Welcome Stamp approvals coming – PM

The Mia Mottley administration is to begin approving applications for the Barbados Welcome Stamp from as early as this weekend even as the legislation to bring the initiative into force was being introduced to the House of Assembly on Tuesday.

The visa initiative is to allow people from around the world to live and work remotely from Barbados for up to a year, said the Prime Minister as she led the debate in the Lower Chamber on the Remote Employment Bill which provides the legislative support for the programme which is meant to revive a tourism industry that has been decimated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Anticipating that the legislation will be approved by the Senate this week, Mottley sought to dispel suggestions that the programme would jeopardise job opportunities for Barbadians, thousands of whom are now without work. But she declared that this should not be a worry for Bajans.

Outlining some of the requirements to obtain the visa, Mottley said: “We must be satisfied that they have health insurance or that they will get health insurance before reaching here.

“They must show that they have a valid passport for passage and that the money they are earning is from work from outside of Barbados and not required to be from Barbados.

“The stamp shall preclude a person from seeking to engage in employment in Barbados.

“But if for whatever reason they want to transition, they are free to apply to the Chief Immigration Officer for any other forms of permission that will allow them to work… but this is not what this is for. So Bajans need not worry that people are coming here to take their jobs.”

She outlined that applicants for the visa will pay a fee of $4,000 (US$2,000) and must be working for a minimum of $100,000 annually. The Chief Immigration Officer will be keeping a register of all these special visa holders and they will not be making contributions to the National Insurance Scheme or PAYE to the Barbados Revenue Authority.

According to Mottley, she was not certain of the programme’s success but Government had to do what was necessary to get the sector going again and trigger employment for the thousands of Barbadians who have lost their jobs due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stressing that it has been a difficult period for her administration and the country, the lead Minister of Finance said unemployment had trebled, government revenue had fallen by 31 per cent and the state’s expenditure had risen by more than 21 per cent.

“Our duty is to get people working,” she declared.

Prime Minister Mottley admitted that the coronavirus pandemic had “imploded” economies, and it “has not been an easy” for countries like Barbados whose economic lifeblood depends on tourism and travel.

She outlined that most hotels, attractions, distributors, farmers and suppliers had experienced a more than 20 per cent drop in demand as a result of the tourism industry’s crash.

Explaining that when long stay and cruise passengers were added, on an annual basis Barbados had a tourism market that was five times its population.

“You can see what has happened to demand for goods and services, said the Prime Minister. “Now only those who live here and who are working can fuel this economy.”

She insisted the Ministry of Health has made it clear that the pandemic will be managed based on the risks associated with where the traveller has flown from and not the traveller’s nationality.