Immigration isn’t supposed to be easy. Of necessity, governments must first protect their own , screening all prospective entrants to help ensure that only decent people get added to the ranks of residents.
According to the latest special report from the Office of the Complaints Commissioner, however, the process to obtain official residency status in the Virgin Islands has been beyond difficult for some immigrants: It has been inconsistent and unjust.
“I have found a great injustice in the treatment of an applicant for a certificate of residence,” wrote Complaints Commissioner Elton Georges in his third special report to the House of Assembly, later adding that the complainant’s experience was “not that unusual.”
The eight-page report, which was tabled without discussion during the Feb. 17 HOA sitting, details the 30-year-long application process of a man referred to as “Mr. T.”
See tomorrow’s edition for full coverage.