Legislation presented in the House of Assembly last week is just the beginning
In the ministerial statement made in the House of Assembly on March 6, Bermuda’s minister of national security, Wayne Caines, provided a detailed time frame for immigration reform on the island.
Minister Caines noted that historically immigration policies in Bermuda had been the subject of much controversy therefore instead of the complete repeal and replacement of the existing legislation, his Progressive Labour Party government had decided to proceed more cautiously and with a view to bipartisan input and collaboration. Immigration reform has been divided into four phases:
Phase 1 – Deals with operational backlogs in the Department of Immigration (the “Department”) including work permit processing.
Phase 2 – Focuses on the improvement of processing and procedures in the Department including the removal of bottlenecks, elimination of waste and enhancement of efficiency.
Phase 3 – Involves policy and legislative reform.
Phase 4 – Marks the implementation phase and includes the upgrading of the Department’s information technology systems, training of staff, and a possible change to the Department’s organisational structure in light of the legislative amendments.
In the next parliamentary session, the legislature will be invited to consider further bills that are intended to simplify the law governing Bermuda status, the grant of permanent resident’s certificates, and belongers. Additionally, a new border management system is scheduled to go live in the summer of 2020.
The government is hoping for comprehensive, bipartisan immigration reform, and the minister called for a mature debate on reforming migration in a manner that will work to create a better and fair Bermuda.
