The House of Assembly in the British Virgin Islands has passed the controversial amendment to the Immigration and Passport Act with modifications
On June 3, 2019, an amended version of the legislation which had been extensively promoted by Premier Andrew Fahie was approved by members of the islands’ parliament. The original legislation would have allowed expatriate residents who had been living in the territory for a minimum of 15 years to apply for belongership status as part of the government’s attempt to create what was commonly referred to as their “clear path to regularisation” initiative, and would also have facilitated increased efficiency in the processing and approving of immigration applications.
The Bill as initially put forward by the government was not well received by some sectors of the local population many of whom called for comprehensive immigration and labour reforms as promised in the Virgin Islands Party’s 2019 manifesto instead of the so-called “fast track” plan. Implementation of the proposed new legislation was delayed while further consultation was sought.
The most substantial changes to the Bill can be found in sections 16 and 18 of the Act and relate to the fast track plan, belongership and residency. The length of the qualifying period has now been set at 20 years, and the fast track procedure has been modified to include those persons who have already applied for residency and those who have yet to apply. The changes also allow Cabinet to have a say in a process that effectively deals with the backlog.
The revised legislation passed with four of five opposition members absent and limited debate.
The government hopes to continue to promote transparency and communication within the territory and public discussions are set to continue in the coming weeks. Draft policies will be published online for the public to review and public meetings will be held.
Premier Fahie has also set his sights on clearing the substantial backlog that exists and additional policies will be put in place to assist the processing of applications going forward. Reforms will include adopting new immigration monitoring software, stricter policies for work permit renewals, payment of fees and a crackdown on the fraudulent sponsoring of new work permits.
