Ministry Updates On Work Permit Policy Reforms

March 18, 2013

The Ministry of Home Affairs advised today [Mar 18] that it is in the process of finalising the Declaration which will be signed by guest workers who commence their employment in Bermuda on or after 1 August, 1989.

With the elimination of the term limit policy the Ministry committed to introducing a Declaration for guest workers, which essentially confirms and reinforces their understanding that Bermuda law does not confer residency rights to a guest worker.

The new declaration, according to the Ministry, will be signed up front; i.e. it will be issued to all current work permit holders, regardless of when their work permit expires.

The Ministry pointed out that by April 30, 2013, all employers will be required to return signed declarations; including a full listing of all current work permit holders employed at their place of business. Each declaration will be filed on each work permit holder’s immigration file.

The Minister of Home Affairs Michael Fahy said, “We are committed to preserving, protecting and providing jobs for Bermudians. And in that regard the public is reminded that it is the Work Permit Policies that assist in protecting these jobs. We believe that the amendments to the Work Permit Policies will assist with Bermuda’s current unemployment issues, but we also recognise that it will not alone solve all our economic challenges.

“Hence it is my goal to ensure that greater synergies are fostered between the Department of Immigration and the Department of Labour and Training. In that regard I reissue my plea encouraging all unemployed Bermudians to register with the Department of Labour and Training.”

And he reassured all residents that the Ministry will be a “staunch advocate” on behalf of those Bermudians who are seeking job opportunities in the workplace.

The Minister said he is satisfied at the “significant and steady progress” in recent weeks regarding the work permit modifications, and he noted that the Ministry has been in receipt of and has formulated the final proposals from the Work Permit Stakeholder Group – which represents Phase 1 of the Ministry’s work permit policy reform.

On February 13, the Ministry released the final draft proposals to the Work Permit Stakeholder Group and gave a deadline of March 8, for the representatives to return their submissions.

The Work Permit Stakeholder Group is made up of representatives from the Ministry, the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce, the Bermuda Hotel Association, ABIC, ABIR, the Construction Association of Bermuda, the Bermuda Employers Council, the Bermuda Human Resources Association and the Island’s unions.

Minister Fahy said, “I want to extend my sincere thanks to the Work Permit Stakeholder Group for their submissions. All feedback was considered, and some of the views were taken up and some were set aside for Phase II consideration.

“It is anticipated that the Implementation Version of the 2013 Work Permit Policies will be become effective 1st April, 2013. In the interim the Department of Immigration will commence internal and external stakeholder training, revise the Work Permit Application Forms and documents and ensure that the Department and stakeholders are in a state of readiness on implementation day.”

With Phase I of the reform process now complete, the Minister advised that Phase II of the process will “swiftly get underway” and it is anticipated that the stakeholder group will reconvene shortly to commence a wholesale review of the current Immigration Policies.

Other progress on the reforms includes last Friday’s House of Assembly passage of the Work Permit Fee Schedule legislation.

The changes to the work permits fees are as follows:

  • The one-year work permit fee will increase from $721 to $800;
  • The two-year work permit fee will increase from $1,442 to $2,000;
  • The three-year work permit fee will increase from $2,163 to $3,000;
  • The four-year work permit fee will increase from $2,884 to $4,000;
  • The ten-year work permit fee will decrease from $20,000 to $15,000; and
  • Work permit applications in the new Special Category such as the — Global Work Permit and the and New Business Work Permit will attract a processing fee of $750 per application plus the normal work permit fee.

Minister Fahy concluded, “This Government remains steadfast and committed to ensuring social and economic equity for everyone. Our goals encompass job creation and the stimulation of inward investment. The overall aims of the 2013 Work Permit Policies are to ensure a balance that does not disadvantage Bermudians, but instead provide support to ensure a beneficial, prosperous, business sector in an effort to grow our economy – and as a consequence add new jobs.”

A copy of the Declaration form to be signed by guest workers is below [PDF here]:

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Articles that link to this one:

  1. Work Permit Fee Changes Take Effect Today | Bernews.com | April 1, 2013
  1. Pilot001 says:

    Let’s see how many Bermudians get a job, that are qualified!

    • lets see says:

      Let’s see how many Bermudians lose their jobs and how many non-Bermudians keep their jobs. Mark my words soon come.

  2. Legal Query? says:

    I think the Home Office (UK) needs to review this and advise whether British Citizens on work permits should be signing this. Don’t get me wrong, i have no issues with being on the island as a work permit holder and when your time is up, you have to live, but this letter seems to be rushed, or apparent loopholes left deliberately. Does it mean that dependents of British parents born on the island have an option?

    • O.B. says:

      I agree that it does seem rushed and lacks clarity re children born to British parents. However,I think the first point makes it clear that the person signing -whatever his or her nationality- does so knowing that status is not an option. Given our small size, I think the courts will certainly uphold this document if it was ever challenged (which I don’t think it will be. After all, permit holders probably wish to return home eventually).

    • blah blah says:

      Bermudians are British Citizens, but British Citizens are almost never Bermudians.

      • Orbit says:

        Why would you be, ya not from here!

      • swing voter says:

        you hav yur island, we hav ours…so wats yur beef? Rich, Poor, or anywhere inbetween, I won’t ever immigrate to yur island, even if I marry one of yur women! As for UK citizenship, its conditional, not worth the paper its written on, I’ll use my passport for toilet paper when the UK cut us off permanently.

      • George says:

        Not sure you why you posted this statement?! Of course British citizens are Bermudians – a quick look at the history of immigration (& surnames) to the Island would show you what nationality the ‘paper Bermudians’ are on the Island, British or from the Caribbean!

        What was the point of your post?

  3. Goodidea Badidea says:

    Not convinced that this really helps anything. What is broken is the allowing of people to make Bermuda their HOME by way of long terms of work permit renewals. No declaration document changes the fact that many people have been allowed to stay here long enough to have essentially become part of Bermuda. That have paid their dues, rent, groceries and invested in relationships, had kids and paid school fees.

    20 years? Give them PRC at least and make d@mn sure that the ones who make it there are the ones that have truly contributed and have a proven track record. Many people only come here expecting a stop along the way of their career, others are here because they’re willing to be paid the wages that couldn’t sustain a local person long term. They’re the ones that ultimately will move on or be moved on.

    Meanwhile Cayman, Bahamas, BVI and T&C still have paths to residency if not full citizenship.

    I guess tough times call for tough measures…

  4. Expat says:

    Under what authority can I be required to sign this document? Has a new Act of Parliament been passed?

    I have my work permit, issued fair and square.

    It would help to persuade people to sign it if it had been checked for grammar and punctuation. But then again if locals could deal with that, Bermuda wouldn’t need as many expats in the first place!

    • Black Soil says:

      You are a grade-A a$$hole…if only we could be as perfect as you.

      • street wise says:

        Yeah, in Bermuda mediocrity rules. The pursuit if excellence… what the hell is that? Profesionalism… what the hell is that? Idiot.

      • Expat says:

        @Black Soil: You miss the point entirely. I’m neither saying, nor do I believe, that I am perfect.

        The point is that if you knuckle-dragging rock-dwellers actually applied yourselves and worked hard, there would be no need for expats.

        If you want my job it’s yours. It always has been yours. You simply need to study hard throughout school then college, then even harder to earn a professional qualification. Then keep working hard (note: this includes not being a whiny little b_tch) and eventually you might be considered for a decent position in international business. Just like me. Just like anyone else in IB. And for the record, just like a number of Bermudians I’ve worked alongside.

        You don’t get given a job just because the place you happened to come out of your mother’s c__t was on this rock.

        Fact is this – every expat *does* equal one job stolen from a local (assuming the number of expats were not to exceed the number of locals). But the only reason we were able to steal each one of those jobs is that a local has failed to educate and apply themselves to qualify for the job. One expat = one failed Bermudian. I’m just telling it how it is. You don’t like the truth? Nothing to do with me!

    • Tommy Chong says:

      Obviously you don’t mean yourself when suggesting an expat’s grammar is perfect while a Bermudian’s isn’t. People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones, especially ones who don’t know where to place a comma & exclamation point in a sentence.

      I’m pleased with this new regulation as many employers abuse the permit process.

      Just sign it & move along! ;)

      • Concerned says:

        Err umm Tommy, me thinks perhaps you need to check your grasp of the English language. Expat’s writing is correct. His commas are in the right places and his exclamation points are where they should be.

        Who is it that lives in the glass house? Check ya’self. So typical. I know your type.

        • Topics says:

          @Concerned and Tommy Chong

          To be honest, this is a comments section and grammar, punctuation and spelling are not necessarily the most important aspects of a post. Furthermore, commenting on a poster’s grammar or spelling distracts from any relevant points that poster may be making.

          I would agree with “Expat” on the premise of official documents (as well as press releases) being proofread for accuracy being of a more important nature than the grammar. Although, I do not hold a favorable view of sweeping generalizations of a populace, or segment thereof.

        • windwater says:

          Concerned??

          “His commas are in the right places and his exclamation points are where they should be”.

          This sentence is missing a comma. You should look up coordinating conjunctions on your lunch break.

          Since this is just a forum, we shouldn’t scrutinize grammar and punctuation. This is just simply casual Internet chat.

    • You know as dumb as you may sound to some,I take your points and have to agree with you,we in this country know how to screw each other up the bak side and dont care who gets burnt in the process,that is why expats can come in here and make a mint like a fat bandit and hull a$$ after.

      some were smart enough to stay and get status and they came here as hired hands and now they are our bosses and treated Bermudians like crap,that is my opinion but I say one thing to that,Bermuda is definitely a place for people like you and that is why you are here.

      you dont give a damn about us but yourself,i like people like you,you make my day.I hope you can appreciate the cheek and tongue in what i am saying.

    • Orbit says:

      Go home aready!! We nah care…

      • Expat says:

        I would go home @Orbit, but the money’s too sweet!

  5. Chaos Theory says:

    Interesting – not all legally factual, but interesting non the less

  6. Mr. Happy says:

    Typo in the 2nd to last bullet point. How many times has this document been read, and still this was missed?

    • Mad Dawg says:

      And that same penultimate bullet point isn’t necessary in the first place. It has effect at all. It’s there to appease the rude shouting green shirted loudmouth people.

      • Mad Dawg says:

        …has NO effect all, that should have been…

        • Concerned says:

          You are 100% correct – this measure is merely an appeasement to the green shirted loud ones. You are so correct! This has no legal standing. It is just to placate the less intelligent.

          No big deal. Nothing to get worked up about. Appease the unintelligent masses and move on.

  7. DarkSideofTheMoon says:

    Sign all they like, when the immigration doors are opened to permanency, and someone says, hey you signed that paper, remember, you cannot prove intent…

    • Tommy Chong says:

      Actually the minister is closing the immigration doors to permanency because now there will be a track record of how many times a person reapplies for an expired permit. Before immigration had no idea who was coming or going. What I’d like to see as a further enforcement is a photo of each permit holder put in the file. It’s easy to change a name in some countries & get the new one on a passport.

      • blankman says:

        Absolute nonsense. Immigration already has that information and pictures are submitted as part of the Work Permit application process. And, if you’re not aware of it, work permits have pictures attached.

  8. Victor says:

    Why is it every Minister with the work permit portfolio over the past forty years has felt compelled to appease the unappeasable? Mr. Fahy, please do not perpetuate this ignorance with this offensive dribble.

    • Tommy Chong says:

      How is a declaration stating that you understand the laws of a country offensive?

      • Victor says:

        Totally offensive Tommy – lets NOT do like the last lot and make any expat, especially on arrival, feel as humiliated as possible because as we all know the whole global population is kicking down the doors to come here, set up roots and take over…You can see it in all the investment we’ve NOT managed to pull these last few years… On the other hand, perhaps certain types of investor, Bazarian and Kerwin come to mind, should be made to sign.

      • Expat says:

        Ha! Imagine the stink @Tommy Chong and friends would kick up if they had to sign a form declaring they understand the laws when they entered a real country!

        Mr Chong, have you *ever* been required to sign something like this, or even *heard* of anything so absurd, elsewhere in the world?

        • Tommy Chong says:

          There are countries that have declarations similar & I’ve signed them. Where do you think minister Fahy got the idea from? Surely you don’t think these ministers really come up with their own original ideas?

          What’s absurd is that you think other countries don’t require that a new resident knows the laws of the land. There are even countries that even expect you to know how to speak the language of the country plus other languages if you want to be permitted to work there.

  9. Ok so policies have changed,solet me ask the dum question is this in fact guranteed and protected under law.is there any legitimate loop holes that can be found in our laws that can make these new changes of non effect.

    As for all employees signing that are already here on work permits,what if they refuse to sign because they already have a legal binding agreement that needs to be up held by the employers that hired them and the wording of those documents and that agreement that was agreed to by the then government when they first arrived on Island.

    Then finally why are we to believe the O.B.A when most of them have foreign workers working for them and their families and continue to place ads in the daily with a long list of requirements for jobs that any high school drop out can do,but they seem to think puting a long list of requirements in always passes through immagration.

    They tell you to register with them to be able to get a job ,but what happen to all the data that was collected by Ms Kim Wilson and others to those that showed up at the job fair.why arent most of them been employed yet,why havent we seen a good majority of people been sent back.

    I am talking hotel workers,restaurant workers,construction workers,van drivers,plumbers,electricianns,grocery stores.come on you going tell me that we dont have Bermudians for these jobs,O.B.A you have to show me a lot more then what you are saying for me to believe you.people that have good track records in keeping a job have been made redundant over the last 4 years and now they are still unemployed,somethinng wrong withthat picture,Bermuda wake up and stop looking at those who dont really want to work but look at the many Bermudians who are suffering in their own country bythe hands of their very own.

    • Eastern says:

      @ Duane P. Santucci

      How do you know if Bermudians are actually applying for these jobs that you mentioned (hotel workers,restaurant workers,construction workers,van drivers,plumbers,electricianns,grocery stores)?
      Are there enough Bermudians qualified for these jobs? Many Bermudians (and yes, I am Bermudian) refuse to wait tables or work in the hotels. I have worked in the hotel industry and it is hard to raise a family while working hours that don’t allow you to see your family very much. I also have family members that are out of work, and one (with chidren) who hasn’t worked in two years.
      Are you just assumming that what you are saying is true? Or do you have facts to back up what you are saying?
      You mention construction workers, but haven’t you noticed that there is very little construction jobs in Bermuda. And the reason that many Bermudians are out of work is because of the lack of foreign workers on the island and lack of foreign investment in the island. Foriegn workers have left for greener pastures.
      Please don’t jump to conclusions with out hard evidence

  10. Tommy Chong says:

    Hopefully all permit holders & applicants are made to read this declaration out loud in front of an immigration officer before signing. If they cant read it fully then they shouldn’t be allowed a permit since they don’t understand what they are signing.

    • Sandgrownan says:

      Jesus Christ.

      • Tommy Chong says:

        Nope sorry wrong one. He’s the one with all the miraculous powers like water to wine, walk on water, heal the blind & so on. I’m the one with just the power of suggestion.

        Please to meet you!

        Hope you guessed my name!

        • Expat says:

          @Tommy Chong: Perhaps you and your ilk should be made to read a declaration of Bermuda’s other laws, if you don’t understand them you should be thrown out. Perhaps that will solve the gun violence.

          Hey here’s an idea – make the maternity ward at KEMH have the gun laws written on the wall. Then all you failed abortions might stop shooting each other up.

          • Tommy Chong says:

            It’s sad that people so easily peg Bermudians as xenophobic while expats like you can make racist comments all day long & not be called out on them.

            You’re the only failed abortion around here & thats probably why you hiding out in Bermuda & not in the utopia you are from. Maybe you should try & repatriate, who knows your homeland might let you back in if you give them your sob story about living in horrible Bermuda. Must be a nightmare for you to be here worried daily about getting picked off in a drive by because they happen everyday here. Right?

            Hey here’s an idea! Why don’t you go to the next session up at one of the east end cricket clubs & grab the mic from the sound boys & spout your racist views on there. Then you’ll really experience how we dealt with idiots like you back in the day before some dummies started to imitate American gun man gangsterism. Don’t worry you’ll live to tell the tale & you’ll have some souvenir bumps to show your utopian brethren to support why they should allow a test tube experiment like you back in.

            Hey! How old are you? I do recall visiting a utopia years ago to make a contribution to science. Maybe you should ask daddy & mommy if you’re rally their product. ;) LMAO

    • Um Um Like says:

      And Bermudians should be required to read it in front of their prospective employers. If they can’t read it, then they don’t get the job!

      • Tommy Chong says:

        Um Um Like, the literacy level percentage in Bermuda is 98% so bring it on. Besides it will give Bermudians who haven’t read this declaration more understanding of their rights compared to a permit holder when read. Then the Bermudian will know when to report employers & permit holders for cheating the system.

        Just a little aside for the Bermudians who may be scared of reporting on employers. In the employment act it states that its illegal for any employer to let go an employee for reporting an illegal practice & its the employee’s civic duty to do so. If the employer fires an employee for reporting them they can take the employer before a tribunal & burn their business “figuratively” big time & maybe even claim for out of work loss of salary from them.

        • street wise says:

          They may not be able to fire a whistleblower, but they sure can make working there difficult for him/her!

          • Tommy Chong says:

            Sure they could but since the whistle blower will become the poster person rights in the workplace while the employers name will become mud they could use that to their advantage. Its amazing how small the spycams are these days. What can be recorded on one of those bad boys could warrant a hefty yearly raise & other perks.

    • Tommy that is a good point and if they dont understand it,they dont need to be here.

  11. Rebel says:

    this is not for Bermudians… their are foreigners still arriving here on work permits.. as of last week the company across from Hamilton pharmacy has bought in three foreigners.. and Bermudians could have had that job.. immigration is still allowing this…we are just being used…

    • blankman says:

      What makes you think that Bermudians could have had those jobs?

    • Expat says:

      @rebel – are you qualified for the position? or do you know someone who is qualified?

      if yes, then bring it on. complain about it. put your name or their names and qualifications here. let people see so they can help you get the position you deserve or you think you deserve.

    • Franklin jr says:

      the company across from Hamilton pharmacy… what, Deloitte?!?!

      Surely a big 4 accounting firm has no need for piddly things like qualified accountants! I’m sure the company boards and/or SEC won’t mind at all if ya ace boy from up de rood is doing all the audit work with no professional body to answer to. (the vast majority of Bermudian accoutnatns have jobs… and to be honest, have their pick of jobs)

  12. god1st says:

    This is a Smoke Screen policy.

  13. LOL (original TM*) says:

    OBA where are the reforms to the enforcement of the WP policy? It seems all too obvious that the policy is being beaten by anyone with half a brain. Let’s just look at blue collar work right now. Tell me what requirements are there for someone to make a sandwich or at a minister’s food establishment. Is the Department of Labor or Immigration tasked with seeking out what the industry norms are for compensation before granting these WPs. If not, why not? Do they know what an acceptable wage bracket is for the industry in which the WP is being requested?

    LOL – besides trying to score cheap points for one’s party lets hold the enforcement side of this WP policy to the fire. I think it’s funny how Duane P. Santucci calls out the OBA for foreign workers but then forgets about the PLP ones. That’s Bermuda for you.

  14. Amazed says:

    It will be interesting to see if in fact they can legally make this effort stick. Sounds like people will be forced to sign and signing under duress is usually not uphell in courts when challenged!

    • GoodIdea BadIdea says:

      I would say that current work permit holders should not be compelled to sign it anyway.

      The main problem I see is the people who have been allowed to remain for 10-20 years and have made that conscious decision to make Bermuda their home. Sandgrownan makes a good point that many people come and go and only few stay. There is a population who, like the PRCs of 1989 and earlier have for better or worse been allowed to stay for extended periods of time. There should be a mechanism for them to get PRC, plain and simple.

      The existing work permit application should be amended to have a cut-off date (yet another) to say that as of April 1st, any new work permit applicants from outside Bermuda should understand that those conditions apply to their file from day 1. Those who were here before the cut-off date aren’t compelled to sign. This way you appease those already here, and you set expectations for those who haven’t arrived yet.

      • Deliverance says:

        There should be no PRC’s. You are either Bermudian or not. Can we please drag our Immigration policies into the 21st Century. Why shouldn’t qualified people be able to become Bermudian? What are you afraid of? I for one know several foreigners I would give citizenship to right away! Hard working, Christian, happy folk which is a lot more than I can say for some Bermudians.

  15. sweet emotion says:

    as an Ex Ex-pat. Sign the paper, you are here on permit. Any problems – GO HOME. As an ex-pat you are a GUEST.
    Don’t like the rules GO HOME
    Pretty simple.

    That said – A government document should be advised it is on Govt website as well as the newspaper.
    And really do a spell check…let’s set the bar a bit higher and why give people a REASON to blow holes in something.

    • Concerned says:

      If you are an “Ex Ex Pat” why the hell are you still bothering to read AND COMMENT on something that you left behind? Got booted out and want back in perhaps? Move on dude! Let it go.

      • Sandgrownan says:

        I think this demonstrates the fallacy held by many xenophobic Bermudians. Most ex-pats have no intention or desire to stay here longer than their permits or contracts allow. It’s a very transient workforce, and in professional circles can be career limiting, hence most move on.

        We are arguing over a problem that really doesn’t exist. Energy would be better spent looking at education, training and figuring out hpw to deal with the debt with which the PLP saddled every man, woman and child. Twats.

      • sweet emotion says:

        I am married to a Bermudian and with him own 2 businesses that employ both Bermudians and Ex-pats,and have 3 Bermudian children and we live in Bermuda. Do not challange why people make comments, not only do you look like a complete a@@ but it makes any point you make muddy.
        Oh…I came here on a permit, was employed happily and knew all along I was to follow the laws of the land….including “Good morning”.
        As a Canadian, I am as proud of my home country as you however I would not judge any person I met based on what kind of job restrictions/allowences they had. It seems absolutly insane. I will continue to comment and the moderater can determine if they are posted.
        Don’t waste peoples time if it is not about the topic, don’t post.
        Nothing in your comments had anything to do with the news article.
        Dude…

      • Expat says:

        You got it! Commenting on Bernews is sure to help with moving back to Bermuda.

  16. campervan says:

    Good job the Green family were not chased away when they arrived as expatriates.
    I wonder where the other modern day Green families are locating to now?
    Somewhere more welcoming no doubt.

    • Sandgrownan says:

      Indeed

    • Franklin jr says:

      sshhh! the congative dissonance will result in a rash of cranial explosions!

  17. Amazed says:

    I also think that this document is flawed because nowhere is it written that the signator “Agrees” to be bound by this policy document. It is simply an informational document. Also the letters (BOTC) should immediately follow where it is first written in full.

  18. Kevin Comeau says:

    Minister Fahy has a difficult problem on his hands. He had to end term limits, else Bermuda would continue to lose more and more Bermudian jobs that directly or indirectly depended on International Business. But from a political perspective, he now has to soothe the concerns of many Bermudians that the elimination of term limits may result in a large number of expats gaining long-term residency or Bermuda status.

    The problem is that the right to long-term residency and citizenship is a fundamental human right—you can no more waive that right than you can waive your right of free speech or free association.

    In other words, it is legally impossible to waive your fundamental human rights. You may sign a document that says you have waived your rights, but no self-respecting court is going to uphold that waiver, and so it is meaningless.

    That means that it is nothing more than nonsensical window dressing to require that all work-permit holders sign a declaration that they are aware Bermuda does not confer rights of permanent residence and the holder has no expectation of such residence, etc.

    Unfortunately, there is a very real downside to this political expediency—it creates another unnecessary wedge between International Business and Bermuda.

    Just think about it for a moment. What happens if a guest worker simply refuses to sign the declaration? Does Immigration refuse to issue the work permit?

    What if the guest worker is the CEO of a large re-insurance company? Does Immigration still say no, and risk the company simply moving to another country, losing hundreds of Bermudian jobs?

    And what if the guest worker has already been living and working in Bermuda for a number of years? Do we now require him to sign the declaration even thought this would change the basis upon which he first agreed to come to Bermuda?

    Bermuda must also ask itself—“what kind of a message does the request for such declaration send to each potential expat who is considering moving to Bermuda?” Before the guest worker even arrives in the country for the first time, he is hit over the head with the reality that Bermuda does not respect fundamental rights and freedoms.

    I fully appreciate that Minister Fahy has a difficult political problem on his hands. But requiring all expats to sign a declaration waiving their fundamental rights is not a good answer. It may fool a few naïve persons into thinking that the declaration will legally deter long-term residency, but that political sleight of hand comes with the very large cost of further harming Bermuda’s international reputation.

    • Tommy Chong says:

      Kevin I appreciate what you tried to do for Bermuda but I don’t think you look at the immigration laws here logically because of personal feelings. You fail to see the difference between what is fundamental rights & freedoms in a country that has a massive amount of land compared to tiny overpopulated island. I found that even your country has huge immigration flaws despite what seems to be a land with abundant opportunities.

      I’ve brought cups of soup to people in your country living on subway vents to avoid freezing. I’ve listened to their story of their native heritage mixed with first generation European settlers. These people were not addicts or alcoholics but people who once had a trade maybe not a white collar trade but a trade nonetheless. They worked in this trade till the day they were made redundant so that a foreign worker could take their place. Out with the old Canadian in with the new cheap labor foreign worker. This story interested me as the stories of this person’s other friends as shamefully my past prejudice led me to believe that a non African descended person could only be homeless because of an addiction. The more I listened to these stories the more it saddened me to know that the country I thought helped its people more than its southern neighbors did not. Your country has a massive immigration problem & it has caused much of the poverty & crime the country has.

      I realize you & others look only at the white collar IB side of things when it comes to immigration but the immigration laws here don’t draw any lines between white collar & blue collar permits as some other countries do. When I read your comment I see it as one sided, selfish, inconsiderate & condescending towards those unemployed Bermudians who because of personal issues beyond their control could not get an education further than a high school diploma.

      You spoke in Bermuda on race relations & how it has caused some Bermudians to remain stagnant on the social ladder. Did you really mean what you spoke about or were you trying to score points towards hopes of Bermudian status under the plp government?

    • OZ says:

      No one has a fundamental right to live in someone else’s country, where do you get this idea from. Just look at how the US is struggling to solve iits own immigration situation.

  19. Deliverance says:

    Campervan, EXACTLY! I still fail to understand why we do not offer a pathway to citizenship for qualified guest workers who want it. Someone needs to explain it to me like I’m a 5 year old. EB and crew want to give 5 Uighars plucked out of an Islamic training camp but can’t see past granting qualified and legal people status. Must be a colour thing.

  20. street wise says:

    I am quite sure this so-called “Declaration” is not a legal document… and it will be thrown out once someone challenges it in Court.

    With the ignorant attitudes and increasing nastyness demonstrated by many Bermudians, even born Bermudians (mostly the well educated – both black & white) are leaving the Island for good. You lot cannot see the forest for the trees. Xenophobic amateurs….

  21. Expat says:

    Hello, I don’t understand all of the bullet points in the document, which means I cannot, in good faith, sign it.

    Does that mean I get to live here forever?

    Hell no! I’ll get deported just like anyone else!

    So what’s the purpose of this document?

    Nothing! The law applies irrespective of whether a person understands it or even agrees with it.

    Pointless exercise.