit policy.
Members of the public have been invited to send written comments to the government via its Citizen’s Forum no later than May 24, 2019.
At present, work permit applications are not permitted for jobs listed in the closed category including airline ground agent, retail floor supervisor, and office receptionist and pot washers and kitchen assistants will now be moved to that list. The restricted category includes jobs which require additional vetting prior to approval. Applications in this category must be referred to the Department of Workforce Development so qualified Bermudians can be considered.
Special work permits include jobs for which additional specialist training or qualifications are required. These include child care givers, beauty salon and hairdressing staff, hospital nurses or physicians, self-employed persons and part-owners of a BermudIan business.
All other positions are considered open category jobs.
In addition to addressing the proposed new work permit policies, the minister explained that the Department of Immigration is working on many other initiatives to address long-standing immigration issues including that of mixed status families, streamlining and improving its own internal process and procedures, and the implementation of a new border management system at the airport.
