Government has given itself an extra two years to compile a register of non-Bermudian land ownership — and granted foreigners the same extension to ensure they comply with an anti-fronting law.

Expatriates who own land here under a licence granted before August 2007 had until June 22 this year to get that licence validated by Government — or face having to sell their property.

But Junior Home Affairs Minister Walter Roban presented an amendment to the law in the House of Assembly last night which set a new deadline of June 22, 2012 — an "amnesty" Shadow Attorney General Trevor Moniz said would be a relief to many.

Mr. Moniz told MPs that some people who could not their licences validated but were not guilty of "true fronting" — such as parents with Bermudian offspring who put the property in their children's names — were having difficulty selling the homes during the recession.

"The situation is that the housing market is such that it's very much a buyer's market," said the deputy Opposition leader. "The market is flooded. The effect it's had is that someone who wanted to 'regularise' their position, they may be unable to sell their property."

He questioned Mr. Roban as to whether the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Amendment Act 2010 would mean such people weren't prosecuted if they failed to get their licence validated or sell by this June. The Minister confirmed that no punitive action would be taken.

The latest legislation follows the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Amendment Act 2007 — a law designed to outlaw the practice of fronting, where non-Bermudians gain an unlawful interest in land here by using a Bermudian "front".

The Act requires non-Bermudians who contribute towards mortgage payments or benefit from rent on a property to be licensed — even if they are not named on the title deeds.

Mr. Moniz said last night that the intent of the Act was laudable but claimed Government had applied it "quite tightly", meaning it affected legitimate property owners.

"Fronting really consists of somebody doing it for a stranger," he said, adding that it wasn't "true fronting" when the non-Bermudians involved were parents or spouses.

One of the aims of the 2007 Act was to allow Government to gain an accurate picture of the acreage of land owned by non-Bermudians. It is supposed to be no more than 400 acres per parish, but is believed to be more.

Mr. Roban said last night that the true scale of foreign land ownership had yet to be determined, with 2,300 acres "on record" but licences for only 356 acres of land validated since 2007.

"Clearly there is a lot of work to be done," he told MPs. "We have deemed it of vital importance to continue the accurate calculation of acreage... before granting any more licences. In order to complete the process, we propose to extend the deferral period."

Works and Engineering Minister Derrick Burgess told the House that Bermuda had just 13,000 acres of land, with 6,000 of those for residential use. "Thirty seven percent in 2007 was owned by non-Bermudians," he said.

"That's probably the highest percentage of land owned by non-citizens of any country in the world. At that time [2007], we were investigating 200 properties that were considered to be fronts."

He added: "We must preserve our land for our children and our grandchildren. There is nothing left."

The 2010 amendment, which was passed by MPs, also clarifies that parents applying for Bermudian status must have children who all possess Bermudian status.