New immigration bill to bring clarity to VI Residency & Belonger status
Called the Immigration and Passport (Amendment) Act, 2024, the bill also brings clarity regarding the length of tenure in the Territory for the grant of status and was accompanied by the revised Belonger and Residence Status Policy for VI tabled during the Tenth Sitting of the First Session of the Fifth House of Assembly on May 2, 2024.
Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sustainable Development, Mr. Joseph Smith Abbott said the provisions in the Bill address the periods of being ordinarily resident in the Territory to be considered for the grants of residence and Belonger status.
He said it enshrines the policy directives resulting from the wide consultation, which preceded the completion and adoption of the policy where persons are encouraged to pay keen attention to the amendments to the principal Act.
More to be addressed via bill
The Bill seeks to address issues including the length of time required for being eligible for Residence and Belonger status, the establishment of guidelines and criteria governing the award of status by Cabinet and the process for determining quotas and an appeals process. Other issues addressed include children’s path to residence status and children born in the BVI to Non-Belonger parents.
It outlines the responsibilities of the various entities to gather and analyse data on the population, demographic trends, labour market conditions, and housing availability; defining categories of residence certificates and the eligibility criteria and qualifications for residence certificates.
The Bill further sets out the process for engaging and carrying out stakeholder consultations to ensure transparency in any quota-setting activities, as well as assessing the potential economic and social impact of residence or Belonger certificates.
Persons are being encouraged to read and review the Immigration and Passport Act and the Immigration and Passport (Amendment) Act made available on the website of the government information service.
As part of the process, the Board of Immigration will be responsible for recommending annual immigration quotas for residence or Belonger certificates to Cabinet in accordance with the quota-setting objectives and the capacity of the Territory.
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11 Responses to “New immigration bill to bring clarity to VI Residency & Belonger status”
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dignity squashed but u and others could never understand because such is norm , you and your culture. Your presence has dimmed our glorious sunsets and sunrise of a ZERO crime daily life environment We welcome manypeoples,varied fruit trees are transplanted in this garden. Our regret is understandably the consistency of blows to our consciousness by the surplus of low hanging fruits as we attempt to live in the comforting country of our birth, gifted by the toil and sweat of our ancestors.