News

The Government of Barbados announced, as at January 31st, 2023, a total of 4,211 applications have been received under the Welcome Stamp visa programme since its inception. Among the applications received, 2,655 have been approved, signifying an overall acceptance rate of 63%.

Since the last review in October 2022, a total of 276 applications were received and of which 162 were approved, signifying an acceptance rate of 58%.

The top leading countries were the United States, the United Kingdom, Nigeria, Canada, India and the Republic of Ireland.

In July, 2021, the Remote Employment Act, 2020 was amended to allow persons on the Welcome Stamp to apply for a renewal of their visa, for a further 12 months, at a 25% discount on the visa application fee.

Persons who wish to apply for a renewal of their Welcome Stamp visa can do so by visiting the official website.^‍

In 2019, the Barbados government established a National Population Commission to develop a set of policy recommendations to address the declining and ageing population of Barbados. A draft of the policy has now been published by the Commission.

Barbadians and residents, and non-nationals with connections to Barbados, are encouraged to read the draft policy and submit comments to the Commission by e-mail: populationpolicy@barbados.gov.bb. The deadline for submissions is March 31st, 2023.

The draft policy outlines specific actions that can help to address the declining and ageing population, without which Barbados is likely to face a population crisis within the next 30 years. The main threats facing Barbados in this regard are the consequential decreases in the workforce; unsustainablity should the number of persons requiring care constitute a majority of the population; and declines in government revenues as the number of taxpayers continue to shrink.

Some of the high level actions mentioned in the draft report are explained below. However, please note that the report has not been formally approved by the Government of Barbados and should not be construed as official policy unless and until it is formally accepted by the Cabinet. A decision will not be made by the Cabinet until the end of public consultations.

Retain and encourage repatriation of Barbadians in the diaspora

While there are a diverse number of reasons that inform a person's decision to leave or remain, some measures were identified by the Commission that can facilitate the decision making of Barbadians to repatriate, such as—

• job opportunities;
• accommodation and housing;
• reduced bureaucracy to establish new businesses in Barbados;
• integration support, including access to employment information and investment opportunities; and
• continuity of the Barbados Network Programme (e.g. tax-free importation of vehicles and other belongings).

The report also went into some detail about an emerging concept known as "partial repatriation", which draws from the lessons of the Welcome Stamp visa programme, introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Barbadians abroad could continue to maintain connections with their migratory country but also benefit from closer association with their home country.

Barbadians in the diaspora that do not wish to fully repatriate can be encouraged to take advantage of Barbados as their co-location for work and life, that can uniquely complement what their migratory country offers. This is particularly relevant in today's digital world in which more people than ever before are working remotely.

Some measures identified by the Commission that could facilitate partial repatriation include—

• affordable housing;
• tax incentives, such as duty-free concessions or VAT exemptions for specified periods; and
• establishment and marketing of links between the diaspora community and
  professional institutions for volunteering and participation.

Develop a family policy that supports reproductive decision making

In 1980, the fertility rate was 2.1. Had Barbados maintained this rate, the population size would be around 360,000 today and would have been expected to rise to just under 400,000 by 2050. The actual size of the population today is approximately 280,000.

The Commission recommended that Barbados should seek to grow its population by around 185,000 by 2050. While this target cannot be achieved without high levels of controlled migration, a pro-natal policy is seen as one of the pillars to increasing the population size.

Some actions that may encourage reproductive decision making include—

• measures pertaining to shared parental leave;
• provisions for longer periods of maternity leave;
• establishing rights of fathers to take paternity leave;
• offering tax concessions for families with dependent children; and
• promotion of flexible working arrangements, such as working remotely.

Expand the categories of persons entitled to citizenship and permanent residency

Draft legislation under review seeks to expand the category of persons to whom citizenship may be conferred to include—

• a person to whom immigrant status was conferred, if they have been an immigrant for a period exceeding three years;
• a person born outside Barbados with a grandparent or great-grandparent who is, or was, a citizen of Barbados (whether by birth, descent, registration or otherwise);
• a person to whom permanent residency was conferred, having resided in Barbados for at least three years during the past six years immediately preceding the date of application for citizenship;
• a person (and their spouse/dependents) being citizens of the Caribbean Community, having resided in Barbados for at least five years immediately preceding the date of application for citizenship; and
• a person (and their spouse/dependents), who not being citizens of the Caribbean Community, having resided in Barbados for at least six years immediately preceding the date of application for citizenship.

The legislation also proposes to expand the pathways to permanent residency to include—

• a child of a person who is a permanent resident, where that child is residing in Barbados; and
• a person who by reason of their age, education, experience, financial resources and skills (not being a citizen or permanent resident) can establish themselves economically in Barbados.

Last year, the Minister of Finance announced a temporary cap on the retail price and Value Added Tax applied to gasoline and diesel, in the interest of shielding consumers from the continued increase in prices for refined petroleum products.

Persons are advised that the cap has ended and the full rate of VAT (at 17.5%) now applies to gasoline and diesel. Therefore, the Minister responsible for Energy and Business, under the powers conferred on her by Section 3 of the Miscellaneous Controls Act, Cap. 329, has increased the retail price of gasoline (petrol) to BDS $4.08 per litre and the retail price of diesel to BDS $3.85 per litre.

These price adjustments are effective from Monday, February 20th, 2023.

The Minister responsible for Energy and Business, under the powers conferred on her by Section 3 of the Miscellaneous Controls Act, Cap. 329, has increased the retail price of gasoline (petrol) to BDS $3.94 per litre and the retail price of diesel to BDS $3.65 per litre.

These price adjustments are effective from Monday, February 6th, 2023.

The Minister responsible for Legal Affairs, The Hon. Dale Marshall, K.C., M.P., announced during a press conference at Ilaro Court on January 27th, 2023 that new legislation will be laid before Parliament to ban loud kites from being used or left outdoors at night.

The draft legislation proposes to amend the Minor Offences Act, Cap. 173 to specifically ban any kite from being used between 7 pm and 6 am if it carries a "bull" or any other noise-making apparatus. If the legislation is passed by Parliament as proposed by the government, any person who contravenes the ban will be liable to a BDS $500 fixed penalty notice.

Any person who fails to pay the fixed penalty notice is liable to prosecution in the Magistrate's Court and upon conviction may face a term of imprisonment and/or a fine of up to BDS $5,000.

The draft law will be laid before Parliament on January 31st, 2023 and is likely to be debated by MPs during the next sitting of the House of Assembly on February 7th, 2023.