The public are invited to provide feedback on the Government’s updated work-permit policy, which aims to set processing times for standard applications to six weeks.

The amended rules will be available for public feedback from until July 4, and are due to come into effect on September 1.

Jason Hayward, the Minister of Economy and Labour, said at a press conference this morning: “One of the Government’s goals is to ensure the proper balance between employment and immigration in Bermuda.

“This includes having in place realistic conditions that enable Bermudians to find work and pursue career opportunities while ensuring that suitably qualified non-Bermudians in specific job categories be permitted to work in Bermuda.”

While the Government previously set a target of 20 working days for the completion of standard permits, Mr Hayward said a new target of 30 days “reflects a more realistic processing time frame“.

However, he said, the hope was to reduce the time frame again once the policy changes take effect.

Mr Hayward said that over the past year, the Department of Immigration processed more than 10,000 work-permit related applications.

He said that with the new policy, the number was likely to decrease as many applications at present are duplicates.

The ministry and department undertook a comprehensive review of the policy over the past year, including consultation with industry partners.

Additions to the new policy include clear guidelines for submitting photos and police certificates as well as the inclusion of family office permits.

“The policy also includes the expectation of employers offering jobs with Bermudians being in place first among all other categories of work,” Mr Hayward said.

“All persons will be required to have a working knowledge of the English language and the burden of proof to ensure that they do will rest with the employers.

“The policy regulating business visitors has been expanded to include utilising someone for a non-profit organisation, a registered charity or a religious institution such as a sports coach, clergy or a speaker.”

Mr Hayward said that short-term work permits would no longer serve as a bridge for standard work permits, adding: “This means that employers must determine their business needs upfront — that is, whether they need a work-permit holder for a short period from one to six months, or for a longer periods of a year or more.

“If an employer is likely to require a work-permit holder for more than six months, they must apply for a standard work permit of at least one year.”

Applications may still be made for emergency and short-term work permits.

Mr Hayward added: “A new family office permit has been introduced in alignment with Bermuda’s new family office framework.

“Statutory bodies will have 15 working days to review applications and provide a response to the minister. The number of days has been increased from ten as the time frame was not consistently met.

“Salary bands for sponsored dependents have been enhanced to exclude the work-permit holders and spouses from the household profile, and a new salary band has been added for households with four or more dependents.

“It has also been made clear that spouses are not deemed to be sponsored dependents. Only unmarried partners and children are classified as sponsored dependents.”

Mr Hayward spoke to the digitisation of the work-permit process being undertaken by the Department of Immigration.

A previous attempt at work-permit digitisation using Microsoft Dynamics System purchased for $111,880 was not compatible with the Government’s systems.

Mr Hayward said: “Although it is in its early stages, the design and implementation would include an assessment of the department’s business processes so that the resulting automation and digitisation are effective and efficient

“We are in the advanced stages of ensuring we select a vendor that has software in alignment with our systems.

“The work will be undertaken in phases, the first phase being work permit applications.

“Ultimately, it is anticipated that the processing times for applications will decrease and customers will be able to track applications through the system via a dashboard.”

Asked what choices work-permit holders have if the Government delays their correct and timely applications, Mr Hayward explained: “We ask persons to put in an appeal to continue to work.

“Permission can be granted for a person to continue to work while the application is in process. We do facilitate employees returning to work once an application has been submitted.”

He said meetings for appeals occur weekly on Thursdays.

Mr Hayward added: “I encourage all to participate in this consultative process. Carefully read the policy 2025 and submit clear and relevant feedback.”

• The policy document is available for feedback atforum.gov.bm