Around 400 long-term residents will be eligible for Bermudian status after MPs passed new legislation yesterday to end the uncertainty hanging over them.

And others will be granted permanent residents certificates (PRC), which will enable them to avoid seeking work permit renewals, and will allow them to retire in Bermuda and buy property.

Labour, Home Affairs and Public Safety Minister Terry Lister told the House of Assembly the changes were a fair compromise between the legitimate rights of long-term residents, and the concerns of Bermudians that their interests be protected.

The opposition United Bermuda Party (UBP) backed the Bill, the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Act 2002, although it called for minor amendments.

The changes arose out of the sometimes heated public meetings on the issue in 2000 chaired by the then Home Affairs Minister Paula Cox, which were some of the most important discussions in the Island's history, said Mr. Lister.

"This Bill marks the culmination of a great deal of discussion, dialogue and feedback," Mr. Lister told MPs.

"It also reflects the determination of this Government to do the best thing for those born Bermudians, and those who choose to work in Bermuda.

"Government believes that this extremely challenging issue has been resolved in a manner that recognises equity, justice and dignity for all Bermuda's residents.

"The passage of this Bill will, I believe, bring to a conclusion one of the most important debates in the history of our Island, a highly charged debate that was finally addressed in earnest almost two years ago by (Ms Cox)."

The UBP announced a moratorium in the granting of Bermudian status to foreign workers in 1989, meaning those who arrived after that date could not expect to be granted status.

Mr. Lister said that when the Progressive Labour Party decided to address the issue, it initially said there would be no more granting of status until the question of independence had been sorted.

But because this was a "listening Government sensitive to the needs of Bermuda's long-term residents and all Bermudians", it decided to grant status to some.

Around 400 people - 100 who are siblings of Bermudians, 80 who are parents of Bermudians, and 220 who have been on the voters' register before 1976 - would be entitled to apply for Bermudian status.

Mr. Lister said those now entitled to status fell into four categories: siblings whose other brothers and sisters were Bermudian; parents whose children were all Bermudian; special hardship cases determined by the Ministers; and voters who have been on the electoral register since May 1 1976.

Permanent Residents Certificates (PRC) can be applied for by an unspecified number of long-term residents who have been in Bermuda on or before August 1 1989, who have been residents for at least 20 years. They must be at least 40 years of age and must apply before August 1, 2010.

Land policy will be amended to allow PRC holders to buy condominiums anywhere in Bermuda, regardless of annual rental value, and can own single unit homes lower than the current minimum level for non-Bermudians. Exact details will be provided later, said Mr. Lister.

Shadow Labour, Home Affairs and Public Safety Minister Patricia Gordon-Pamplin said the PLP had adopted part of the UBP's blueprint on the issue.

Although there were concerns from Bermudians that foreigners would be taking their jobs and homes, the long-term residents had already assimilated, had their own homes, and were now the colleagues, friends and relatives of Bermudians, she said.

The UBP had stopped granting status to 40 people each year in 1989 because it was becoming a "lottery, not a sustainable process", she said.

She said that status should not be restricted only to those long term residents who qualified who were from Commonwealth countries.

And she said it was unfair, and created a double standard, if PRCs were given only to those long-term residents who were on the electoral roll, because some who had been in Bermuda for the same period of time may not have kept their name on the electoral register because the PLP had told them not to interfere in local politics.