Full Caricom membership Green Paper published
A Green Paper on Bermuda’s application for full membership of Caricom was published this afternoon with an invitation for residents to provide feedback on its proposals.
Alexa Lightbourne, the Minister of Home Affairs, told MPs earlier that the document examines how the island can move from “the margins of regional decision making to its centre”.
Bermuda has been an associate member of the Caribbean Community since 2003 but the House of Assembly heard today that the status has “reached its structural limits”.
Ms Lightbourne said: “We are in the room but not at the table. We participate but we do not decide.”
MPs heard that in a full-membership scenario, Bermuda would retain full control over immigration and work permits.
Ms Lightbourne added that the reasons companies are attracted to the island — such as economic substance requirements and a world-class regulatory environment — will not be affected by increased Caricom integration.
The minister said that the Green Paper — released on a website titled togetherforcaricom.gov.bm — sets out the costs and benefits of full membership and presents implications “plainly”.
She told MPs: “The areas that made full Caricom membership a viable direction for the Government to take were identified as food security, climate resilience, energy resilience, healthcare and public safety, and education and training opportunities.
“These are the daily concerns of Bermudian families.
“They are the same issues that occupy the centre of Caricom’s regional agenda and they are the same issues that were discussed at the 50th Caricom Heads of Government conference in Basseterre, St Kitts & Nevis just two weeks ago.
“Bermuda was not in the room when those discussions took place.”
Ms Lightbourne added that the Green Paper invites the public to read, question and respond.
Interested parties can expect to hear more about the proposals in a series of public meetings over the weeks ahead.
The minister said: “Some will ask, why now? The answer is that the world has changed around us and the terms of our participation have not kept pace.”
She told the House that the Green Paper is split into five chapters and addresses Bermuda’s constitutional status as a British Overseas Territory.
Ms Lightbourne said: “It examines the tangible benefits of full membership in the areas that matter most to most Bermudians — cost of living, trade and economic opportunities, climate resilience, healthcare and education, and cultural connection.”
She added that the “indicative contribution” for the island as a full member would be about 0.16 per cent of 2025-26 annual expenditure.
“The Government’s position is that Bermuda’s financial contribution should reflect the terms of the membership that we are able to accept and the final figure will be determined through further negotiation,” Ms Lightbourne said.
She added: “We have heard the concerns and take them very seriously.
“We also take seriously the responsibility to distinguish concern from fear and fear from fiction.
“Some Bermudians say that they will lose their jobs but the Green Paper is clear — Bermuda will retain its full control over immigration and work permits.
“Full membership does not grant Caricom nationals the right to live or work here. The work permit system stays in place.”
Ms Lightbourne said: “This consultation places the people of Bermuda in the driver’s seat because too often in our history, decisions about our place in the world have been made for us.
“Too often the question of who we are and where we belong have been answered by others.
“This process is different and this Green Paper gives Bermudians the facts, the analysis and the framework. The next steps belong to them.”
• To see the Green Paper, see Related Media
• More to follow
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