Leaders of Bermuda’s African Methodist Episcopal Church are expecting a decision shortly from immigration authorities on the Reverend Nicholas Tweed’s work permit.

Mr Tweed, pastor at St Paul AME Church, vocal critic of the Bermuda Government and a prominent campaigner for workers’ rights, had an application for a renewal of his work permit rejected last month, prompting an outcry from supporters.

It is understood the refusal was appealed by the church’s presiding elder, Betty Furbert-Woolridge, and an answer on whether he can stay on the island is likely to come soon.

Meanwhile, the presiding bishop of the church will arrive in Bermuda today to conduct weekend Advent services.

A source, who asked not to be named, told The Royal Gazette that the Right Reverend Gregory Ingram planned to make personal representations regarding Mr Tweed while here.

Mr Tweed’s three-year work permit was due to expire on July 19 this year and an application to renew was made on July 18, according to Bermuda Industrial Union president Chris Furbert.

The Department of Immigration says applications must be submitted no less than a month before a work permit expires.

Mr Furbert brought the matter to public attention on September 5, stating in his Labour Day speech that someone “very dear to us” had his work permit expire in July and had yet to hear if it would be extended.

The union leader claimed ministerial interference on the part of home affairs minister Patricia Gordon-Pamplin, an allegation she strongly refuted. In a statement on October 24, St Paul AME Church said the work-permit renewal was rejected by the minister, describing her decision as amounting to a “total disrespect and disregard for the doctrine and discipline of the AME Church, and the rejection of the longstanding custom and practice surrounding appointments of pastors in the AME Church in Bermuda”.

The post of pastor at St Paul AME Church was not advertised in this newspaper, but what is not known is whether the church requested a waiver from the Department of Immigration allowing it not to advertise.

The church has not responded to questions on that topic, but it has been suggested that the phrase “longstanding custom and practice” was a reference to it previously not having to seek waivers.

Ms Gordon-Pamplin said last month that “comprehensive changes” to policy were made in 2014 and that the Department of Immigration operated under the new policy.

“This policy requires for a position for a work permit to be advertised, or if a waiver from advertising is sought, the waiver fee is remitted and an application made for the dispensation,” she said.

Both the minister and the Ministry of Home Affairs have refused to comment directly on Mr Tweed’s case.

A ministry spokeswoman told this newspaper: “The Ministry of Home Affairs and the Department of Immigration will not discuss individual cases or appeals.”

Asked if the Board of Immigration was considering an appeal and how the process worked, she added: “The minister and Ministry of Home Affairs speak for the Board of Immigration. Therefore, the board is also not at liberty to respond to any specific queries about individual cases.” The refusal to renew Mr Tweed’s work permit prompted widespread criticism, including from the BIU, the Progressive Labour Party and anti-racism group Curb.

Although a guest worker, Mr Tweed has close family links to Bermuda and his biography on the St Paul AME Church website describes it as his “ancestral homeland”.

In August 2014, he said: “My father [Kingsley Tweed] was one of the significant figures in desegregating the island and contributing to the expansion of the franchise. So I don’t come to this island as a ‘foreigner’. So it’s a little different.”

Kingsley Tweed reportedly left Bermuda in 1961, because of threats to his life. Nicholas Tweed was born in London in 1964 and many of his relatives live here, including his teenage daughter.

Mr Tweed is understood to no longer be married to his Bermudian wife, Phyllis Curtis-Tweed, principal of the Berkeley Institute, hence why he requires a work permit.

It is believed the pastor had discussions this year with the Department of Immigration about applying for Bermudian status, but the outcome of those talks is not known.

It is the duty of an employer to apply for a work-permit renewal in good time, following the same process used to obtain the original permit.

If a completed application is not submitted to the Department of Immigration within the required timeframe, the employee must stop working, but in Mr Tweed’s case, he was given permission by Ms Gordon-Pamplin to continue as pastor pending a decision.

The source told this newspaper the original application for a work-permit renewal would normally have been submitted by Ms Furbert-Woolridge, as the bishop’s locally based representative. But she was off island and the renewal was handled instead by three officers of St Paul AME.

Two of the three church officers who handled Mr Tweed’s application for a renewal of his work permit were civil servants. One was Marc Telemaque, the permanent secretary at the Ministry of National Security.

The Royal Gazette previously reported an allegation from a government source that a civil servant and AME Church member had tried to influence the application process by “repeatedly bullying” staff members in the Department of Immigration.

But this newspaper has since seen an e-mail from Danette Ming, the Chief Immigration Officer, to Mr Telemaque, in which Dr Ming states: “I can say categorically that the allegations ... are untrue.”

Bishop Ingram did not respond to e-mailed requests for comment and Ms Furbert-Woolridge declined to comment.