Employers seeking to exempt their employees from the Department of Immigration's six-year work term limit are strongly advised to act quickly as the policy comes into effect little more than six months from now.

Beginning April 1, 2007, unless a work permit holder is granted an exemption from the policy, they will be prohibited from working beyond the six-year term. The policy will apply to any work permit holder who will have had a work permit for more than six years. The policy also applies to any work permit holder whose employment on the Island begins after that date.

An exemption will be granted where an employer has obtained the status of "good corporate citizen" by application to Immigration, and as a result has had certain staff designated as "key persons" within the organisation.

In those cases, work permit holders will not be subject to the six-year term. However, should there be a shift in the availability of the required skill set for the position in the local labour pool, a work term limit may be imposed at a later date.

An exception to the policy is also possible where there is a real and genuine need for work permit renewal beyond the six-year limit, e.g. if non-renewal would mean: depriving an organisation of business continuity; because the permit holder's position cannot be filled from the local labour pool.

In those circumstances, an employer is eligible to apply for a three-year extension to the six-year limit, giving the worker approval to work in Bermuda for nine years in total.

Many work permit holders believe that they are key to the organisation for which they work, and therefore will be exempted from the term limit policy.

However, unless an application has been made to Immigration and approved, work permit holders will not be considered "key persons" under the policy.

While many applications have been made for "good corporate citizen" status, some companies may not have applied because they are unable to satisfy some of the criteria.

A company may be small, and not have the resources to comply with the criteria, for example. However, this alone should not deter any company from making application.

If an organisation can provide sufficient explanation why it cannot meet certain of the criteria, the application will still be considered.

Success at this stage provides the basis for an exemption application on behalf of "key persons" in the organisation.

The "key person" application has taken on greater significance following Immigration's letter to all employers with work permit holders in February 2006, which requested applications in respect of any key personnel.

Such applications have been significant in number and the already stretched resources of Immigration are battling to process these applications.

There will doubtless be more key person applications as the year progresses.

With the number of applications being made, delays in processing are inevitable.

This will have a significant impact on the morale of the workforce, both Bermudian and non-Bermudian.

Delays will also create uncertain futures for existing work permit holders, and in turn translate into uncertainty for Bermuda landlords, schools and other services.

Employers who have not been able to recruit from the local labour pool will feel the principal impact of any delay in the work permit approval process.

Their concerns range from uncertainty regarding when to recruit replacement staff, to how to satisfy existing employees (both Bermudian and non-Bermudian) that continuity is being addressed, as well as any financial impact on the business caused by disruption to their workforce and increased expenditure on recruitment.

The already-busy Immigration department may have to reallocate resources, which in turn could affect the current turnaround time for work permit applications/renewals.

If this translates into delay, new permit holders arriving to replace expired work permit holders will not benefit from handovers or, worse, lack of continuity may put businesses at risk. Any employer facing this situation should apply to Immigration for an extension of an existing work permit.

Save for those employers that have had good corporate citizen applications approved, the future is uncertain.

The many other companies with workers nearing the six-year limit must apply now for good corporate citizen/key person status.

Having a pending application on April 1, 2007 is far preferable to applying late, which is not an option.