The number of people now entitled to work in Bermuda permit-free under a new legal precedent delivered by the Supreme Court excludes the “vast majority” of work permit holders.

However, Peter Sanderson, the lawyer behind the latest ruling, cautioned that it was impossible to be certain as many will have already applied for Bermuda status under a previous ruling.

There was no word last night from the Department of Immigration on how many might qualify to work without the say-so of the Bermuda Government.

Mr Sanderson told The Royal Gazette that the latest ruling could trigger new action on the call for an overhaul of the Island’s immigration system.

“Perhaps we will finally see that thing which everybody claims to support, but which nobody seems inclined to put forward concrete proposals on — comprehensive immigration reform,” he said.

Calls in Parliament for a joint reform date back to 2013, when the One Bermuda Alliance made the controversial move to drop term limits.

The latest development in immigration, reported yesterday by this newspaper, affects only naturalised British Overseas Territories citizens, and confirms that they are entitled to work in Bermuda without work permit restrictions.

The July 15 decision by Chief Justice Ian Kawaley upheld the constitutional right of a naturalised citizen to work, after the Department of Immigration terminated his employment in March because he did not have a work permit.

Many of the immigration reforms put forward by the OBA have proven controversial, but the debate gathered new force after a ruling by Mr Justice Kawaley, delivered in May 2014, allowed for certain holders of Permanent Resident’s Certificates (PRCs) to obtain Bermuda status.

Although that decision began with the independent Immigration Appeals Tribunal rather than the Bermuda Government, it was nonetheless blamed repeatedly on the OBA. The earlier case centred on a point of law described as a “sleeping provision” by the Chief Justice: section 20B (2)(b) of the Immigration and Protection Act.

Mr Sanderson, who was the lawyer in both cases, yesterday told The Royal Gazette that the basis of this latest decision was “not, in any sense of the word, a loophole.

“The judgment was not based on an ambiguity or oversight in the law, but based on protecting fundamental rights guaranteed by the constitution,” he said.

“The court is not making policy but is simply applying the constitution, which has been in place since 1968. The effect of this part of the constitution is to protect people who have a strong enough connection to Bermuda that they are able to naturalise.”

Last year’s outcry over PRCs obtaining status led to calls from the Progressive Labour Party, along with the People’s Campaign, to have the offending section of the law deleted.

That tactic was likened by the OBA to “trying to deal with a refugee problem by simply shutting down the camps where refugees live”. The PRC law had been enacted more than a decade earlier.

Undoing the effects of the latest judgment by dispensing with that area of law would prove highly complex, Mr Sanderson said.

“It is not straightforward to amend a constitution. Taking away the rights of naturalised persons would be contrary to various international treaties that Bermuda is a signatory to, stating that citizens of a territory should not be banished. Bermuda is already in breach of international law in not allowing British Overseas Territories citizens to vote or participate in public life.”

Exactly how many people might qualify for unrestricted work is open to question.

The Island’s last census in 2010 lists 1,370 PRCs and a further 1,747 non-Bermudian spouses. Many PRCs will already have sought full status under the 2014 ruling.

The category of Naturalised British Overseas Territories citizens covers people from the 14 territories that remain under British jurisdiction, which includes Bermuda.

Naturalisation is granted by the Governor, and is only given to people who are not under restriction on how long they can remain in Bermuda. They must have resided in Bermuda for at least three years, and have a clean record. It is not usually sought as an end in itself, but applied for as a prerequisite to obtaining a Bermuda passport or Bermuda status.