Guest workers will have to prove they speak competent English before they can come to Bermuda from April 1, Immigration Minister David Burch has announced.

Sen. Burch has in the past detailed complaints about employees who can't communicate and the topic was raised again on Friday during the debate on the Tourism budget.

He told fellow Senators he spoke with stakeholders in the business sector before deciding to implement the policy. He gave no details of how it would be administered or what it would involve, but said: "As of April 1, it will be implemented."

Last month, he told the Senate: "In July 2008 I wrote to stakeholders to advise that the Ministry was looking to introduce a policy that would ensure that persons issued a work permit needed to be proficient in the English language.

"This is not an attempt to shut out workers from non-English speaking countries, but a means to assist those persons while they work in Bermuda.

"If they have a level of proficiency in English it decreases the chances of them being exploited by their employer because of their limited understanding of English."

However, he noted that language difficulties can also be frustrating for those who interact with such workers.

"I had an experience last night at a restaurant. I asked (the waitress) for something and the girl never even registered it," he commented.