Allowing foreign company bosses to stay in Bermuda will help to create job opportunities and ensure that Bermudians have a better future.This was the promise of Premier and Finance Minister Paula Cox who said Government was doing all it could to “to create employment opportunities for Bermudians”.Ms Cox said she was showing important businesses and their senior executives that Bermuda was “open for business” to make it “the preferred domicile of choice”.Her comments were made as part of a lengthy debate in the House of Assembly on Friday as parliamentarians scrutinised the Incentives for Job Makers Bill 2011The new law, which was unanimously passed, gives company senior executives who satisfy certain criteria the right to apply for exemption to the normal requirements for permanent residence. But company bosses will only be considered if they employ Bermudians at all levels, including entry-level jobs.Ms Cox stressed that checks and balances would be in place and it would not be an open invite for people to stay in Bermuda.She said there were “some conditions to the contract” and company bosses had to “pass the smell test”.Ms Cox said: “In the spirit of Christmas and Santa, CEOs must be nice not naughty. Naughty CEOs need not apply.“Bermuda is not for sale to the highest bidder. We are certainly not a blank cheque.”Instead Ms Cox said the new law was “sending a clear message” to Bermudians that job creation was the Government’s number one priority.Ms Cox said the law aimed to bring new investment to Bermuda as everyone “navigated the turbulent economic times”.She said: “This is critical to our economic success, we want to encourage international business to invest in Bermuda and Bermudians.“We want to ensure that the future of Bermudians will be better than their past.“This is going to have an impact on the people … this is an empowerment for Bermudians to succeed.”Ms Cox added: “This is a template for 21st century solutions … it has the potential to be a win, win.”She said although Government and the international business sector “don’t always see eye-to-eye” she had consulted with stakeholders and company bosses.Ms Cox said Government was “reaching out and holding hands in the spirit of collaboration” and the law showed “an openness and willingness to form a lasting partnership”.It was highlighted that international business brings in $1.5 billion to Bermuda’s GDP but the new law would have “a reverberating effect” on the entire economy with increased revenue through rent, retail and transport.The Incentives for Job Makers bill states that eligible companies must employ at least 25 Bermudians but a last-minute amendment by Ms Cox paved the way for smaller companies to be considered at the Minister’s discretion.In addition, qualifying businesses have to have programmes in place to develop and train Bermudians and must not have attracted the intervention of labour relations officers or the Human Rights Commission.Senior executives who apply for such exemptions must be responsible for making decisions, which are critical to the company’s continuity in Bermuda. The company’s presence in Bermuda must depend on the applicant remaining on the Island.The fee for a certificate of exemption is $20,000, which is consistent with the ten-year work permit cost, and it will cost a further $120,000 for the permanent residence certificate.Shadow Business Development Minister Shawn Crockwell said it was “a very important piece of legislation” and his party supported its objective.He added that the One Bermuda Alliance had long promoted the importance of international business on the economy and the community as a whole.Mr Crockwell said: “The success of our economy and the recovery of our economy is based on international business.“We need to work with international businesses now and in the future because the entire community benefits.”Mr Crockwell said it was important to “attract and maintain” all corporate citizens who wanted to set up new businesses in Bermuda.He said: “We have to encourage individuals to come here … we want Bermuda to indeed be open for business.“We need the red carpet, it can’t be a magic carpet which is red today then another colour another day. It has to be red all the time.“We should always have a welcoming sign on our door.”The Opposition party also argued that the bill’s wording was vague and ambiguous and that the costs involved were “exorbitant”.