The Tribune

PURCHASING a home for $750,000 or more can make foreigners eligible for economic permanent residency in the country, according to a proposed new immigration bill.

The Nationality, Immigration, and Asylum Bill 2018 puts permanent residency within reach for financially independent applicants who intend to permanently reside in the country, and have either purchased a home or “otherwise invested” in that amount.

The bill also introduces new categories of work visas, as well as term limits on work visas, which had been previously foreshadowed by the government.

The new categories include the BH-1B and BH-4S visas under the Commercial Enterprise Act and short- term work visas under the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between The Bahamas as a member of Cariforum, and member states of the European Union.

The BH-4S visa entitles the spouse and any dependent children to enroll at an education or vocational institution in the country, and is valid for a three year period. It does not grant the holder the right to work in the country.

According to the bill, new work visas will not be granted where the holder has held a visa for seven years, unless there is a break period of not less than a year.

The bill was prepared by the Law Reform and Revision Commission, chaired by Dame Anita Allen and was released for public consultation last month.

In an internal presentation obtained by The Tribune, Dame Allen underscored term limits may require a “transitional provision for persons who at commencement have already exceeded the limit.”

“The EPA (Economic Partnership Agreement),” Dame Allen continued, “as we understand it is designed to open up and enhance trade between the European member countries and The Bahamas and the provisions in the bill seek to facilitate that by allowing cross border supply of services, and the temporary presence of natural persons in each other’s borders for business purposes.

“These are accomplished by the grant of short-term visas to key personnel which include business visitors, graduate trainees, business service sellers, contractual service suppliers, independent professionals and short-term visitors for business purposes,” she stated in her presentation.

Permanent residency certificates remain in force during the lifetime of the certificate holder, unless or until it is revoked.

Ordinarily, a person must be legally resident in The Bahamas for a minimum period of eight years, intends to reside permanently in The Bahamas, and is “of good character” to be eligible for permanent residence. Once granted, the certificate holder can then endorse the certificate to apply for a spouse or dependent child. Any endorsement for a dependent child will be valid until the child is no longer a dependent.

A certificate for permanent residence can also be granted to the child of a married Bahamian woman, who was born outside of the country to a foreign husband and a child who was born in the Bahamas to foreign parents.

This application differs from the application for a resident belonger permit - which is prescribed as eligible for deferred acquisition of citizenship under Articles 7 and 9 of the constitution, and those ineligible due to Articles 3(2) and 8, in that Belonger permits allow for gainful employment for the duration of the permit.

The resident Belonger permit, according to the bill, is renewable every 10 years.

In an internal presentation, Dame Allen highlighted the decision of whether to offer citizenship to children born outside the country to Bahamian fathers who were born overseas before independence as a “salient” issue.

Those men would have obtained citizenship under Article 3(2), and as such, are unable to pass on their citizenship to children born outside the country.

Dame Allen said the commission believed people in this category have a “substantial connection” to the country; however, she noted it was not included in the initial draft bill.