Column: OBA’s Fahy On Work Permits & More
[Opinion column written by Michael Fahy]
Every government says the same thing about work permits, namely ”Bermudians first.” That is the right principle, but principles without competence are just slogans. Right now Bermuda’s work permit policy is failing on three counts. It is too slow, too opaque, and it is not delivering the jobs for Bermudians it promises. The result? Businesses can’t hire, essential services are stretched, and public trust in the system is eroding. We need reform, not just more press releases.
Ask any hotel, restaurant, or construction firm and they’ll tell you the same story of long and business-killing delays. Last year, Stephen Todd, then Chairman of the Bermuda Hotel Association, said his members “strictly adhere” to timely submissions, but “delays still occurred after submission.” He pointed to a “high reliance on employers having to provide hard-copy documents” and delays even after a permit is approved in “the printing and availability of the work permit document itself”.
The Minister himself admits there’s a problem. In March 2026, Minister Hayward said the Government is “dissatisfied with the processing time of some work permit applications” and is “embarking on a full digitised strategy”. That’s welcome, but it is 2026, and we are still talking about printing paper permits and hard-copy documents. In the meantime, projects are delayed and staff cannot start work.
The “new” Work Permit Policy 2025 even made things worse in some areas. Business visitor stays were reduced from 21 days to 14 days, and foreign nationals were not allowed to remain in Bermuda while their initial permits were processed. That means longer onboarding times and more bureaucracy for companies trying to bring in talent for short projects. When the government sets a target of 6 weeks to process standard applications, but industry still reports inconsistency, the target is not being met.
Further, in June 2026, I asked the Minister of Economy and Labour for a breakdown of CARICOM nationals with work permits by nationality, length of stay, and job category. The response? It would take “months to even try and collate the information” from 17,500 documents. You cannot manage what you do not measure, and right now, the Government is not measuring. That is very concerning.
How can we have a debate about CARICOM, about labour shortages, about whether policy is working, if the Ministry does not have the basic data at hand? How can employers plan, and how can Bermudians trust that “Bermudians first” is real, if we don’t even know who holds the permits?
The Chamber of Commerce noted that 94% of job growth in 2024 went to non-Bermudians, with Bermudian job growth at just 0.1% or 18 new jobs. If that is accurate, the public deserves to know why, and what categories those jobs were in. Without data, we are just guessing. The policy intends to protect Bermudian jobs. The effect is often the opposite.
Take the English testing requirements. The Department now only accepts IELTS 4.0, TOEFL 42, etc. Alex DeCouto of the Chamber’s construction division said the changes are “a step in the right direction”, but “the core challenge remains.” Many skilled tradespeople “have not had the opportunity or need to undertake structured academic testing, despite being highly competent in their trades”. The result is “increased recruitment difficulty, delays in project delivery, and ultimately higher construction costs”. With 30% of construction labour imported and Bermudian numbers falling, we are making it harder to build the very homes we need.
In addition, there are the new job mobility restrictions. Permit holders must complete two years with their initial employer, and job changes will not be approved in the first year. The goal is to stop poaching and protect employer investment. The effect is to trap workers and reduce flexibility in a small labour market. The Minister announced a “zero-tolerance policy” because “appeals were becoming the norm” and late applications were rising. That is not a sign of a system working, but it is a sign of a system employers cannot comply with.
However, the biggest failing is that the policy assumes we can fill every job with a Bermudian tomorrow. We cannot. The Chamber President put it plainly: “Bermuda has warning signs and they should not be ignored.” Restaurants are closing during the week from lack of staff. Nurses and police are on back-to-back overtime.
The Chamber commended the reforms for increasing employer accountability and “strengthening recruitment transparency, but while these are solid improvements, they don’t yet address the real challenge, which is simply that Bermuda needs more persons in the workforce. Without more people, “essential services will break down” and “productivity gains will stall”.
Work permits are not the enemy of Bermudian jobs. A shrinking workforce is. If we do not have enough people to staff hotels, clinics, and job sites, we don’t grow, and if we don’t grow, there are fewer opportunities for Bermudians. We don’t need to throw out “Bermudians first.” We need to make the system work.
So you ask what should be done?
[i] digitize now, not later. End hard-copy requirements and paper permits. The Minister has committed to this. Deliver it in 2026.
[ii] Publish the data. Quarterly reports on permits by sector, nationality, and duration. If it takes months to collate 17,500 files, the database is broken.
[iii] Fix the skills bottleneck. For trades, accept practical assessments, not just academic English tests. Perhaps tie permits to apprenticeships so every imported worker trains a Bermudian if available.
[iv] Link permits to housing. If we import workers, employers must show where they will live. Otherwise we just drive up rent for everyone.
[v] Be honest about workforce needs. Admit that some sectors need more people now. then set targets to replace those roles with Bermudians over time through training.
The current policy is stuck between two failures. It is too rigid to meet business needs, and too weak to deliver for Bermudian workers.
We heard from the Minister there were 137 responses during consultation because “the impact of immigration decisions are keenly felt across the community”. People feel it in closed restaurants, in hospital wait times, in project delays. “Bermudians first” must mean Bermudians employed, trained, and housed. It cannot mean a slow, paper-based system that pleases no one, especially when Bermudian-owned businesses are being affected.
It’s time to fix the process, publish the facts, and grow the workforce. Otherwise, we’re not protecting jobs, we are simply protecting decline.
- Michael Fahy is the Shadow Minister of Economy, Labour and Housing and the MP for Constituency 20. He can be reached on mfahy@oba.bm or opedfahy@gmail.com.
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He’s right. The work permit process is an embarrassment for PLP governments, an example of chronic mismanagement.
I realise much of this about color, I’m a white guy etc. But Mary mother of Jesus, this lot are amateurs, clowns. Not for a year or two but for decades.
Our Government has to be more than just color.
Let me ask, is this not the same issue that got him in trouble before?
Yes. Debating immigration reform is wrong to the PLP and its supporters when instigated by the OBA. Undertaking immigration reform is acceptable to the PLP and its supporters when instigated by the PLP Government.
You know what you all fail to mention every time you say PLP is that they were put in by a majority of the people! And, as Spender put it, it turns out to be a (colour) black/white difference. Until you white supporters show up to government meetings concerning issues, those racial differences will continue!
“you white supporters”
There it is.
They, the PLP, simply hate you. Showing up to government meetings won’t change that one bit.
But it would be a start to try to change things! Truth Hertz, and who said they hate whites? So you show up to your own party’s meeting and make comments about blacks? I make note of one of the audience members asking, “Where were you all at the government meetings?”
You mean colour?