Police Certificates To Be Submitted With Permits
Today [Aug 25] the Minister of Home Affairs Walton Brown announced that police certificates must now be submitted with work permit applications saying “As we move to carefully scrutinize applicants, the request to submit police certificates is with immediate effect”.
Minister Brown said, “Employers will be aware that the current Work Permit Policies 2015, requires that employers provide confirmation that they have thoroughly screened applicants who are first-time residents and that, to the best of their knowledge and belief, applicants are of good character.
“Currently, they must also have on record evidence of their screening practices; i.e. the original police certificate must be on-hand and readily available should the Department of Immigration request to review it.
“As we move to carefully scrutinize applicants, the request to submit police certificates is with immediate effect. For work permit applications for first-time residents which have already been submitted but where no decision has been rendered, employers will have one business day [from today’s date] to submit original police certificates which display the original seal, stamp or other display of authorization.
“The police certificate must also be valid for six months from the date of issue. For work permit applications not yet submitted, employers must submit the original police certificate with the same qualifiers as those just stated.
“For clarity, work permit applications affected by the aforementioned change in policy include: Global Entrepreneur, Global, New Business, and Standard permits.
“Employers are reminded that in accordance with the provisions of the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Act 1956, it is a criminal offence to make a statement which contains false information and which they know to be false or believe not to be true.”
For all relevant details in respect of police certificates, employers should refer to the appropriate application form [the Section titled ‘Application Checklist Details’]; all forms may be accessed via www.gov.bm. Alternatively, employers may contact their respective industry/customer services representative for guidance.
Well in that case all job applications are going to need Police certificates. All of them.
And why the “employers will have one business day [from today’s date] to submit original police certificates which display the original seal, stamp or other display of authorization”? It’s draconian, unnecessary, arrogant, evil.
They are given one day because they should already have the certificate. Providing it without being asked is the only thing that is changing. Try and read next time.
True!!!!!!
Immigration has always asked for Police Certificate (PC) before 2015. When oba/UBP Fahy was Minister he stopped the procedure. The old applications stated that a PC was needed, but Fahy cut this part of the red tape and placed the employers in a position of trust. This allowed employers to check the application box saying the PC was received. Rumor has it that a number of employers checked the application confirming they received the PC…………but in reality they have lied and received nothing. Watch how many employers write the Department and say they lost the PC certificate. THE TRUTH IS THEY NEVER HAD ONE!!!!!!!!!!!
BINGO
You mean bongo? Completely false. Try being informed before you run ya mouth trump.
You can’t even get a work permit let alone step foot in Canada (the most liberal country in the world) as a foreign worker without first having fingerprints and facial biometrics cleared by the RCMP. This applies for everyone and has nothing to do with Trump. It’s just common sense that a background check is done on permit workers and they should have been done before the worker even received a permit. One day to produce is reasonable.
Trump only wants to kick out Hispanics while there’s thousands of other illegals in the states he is willing to turn a blind eye to.
“You can’t even get a work permit let alone step foot in Canada (the most liberal country in the world) as a foreign worker without first having fingerprints and facial biometrics cleared by the RCMP.”
BS, as usual, you know nothing.
Will genivive need one?
“Will genivive need one?”
Plantation question, and, of course, not….he’s “the son of the soil”
Um…you are correct but however, what I think “nerema” means is that just like “drinking beer in the streets is against the law” it isn’t really enforced… like many other laws. Why only give one day!? Why not say, all applications without police stamp will deemed incomplete and on HOLD until that information is provided? One day? C’mon, that is just WB flexing his muscles and making a name for himself. Nerema says he is Evil…hmmmm, not sure if I would go that far, but unreasonable – yes! I could kind of understand if I could walk into the Bermuda Police Department at 9am on a Friday and request the same information by Monday at 9am and get it! You are asking people to provide the same in 24 hours, that we in Bermuda take how long?????? to provide!? In addition he makes this statement on a Friday!
And just so you all understand, some of these applicants need to get this information from Countries in other TIME ZONES +/- 12hrs and therefore they may realistically have far less time.
I agree with the idea in principle of screening EVERYONE but c’mon Walton, you could have handled this far better. Am I surprised no, disappointed yes…because you are smarter than this.
Nerema,
Please educate yourself or at least get a job where you have the ability travel to other countries for work purposes before you publish statements such as this. This is not Draconian, unnecessary, arrogant, or evil. In fact, many other places REQUIRE police vetting to issue a work permit. It is helpful and responsible of our government to want to protect residents and other work permit holders from undue harm. If organizations followed the checklist provided in the form, they would not be inconvenienced by the “reminder” posted in this article.
Don’t dislike the rules. Dislike that the rules were not being followed in all cases and someone is doing something about it.
#StandardizedImmigration #DontHateTheRules
Regards,
Mrs. Smith
Mrs Smith, why the requirement that employers have ‘one business day’ to submit this? How is that reasonable?
This is to the dept Immigration, for crying out loud. The same people that take 3 years to process a status application. The same people that make you wait 3 hours to pick up a passport or to get it stamped.
If he wants to impose news rules, fine, but why the ‘one working day’? He’s just being a jerk about it.
Nerema – I can certainly understand your position for new applicants, but this is for organizations that had a check list of items they needed to provide to immigration and some how made it through the cracks. Many of the same organizations do this process many times and are not new to the rules. The article states that as part of the process, a certificate should be issued as part of the process. The article does not document if the department reached out to the organizations to provide them time prior to release this press release. However, I think we can both agree that everyone knew the rules going in, as the application form has not changed.
No, you’re wrong. Read the article. This applies for first-time permits where the application has been submitted but the permit has not been issued yet.
Why the requirement that this is delivered within ‘one working day’? There is no justification for it. Again, he’s just being a jerk.
…because in submitting the application the application attests to the fact that they have performed apolove check. Therefore they should already have the certificate in hand. This is simply requiring them to submit the certificate at the time of application.
This is not unreasonable.
You need to read the article.
If you believe that, you’re entitled to that belief. Have a good weekend.
Requiring it within one working day is heavy-handed, unnecessary, and unreasonable. It is designed to catch out people who aren’t in the office, or who are on vacation that day. It shows the arrogant way this government is going to handle things.
This type of thing will lose Bermuda business, and will cost us jobs.
Pow Pow Pow Pow!!! Get em!!
immigration has always asked for original police certificate with seal and stamp from applicant origin!so this is not new issue.
Immigration has not ALWAYS asked for this. maybe they should have. And I agree that they should. But they have not ALWAYS asked for it.
I don’t think anyone is asking why? I think all are asking why ONE DAY!
Bingo
Can someone explain exactly what the change is here and why it’s necessary?
There is no change here work permit holders have ALWAYS needed Police Certificates.
Nothing. Just trying to look tough. Its like trump and the wall with mexico. He has to feed hus rabid and bigoted base.
Well it appears that the UBP/OBA had a habit of breaking the immigration law . Ignoring the PC requirements is another example of them having to appeal to their anti Bermudian rabid and bigoted base .
I guess Justin Trudeau is trying to look tough pledging to uphold the same laws in his country also. Do you think he’s bigoted also? Why would a government let someone live in their society for years without a proper background check?
In Canada if an employer had someone working for them without a proper background check that would be breaking the law and the employer would be prosecuted while the employee was sent packing with an amount of years before they were permitted to set foot again in Canada.
” Why would a government let someone live in their society for years without a proper background check?”
Like Kirk Mundy?
About time too. Now, can employers be required to actually employ the permit holder in the correct position and pay as per the contract?
One Day??? Wow if only Immigration worked that quickly!
What a pile of dooo doooooo
So if you have a work permit that’s in but no decision has yet been made, you have to submit the Police Certificate, no later than Monday. Say the employee is in the Philippines or Sri Lanka, how do you get that by Monday? Somebody’s not thinking.
Free Thinker,
Is it unreasonable to think that a current government cannot undo a previous government decision on a work permit? I’m sure if they did, a lot of people in this comment section would go nuts.
#Just a Thought
Regards,
Mrs. Smith
More like somebody is not reading, the article states that companies should already have the Certificate.
Hey idiot the application states that it’s required already, however they didn’t need to submit it. The employer only needed to keep it on their files at the office, so the employer should already have it.
I feel reinistating the need to produce to the Police Certificate it is a good first step. However, the stipulation for it to be produced within one day is absurdly unnecessary.
I want to assume that all applicabke companies have been notified in advance of this article appearing, because who’s to say that everyone who needs to will see this article. There MUST have been some other form of communication sent privately to all those concerned (perhaps through the industry/customer care representative groups if not to companies directly). The ones making the request should at least ensure the request will be received if they truly wish to gain compliance.
One day falls a bit short of such an aim imo. Surely the timeline could’ve been extended, but not so much to allow those companies suspected of skirting the law (i.e. not having the Police Certificate) to acquire the PCs expeditiously. But even so, the PCs would be dated so it would be pretty clear if the employee start date doesn’t agree to the date on the PC.
Hey idiot the adults are talking about the requirement the certificate is to be produced in one day.
Here is how it can be produced in one day. The employer gets off his a**, goes to his filing cabinet, gets the REQUIRED certificate and drives, or walks over to tbe dept of immigration and submits it there for their revcords.
This is only a problem for shady employers who have broken the law and do not have it. Who in their right mind can be defending the folk who break our laws for their own gain is beyond me…
“Employers are reminded that in accordance with the provisions of the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Act 1956, it is a criminal offence to make a statement which contains false information and which they know to be false or believe not to be true.”
Hmmm. A criminal offence, according to Walton Brown. But that doesn’t apply to reverends who are friendly with the BIU/PLP, apparently. That’s “different”.
Tweed is a spouse of a Bermudian and does not require a work permit.
WOW ! That’s a revelation . So it was all a mistake on the part of the AME church to have to file for one and a mistake on the part of the DOI to find that the unnecessary application was fraught with ‘truthful errors’ ? ?
Tweed is the X-spouse of a Bermudian! If he was the spouse of a Bermudian, he would not need a work permit!
“Tweed is a spouse of a Bermudian and does not require a work permit.”
Awesome. I married my Canadian boyfriend, now we can move to Bermuda and he can work without any hassle!
Tweed is a spouse of a Bermudian and does not require a work permit.
So why did he apply for a renewal? A renewal that caused the BIU/Peoples Campaign/BPSU to call press conferences and marches and threaten to cancel the America’s Cup? A renewal turned down by the Immigration Board for various reasons but overturned the day after the election. You must have a short or selective memory. The Rev Genevieve/Tweed is not Bermudian, unless the PLP have used a loophole to say otherwise.
Tweed WAS the spouse of a Bermudian. Big difference. If he was the spouse of a Bermudian there would never had been a need to submit an application.
Now that you know the truth, has your opinion changed? I don’t think so, you got the blinders on!
Missed the point. He lied on his application. Lock him up! Lock him up!
If a non Bermudian is estranged from his Bermudian spouse he does need a permit.
Now, back to the point. It is a criminal offence to make a false statement on a work permit application, according to Walton Brown. So will he apply the law equally to everyone, or not?
Seems you’re having trouble reading between the lines.
It would seem that as it currently stands applicants are able to attest to having performed background checks without having to provide evidence. This simply requires them to present the proof that they already have provided they have acted honestly, at the time of application.
Not sure why you’re struggling with this.
It’s just another, unnecessary obstacle for expats without any reasonable justification. If you want to make Bermuda safer you should start from citizens. Expats are not responsible for shootings, stabbings or robberies of tourists.
Just, wow.
why wow… it’s absolutely true
Bye, bye International Business. This is just the beginning folks. Buckle up for another few years of negative growth.
relax and read again, please
Forget few years. The exodus has already started.
Oh, no worry just think about it, you always have home to go when things start getting bad.
Some countries police are corrupt and anything can be bought.
Righty or wrongly, it is the prerogative of the sitting government to implement. If it is flawed, the opposition will surely respond swiftly. I hasten to add this requirement is pretty well an international prerequisite. But in support, a one day deadline is wholly unreasonable and perhaps an over zealous abuse of ministerial power.
Brown is requesting that the employer submit the certificate that ( by the way ) should be on file, therefore the request is quite reasonable …
Having managed many HR Departments I simply don’t understand the uproar and anxiety..Surely companies want to know who they are hiring and a police certificate completes the vetting process –
Again, if the company has complied in full with Immigration rules and regulations, they will have a valid police certificate on their personnel file – simply forwarding that certificate via courier or a member of staff seems a minor requirement.,
The current system works! When do we see guest workers in the media relating to shootings, knife incidents and crime in general? If an issue does ever arise they are immediately shipped back home? If its not broke why fix it?
But we have those in our communities who are repeat offenders with no recourse and no police cert is ever issued to an international employer which now moves the issue to them but with no recourse! We need more international business, look at the wider picture. Very one sided !!!
Unbelievable,
Your comment is “If its not broke why fix it” based primarily on the fact that you don’t see guest workers in the media committing crimes. I would have to say that is a very weak argument. Let me explain.
Does the absence of something mean it is not there or just well hidden? Just because we don’t see guest workers being caught and reported in the news does not mean that they’re doing right by the law. They could leave before the evidence moves in their direction, before a witness has the strength to come forward, etc. and never come back. What happens then?
Also, I would think we would like to make things better even if they work well. The human race is constantly moving forward, innovating and coming up with better ways to do things. Otherwise, we might be still riding around in a horse and carriage… cause that works right.
Try to think forward yourself… don’t wait until something comes knocking at your front door before you decide that it needs improvement.
Regards,
Mrs. Smith
We absolutely need IB, however they more than many understand that this requirement is necessary and in line with most, if not all reputable jurisdictions.
Having said the above we must be reminded (periodically ) that the collapse of the Worlds economy was as a result of the greed and nefarious actions of senior executives attached to high profile Banks , Investment Co & Reinsurance Co.
In short , extreme vetting, to include a police clearance is hardly a bad thing …keep in mind that the Fairmont Hotels exclude candidates that fail their highly questionable personality test..,
Guest workers have been charged with big crimes that locals do not do .the atm hackers and the bump swiping hackers.money laundering . Drug trafficking
Prustitution . Counterfeit money making .do people forget or just choose to forget. Also you can access the acts an laws . The police certificate has always been mandatory. Fay an Oba changed it to make it easier for guest workers…. point blank truth ..some people just need to stop beingredients bigots .an stop hearing and reading only wat they wanna hear an read..
the slow persecution of non Bermudians starts… we know the end result already been there done that
Peter,
I believe your comment should read “the slow correction of non-compliant non-Bermudians starts”… and to that end, I would say – Exactly.
If you don’t agree – why would you wish people that do not have a police certificate to come / stay in Bermuda? Maybe I just don’t see your position here.
Regards,
Mrs. Smith
His/Her position is just to be obstinate. I mean don’t we all want to make sure criminals are not coming into Bermuda. I mean, that seems pretty universal.
Correct and I support you here. Bermuda has enough home grown/born criminals.
The USA often refuse entry to VISITORS with low level drug convictions / surely right thinking people accept that a valid police certificate is a must for anyone seeking a permit to WORK and LIVE in Bermuda….
Fay needs to explain why police certificates were not required to be submitted along with other pertinent documents. It simply makes no sense that an employer is required to secure relevant certificates but not required to forward same to the Immigration Dept.
Fay step down from politics since this came about … so he don’t have to answer to this ..lol
Including people who commit the criminal act of lying on their work permit application, presumably.
Yes Zevon we get it…but you dont. Tweed is not the only one. All the liars must be exposed. Is this enforcement of the law hitting a little close to home for you?
We can’t have foreign criminals taking away shooting and stabbing opportunities from our born Bermudian criminals.
No we cannot! There is enough of that going on already.
In the same vein, employers should also be entitled to request an endorsed police certificate from local applicants, maybe at 2nd interview stage, right?
alot of them that come here cannot speak English never mind a police report
A lot of Bermudians can barely speak English either. And an alarming number of our high school “graduates” don’t seem to know the difference between there, they’re and their never mind accept and except.
Yes but they are Bermudian and as such, have a right to live in Bermuda – a command of the English language is not a deciding factor ……
Except that those who come here should accept the fact that they should know English well. This has nothing to do with their Bermudian counterpart; who you claim does not know the difference between there and they’re.
Thankfully many of us do…and we can defend their interests so that they are never prejudiced in their own land by the likes if people like you.
How would you know that ? Are you a teacher? I guess if yes you are doing a bad job this field.
Attacking Bermudians won’t give you what you have been promised.
all good.
assume , you are an Bermudian who applies for an work permit in ( lets say ) Brasil.
out of the blue they ask for an police certificate with one day ( regardless if it is a Friday , heading the weekend , or not ) .
so you go to BPS and ask them to issue such a form within an hour , because you have to have a translation as well.
not all country authorities are accepting English .
I wonder what the answer of the BPS would be ……..
in other words : your chance is gone !
why don’t they say right away : until further notice we don’t want to grant any new Work permits .
that would be strait and fair .
They should already have it on file if you are a work permit holder. However, this article is referring to applications where there has been no decision made, so the person is not even in Bermuda yet.
We insist on Police certs for everyone we employ. Why have different rules for expats and locals? BTW… We are then accused of being anti-Bermudian because we are adding steps and making the application process too difficult. (Our staff comprises of 90% happy hard working Bermudians.)
BTW – The one day rule doesn’t make sense and won’t be enforced.
Why are you people so blasted IGNORANT???….It is the Minister’s and The Bermuda Government’s RIGHT to request Police Certificates for work permits as well as to reside here.
Canada, Australia, Ecuador, New Zealand, and the USA and many other countries require them so what is your noise about?….Minister Brown should also ask for fingerprint records!!
Why the ‘one working day’ requirement?
Why?
Ummmm – if a non Bermudian is working on the island, there must be a valid police certificate on file in the relevant employers HR files – Surely 24 hours is ample time to forward the certificate to the Immigration Dept…
Fay’s leap of faith, as it relates to this matter is bizarre – if he required the employer to secure the certificate it boggles the mind that he wouldn’t insist that they fully comply with the standard practice of submitting the certificate in the same package that includes other required documents..
Makes no sense !!!!
Why not ????
Might this be a problem for you personally? Have you broken the law in this regard sir/madam?
Do you kiss your mama with that mouth
That is a Great IDEA, also keep records of who enter this Island doesn’t leave, hey who ever is working legally should not worry at all.
Some people dislike the PLP so much, that now, making sure we are not bringing in criminals is a problem. This is mind blowing.
It seems we already have more than enough of our own home grown criminals , way more than enough to go around if you ask me .
Lucky for those Bermudians that Bermuda is a BOT or they would never get into the UK to enjoy the free benefits handed out. Just think if the UK required a police certificate from Bermuda.
Bermudians that are criminals would simply have to remain in Bermuda – simple !!
Dumb statement. .. We’re are a British territory. So we have a right to be there as British citizens. Lol
Do you not see the irony in this statement? Think about it…
This should be on file in HR departments all over the island…
Let’s see who fails the test…
Zevon and Nerema it seems…
Pathetic, but typical.
Wow , what a lot of complaining about nothing ! Employers simply have to submit a document they are already required to have , rather than waiting for a request for it . Seriously people , can’t we at least try to save the dramatics for actual problems ?
Walton is talking b/s ..as usual,Police certificates have ALWAYS been required!
FACT.
I would like to see the UK asking for Police files on our gangsters we keep sending over there to cause trouble
They should and I personally wouldn’t have an issue if they denied them entrance – having said that Bermuda and Mr Brown have every right to demand that employers FULLY comply with this particular policy – having worked in HR Departments in multiple industries this request is standard and normal ..,
Would not bother me if they did…stop trying to deflect. Stop trying to defend lawbreakers of a different sort.
It has started and within 100 days
International business watch out it’s going to be difficult and I’m sure Cayman are rubbing their hands together
Rubbish – this is not an onerous request. There was no good reason for Fay to discontinue this policy…none!
You protest too much !!!
Cayman requires a Police Certificate.
CPM would require one to work in Caymen. Poor babys toy has been taken away…
Who the hell wants to work in back water Cayman – if they want to go then go. Totally different lifestyle and frankly a second class Country when compared to Bermuda! Leave now!
I agree that Police Certificates should be a requirement, it is in most countries for work permits (some even for temporary permits). However, announcing on a Friday afternoon that they need to be submitted by Monday is unreasonable (particularly for small companies). I could understand 5 working days this way HR managers who are off island (on vacation) can return and submit the relevant info.
This is just Brown flexing his muscles. It’s not going to affect the vast majority of permit holders, but his rabid base will be frothing at the mouth.
However the optics are somewhat different, by stating this publicly with a “one day turnaround” he’s essentially saying Bermuda will become less and less open for business. The PLP are looking to finish the hatchet job they started first time around.
There will be more of this coming – dark days ..
Oh shut up. Leave the fear porn to Alex Jones…
The real question is why did Fahy stop the procedure!! Fahy help destroy the OBA with his status push for everyone who jumped off a plane. Please don’t allow him in the party.
They gotta be seen to hating on foreigners to ease their voter base you know the put bda first ……. please
The defenders of those who have broken an established law have lost this debate. Their base of argument is laughable.
“The defenders of those who have broken an established law have lost this debate. Their base of argument is laughable.”
You talking about tweed again?
I will suggest that every single permit specially for accountants to be shown, I have hear of expats getting hired and once they get their contract approved they go to Bermuda college for basic accounting classes paid by their employers.
People who go to Bermuda College who are not Bermudians should be reported to Immigration for a sanity check!!!
“People who go to Bermuda College who are not Bermudians should be reported to Immigration for a sanity check!!!”
lol, you got that right.
…”but I hear…” lol
This is true. I know of an especially attractive dark haired Russian girl who did this. One wonders if “accounting” was the real reason she was hired…
I have had to teach so called masons that are hired to come here as masons . How to do our work and you can ask any Bermudian that works in construction. .plus they are the reason the wages are lowered an there is no more time and a half or double pay ..plus the wages are low because no matter were they are from. They are able to make a good living back home so bosses abuse that . It needs to stop
I’m reading this from afar but with an interest in doing business in Bermuda. When the new gov’t got elected, the BDA wasted no time in saying how it would be business as usual. Now this. And probably something else in a few weeks. Drip. Drip. And then it’s back to the bad old days of the PLP. Don’t think that we don’t read the news abroad. Drip. Drip.
“plus they are the reason the wages are lowered an there is no more time and a half or double pay”
Why would there be time and a half and double time? Is it because the local workers are incompetent, lazy and work way too slow?
I always thought one of the requirements on the immigration form checklist at the back includes Police Certificate. Hmmmm!