The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

PEOPLE applying for work permits will soon have to ensure that they also obtain health insurance and adequate housing for their workers according to Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell.

Addressing the 2015 Bahamas Business Outlook yesterday, Mr Mitchell also expressed confidence that a new regime and pricing structure for permanent residency would be introduced.

“In a few months, we hope to attach conditions to the work permits which will say that if you get a work permit you also have to have health insurance for the worker and adequate housing,” Mr Mitchell said. “If you cannot demonstrate that, then the work permit will not be granted. This is being put out for discussion but it is near to completion.”

Mr Mitchell noted that based on policies introduced last year, no applications for first-time work permit holders will be accepted in The Bahamas from someone who does not have legal status without it being certified that the person has been seen by the Bahamian consular office in his home country. 

“This is to send out a signal to people who think they can just hop on a boat and come to The Bahamas and a friendly employer will simply get you straight. That should have stopped,” said Mr Mitchell. 

He also noted that everyone who is a non-national and does not possess a passport should obtain one and they will have to have evidence either of a work permit or a residency permit to show they have a right to be in The Bahamas.  “This applies even to people who were born here of non-Bahamian parents.  They are not by our laws citizens of The Bahamas. The Certificate of Identity which was previously issued to people in that category will no longer be issued, save in fulfillment of our international obligations,” Mr Mitchell said.

Mr Mitchell also noted that the cost for permanent residence in The Bahamas has often been the topic of discussion, with many holding the view that it is too low. “The question for the Department of Immigration, the Government more generally and our people is at what price point to extract the premium for the right to live here, in what numbers and under what circumstances,” he said.

“Most advocates say that the offer to live here at a price should stop at the level of permanent residence with the possible right to work, and that as presently priced, the right to live here as a permanent resident is underpriced and therefore undervalued. Considerable work has already been done on rectifying this pricing structure as we speak and the question is when we can convince the exchequer and the wider government that this is a sensible direction within which to move,” said Mr Mitchell.

“The present $10,000 per year fee for permanent residence is considered too low. I am confident that there is a new regime and pricing structure coming in the not-too-distant future with regard to the various resident products of the financial services sector.”

Mr Mitchell said that while that discussion deals largely with the high-end resident non-Bahamians, the more vexing issue was that of illegal migration. “You have thousands of people who jump on rickety boats each year from the south of us and breach our borders. Add to that people masking themselves as political refugees from Cuba and a smattering of others from other states who seek to smuggle themselves into the United States.

“Last year we repatriated 5,841 such souls at a cost of $32,000 per trip and an annual budget of $1.5m. That budget has proven to be insufficient to cover the actual costs of repatriation,” said Mr Mitchell.

Mr Mitchell noted that complaints of slow service by the Department of Immigration has persisted over the years, with no appreciable change in the speed or efficiency with which the processing of applications has taken place. “This is not for lack of trying but there appears to be certain management cultural structural issues which defy rational thinking and attempts at change,” he explained. “The issue is in part the lack of manpower and the lack of equipment and the lack of money. 

“We think that properly applied money, equipment and manpower can resolve these delivery issues but we have a long way to go. There is also a need for a cultural change. The conundrum is that we believe that there is money to be found if only the pricing point to which I referred is adjusted to accurately reflect the cost of the service but there is slow acceptance in the wider society and in the bureaucracy that this is the answer,” said Mr Mitchell.  

“Today, sad to say, if you pay your fees to get a work permit application it often takes six weeks before you have the actual work permit in your hands. We continue to struggle with management issues which are so far not easily solved.”

Mr Mitchell also noted that an increase in the visa fees which will more accurately reflect the cost of the service will take effect from February 1.