Premier Wheatley encourages new Belongers to embrace VI heritage
A ceremony to mark this significant event for these families was held on Thursday, January 29th, 2026, at the Eileene L. Parsons Auditorium, in Paraquita Bay.
Premier issues call to belongers
During the ceremony, the Premier and Minister of Finance, Dr the Honourable Natalio D. Wheatley (R7), urged each new Belonger to embrace their heritage and to proudly display the flags of the Virgin Islands in their homes and hearts.
Belonger status in the Virgin Islands (BVI) is a legal designation that grants individuals the rights to live, work, vote, and own property without restrictions, similar to permanent residency or citizenship. It can be acquired through birth, ancestry, long-term residency, or a special grant, and requires the issuance of a Belonger card.
Belongers legislation passed in 2025
In 2025, the Virgin Islands streamlined the Belonger status application process by launching a new online portal for electronic submissions, emphasising transparency and modernisation.
In April 2025, the Immigration and Passport (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which clarified the path to Belonger status and defined what is meant by "ordinarily resident," as well as proposed benefits for immigration officers, was passed in the House of Assembly (HoA).
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32 Responses to “Premier Wheatley encourages new Belongers to embrace VI heritage”
WE CANNOT HOLD ALL OF U.
AS U CAN SEE, BIGGER DON’T MEAN BETTER.
THE SAD PART IS A NUMBER OF U ALL BRING U ALL NASTY, WORTHLESS, DIRTY BEHAVIOR WITH U ALL.
Let me quickly give a synopsis of what heritage means:
Protecting and preserving;
Values and traditions passed down to us from our ancesters
Our history, our cultural identity show cased through our music our skills.
Preserving, protecting and curating historical significance of where we came from our journey which will be our community's identity for educational and tourism purposes.
What do we have and preserved as ours? We celebrate Halloween, Thanksgiving without knowing their inception or meaning. We don't have an authentic Local Restuarant. Our children the baby boomers,, Gen Z, millenlials and Gen X have no idea what build the foundation we stand on. This is why our young people behave the way they do. We failed them. We have lost ourselves in other cultural identities and relinqished our own. I am going to end here, as I think this short narrative is enough to stroke our memories to what and how it used to be. Our yester years.
Are the young youthmen wearing their pants below their shity bottocks, and the young and middle age he
Or the main reason is because you love as neighbors should love neighbors, and not to focus mainly to acqire their votes coming next general elections? Which is it? You can't easily fool me, bye, bye, deceiver.
Belonger cards only are valid in this territory. Meaning they hold no weight when you are traveling abroad. Why invest in something that’s not worth anything outside of this country?
Don’t take my word for it. Verify this information at the Civil Registry and Passport Office which is under the Governors office. Notice that he’s not present at this ceremony. Why?
Congratulations to all nonetheless!
What is wrong with our Government Leaders? Most of these people are disrespectful, rude, etc. to the Local, born Tortolians.
They have put in the time, and have now been granted the reward!
And for the many of you, who are confused about the process,reread the Constitution, for greater clarity on this issue!
Again, Congratulations, to all, who have received such an auspicious status!
So we'll be forming our own paty.
Name RESIDENCY BELONGER NATURALIZER PARTY.
LOL what about that?????????.