Interesting immigration announcement

The Minister responsible for Immigration, Jason Hayward, has today published a development strategy for 2023-2027. He is also the Minister for Economy and Labour, and the document covers these areas too. Here, though, I shall just focus on the immigration aspects of it, which start at p57 of the 61…

Economic investment update

The new policy on obtaining a residential certificate through economic investment has now been published. They are re-branding it as an Economic Investment Residential Certificate (EIRC). The main changes are that:…

Budget statement released

David Burt has made his budget statement, and immigration fees are set to rise by 5% on the 1st April. I would assume this will include PRC applications, meaning that anybody applying for PRC under the 20 year rule can expect to pay $500 more; and anybody applying under the…

Immigration fee increases

When I first started advising people on naturalisation back in 2012, the application fee was $84. This has crept up over the years. By 2016 it was $250. In 2018, it was $500. And in 2022, it was increased to $1000! So there is always a risk that, come the…

My article in the Royal Gazette

This week, I had an article published in the Royal Gazette, looking back on the first year of the new PRC provisions, and looking forward to what needs to be done to make the scheme more workable. A few people have also made their own observations in the comments. Please…

Immigration letters for children of Belongers

Children up until the age of 18 of Belongers also belong to Bermuda. However, it has always been a vexed issue as to documenting this for the purposes of re-entry, and also for proving the right to engage in paid work without a permit. There is good news on that…

What might independence mean for non-Bermudian residents?

With increased talk of independence locally, I mean to focus on the possible implications of this in my newsletter going forwards. I am often asked by PRC holders / Belongers, etc. "what would independence mean for me?" The answer is that it is difficult to know for sure. It&…

Changes to visitors' length of stay

The Minister responsible for immigration, Jason Hayward, has tabled a new Bill that will limit how long people may stay in Bermuda as a visitor. At present, people are able to enter Bermuda for up to six months, then leave and…