Public urged to be ready for return of fast track regularisation initiative
And Hon Fahie has said third generation Virgin Islanders and expatriates living and working in the Virgin Islands for 20 years and over will have six (6) and three (3) week respectively to get their documents in order to be processed once the dates for applications are announced.
The fast track plan to regularisation announced by Premier Fahie in May 2019 received almost immediate resistance from some locals, who felt there was no need to rush the initiative and had expressed a number of fears, including overpopulation, and losing their culture and identity as Virgin Islanders. A petition was even started and a small group of persons even protested during one House of Assembly sittings where an amendment to the Immigration and Passport Act was to be made.
Premier Fahie had said the plan was to unite the Virgin Islands and that the people to be considered for regularisation are already living in the territory.
Nevertheless, Premier Fahie put the initiative on hold to listen to the people before returning with the Bill to the House of Assembly to have it passed.
During the delays, applicants were told to complete the preparation of all their necessary documents to apply and await further instructions.
Get documents ready
Speaking at Maria’s by the Sea during a consultation meeting on the Consumer Protection Act on July 9, 2019, Hon Fahie said Government is getting ready to get the regularisation initiative rolling again.
This will also be an opportunity for third generation Virgin Islanders without status to apply.
“We actually took all those writing emails, we sat and we read all of them and we were able to make some adjustments…[and] later this week we will be making the announcement to state when the time is to start to come in for the third generation BVIslanders to be able to get Belongership.
“You will have six weeks…so hopefully you would have already started to get your information, and would have called all your family abroad, third generation of VIslanders, so that they can get their Belongership permit and those with twenty years and up can now be able to apply and they would have three weeks to put together all their information with the fast track as we agreed,” said Premier Fahie.
Noting that the fast track initiative was halted to get the concerns of many heard, Premier Fahie said “The [Immigration and Passport Act] bill was amended and its passed but there are other measures that have been put in.”
“For those who are here twenty years or more we are going to have make sure that they are qualified. It’s not automatic,” Premier Fahie stated emphatically.
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