Women from the Dominican Republic are being brought to Bermuda to work as prostitutes, according to Government.

Older Bermudian men are also marrying young Panamanian, Dominican Republic and Philippine women without them speaking a word of English.

Many then go on to abuse their young wives, so much so that they are forced to seek refuge for domestic violence.

As a result of reports of abuse and exploitation by Bermudian men, Government yesterday announced a new visa requirement for Panamanian, Dominican Republic and Philippine nationals.

Although Immigration Minister David Burch could not disclose numbers on the extent of the prostitution problem, he said it was "enough to change the policy".

"There have been sufficient cases brought to our attention to warrant a review, either through the Immigration hot line or the individuals," he said.

From May 1, Government will vet visa applications from these countries "to determine whether a marriage is a sham or a bona-fide union".

"For some time now concern has been expressed about the ill treatment and the potential for abuse and victimisation involving nationals from these three countries," said the Minister.

"When persons want to escape economic hardship, whether it be pursued through a sham marriage or by having a child for a Bermudian, problems do occur.

"The Department of Immigration has received complaints and investigated cases where women have been brought to Bermuda specifically from the Dominican Republic for the purposes of prostitution.

"There have also been a number of cases where marriages with persons from Panama, the Philippines and the Dominican Republic involved significantly older Bermudian men married to women in their early twenties.

"Moreover, when the Bermudian men arrive at the L. F. Wade International Airport to collect their spouses, often they cannot communicate with them as they do not speak each others' respective language," said Sen. Burch.

Commenting on marriages also going wrong, he said: "Unhappily the Bermuda Constitution allows for Bermudians to be stupid. There are instances of the Physical Abuse Centre having to accommodate these women, foreign nationals.

"There is an economic price for the country, because people who are brought here and who are abused and abandoned in this country are then looked after by the taxpayer. I'm not taking the moral high ground, you can marry who you like, but if you can't communicate with that person, it's symptomatic the person can't read or write."

As from May 1, citizens of these countries will have to apply to their British embassies for visas. The information will then be e-mailed to the Immigration Department to be vetted.

The Immigration Minister will then decide whether to issue a visa, as is currently the practice with Jamaican nationals.

Panama, Dominican Republic and Philippine nationals applying for work permits will also have to apply for visas via British embassies, which will verify whether the personal information tallies.

Sen. Burch said: "The Department of Immigration has found cases where a person claims to be a chef when, in fact, they are a farm labourer. In such cases, even though the work permit may have been approved, the visa application is refused and thus the work permit can be revoked."

Yesterday the Minister also announced all Canadian air passengers must carry a passport.

Before January 2007, US and Canadian nationals were allowed to enter Bermuda with a birth certificate and photo ID as proof of citizenship.

Since then US citizens have had to carry a passport. However since January 2009-10, Bermuda's new Border Management System has found 99.6 percent of Canadians are also travelling with a passport. As a directive would therefore have a "minimal" impact on Canadian tourism, Bermuda now requires all Canadian air passengers to carry one, so standardising requirements for all jurisdictions.