Investment opens door to residency, not citizenship, Nicholls tells MPs

Minister of Home Affairs Gregory Nicholls (File photo) Investors in approved national development projects could qualify for permanent residency under a revised Immigration Bill introduced to the House of Assembly on Tuesday, but Home Affairs Minister Gregory Nicholls insisted they would not be able to buy Barbadian citizenship or passports. Nicholls told lawmakers that Barbadian citizenship was not for sale. Outlining several provisions, including a modernised immigration department, tougher safeguards for work permits and stronger penalties for people who abuse the immigration system, Nicholls said the bill would allow people making substantial investments in approved national development projects to become permanent residents. He explained that this was different from citizenship. He stressed that no amount of investment under the proposed legislation would allow someone to buy Barbadian citizenship or a passport. Minister of Home Affairs Gregory Nicholls (File photo) He said: “This bill does not create the sale of citizenship. This bill does not sell passports. This bill does not create Barbadian nationality. Barbadian citizenship remains governed by the Constitution of Barbados and the Barbados Citizenship Act, Cap 26 of the Laws of Barbados. “We are not selling citizenship. We are not creating a backdoor for it, and we are not selling passports or creating a backdoor for them either. This bill deals only with residents. You Might Be Interested In “What the bill does create is an opportunity for individuals who make substantial investments in approved national development projects to become permanent residents.” He insisted that protecting Barbadian workers was a major part of the proposed legislation: “This government rejects the false choice between economic openness and labour protection, and we believe that we can achieve both.” He added that the legislation would also change how applications for foreign workers were assessed, with the Ministry of Labour’s jobs register becoming a key part of determining whether suitable workers were already available in Barbados. The home affairs minister made clear that the days of simply approving applications without properly establishing whether local workers were available were over: “You can’t say: ‘Well, unsuitable applications were received for general workers,’ and then the Chief Immigration Officer there with the rubber stamp approving work permits. Those days are done. “A deliberate scheme has been placed in this legislation and in the regulations that are to come where suitably qualified Barbadians, permanent residents and [Caribbean] Community nationals who possess prior employment rights are available, the opportunity should first be afforded to them.” Nicholls therefore encouraged Barbadians and permanent residents looking for work to register with the jobs register so authorities could consider their availability before granting a work permit. He said the bill introduced tougher measures against immigration fraud, human smuggling, document forgery, illegal employment, trafficking networks, unlawful entry and repeated misconduct by employers. This was crucial, he said, as authorities were seeing increasing attempts to exploit weaknesses in the system. “The amount of document fraud and people willing to test the capability of your immigration border systems is astounding, and therefore the penalties are intentionally severe in this Immigration Bill.” He warned that migrant smuggling would be treated as a serious criminal matter rather than simply an immigration violation. “Smuggling of migrants is not a technical immigration offence. It is linked to organised criminal enterprises that exploit vulnerable individuals, threaten national security and undermine the rule of law. The Republic of Barbados will punish decisively and respond decisively to persons who facilitate immigration fraud, human smuggling, document forgery, illegal employment, trafficking networks, unlawful entry, repeated employer misconduct, and indeed any illicit activities that are main offences under this legislation.” The penalties include substantial fines, lengthy prison terms, and asset forfeiture. On investment, the minister said the government was not opposed to private investment but wanted a more structured system for investments that contribute directly to national development. He pointed to areas such as water reclamation, sewage treatment, healthcare, education, housing, renewable energy, infrastructure, technology, agriculture and tourism as sectors where Barbados needed investment. Nicholls added: “What the government has decided to do is to set up a proper regulatory regime for investment in the country. We are not trying to stop investment in private projects. That is welcome. That is the basis on which our investment strategies have always been predicated upon. “But what is different now is that the government recognises that an investment in a water reclamation plant, or a new sewage treatment plant, or investments in healthcare facilities or educational facilities that benefit the entire country, big capital projects that are projects of the government of Barbados that will serve the people of Barbados long into the future, that we can also do investment and give the same benefits to private sector investment in public projects.” But he suggested that those seeking residency through investment would have to meet clear requirements. Status could be revoked if an investment was misrepresented, obtained fraudulently, permanently withdrawn or otherwise failed to meet the requirements of the law, including ’ labour laws, Nicholls said. (JB)