The Government of Barbados’ green paper on immigration reform has been made available for public review.

The document, titled “A Comprehensive Review of Immigration Policy And Proposals For Legislative Reform”, outlines the details of the Government of Barbados’ new immigration policy, which was first tabled in June 2009 by Prime Minister David Thompson.

The controversial policy aims to reduce the number of migrants coming into Barbados, and will make it more difficult for ‘illegal’ immigrants to gain residency status on the island by virtue of the length of time spent in Barbados – a key feature of the former immigration policy.

In June 2009, Prime Minister David Thompson prefaced the proposal for a new immigration policy with an amnesty for undocumented CARICOM migrants, under which they had until December 1, 2009 to regularize their status or face deportation. The amnesty was met with a wave of criticism by CARICOM leaders, which saw Prime Minister Thompson often adopting a defensive stance, stressing that immigrants were quickly becoming a ‘social and economic burden’ on Barbados.

Related articles:

1. Ralph Gonzalves blasts Barbados’ immigration policy, threatens CSME withdrawal
2. Barbados announces amnesty for “illegal” CARICOM immigrants
3. David Thompson to fellow CARICOM Prime Ministers: Butt out.
4. Barbados signs visa waiver with European Union

Antillean · Bridgetown, Barbados

The Antillean is a pan-Caribbean nonprofit media outlet, covering news, features and opinions on social issues in the Caribbean region and the wider Americas. Our mission is to encourage conversation on, and enhance the visibility of, social currencies within the hemisphere – issues which are often underreported in the mainstream media.

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