A 20-year residence requirement for belongership applicants is among the broad-ranging immigration reforms proposed under a bill currently under consideration in the House of Assembly.
The Immigration and Passport Amendment Bill, 2024, would also establish an appeals process for belongership and residence applicants; set up an immigration quota system and a committee to monitor it; and provide a clearer belongership pathway for children of non-belonger parents who were born in the Virgin Islands, among other provisions.
The bill — which HOA members publicly debated last Thursday and on Tuesday before going into a closed-door committee session — is part of ongoing reforms recommended by the recent Commission of Inquiry.
COI criticisms
The COI strongly criticised the existing belongership system, noting a longstanding dissonance between law and practice in awarding belongerships based on length of residence.
The 1977 Immigration and Passport Act, the COI noted, allows someone to obtain belongership based on length of residence after they have lived in the territory for 10 years and they have held a certificate of residency for at least a year.
But the COI found that the government had long been using an unpublished policy under which belongership applications were measured against a 20-year residence requirement instead.
“The policy is unpublished and unpublicised: On the evidence, it appears to be a policy which has not been publicly recognised until this COI,” wrote COI Commissioner Sir Gary Hickinbottom. “It is unlawful. Since 2004, Cabinets of successive [Virgin Islands Party] and [National Democratic Party] administrations have known of this mismatch and have singularly failed to bring the policy in line with the law, either by requiring the Immigration Department and Board to apply the law or bringing forward legislation to change the requirement to one of 20 years.”
The bill currently before the HOA takes the latter approach.
Other COI reforms
Other COI recommendations would also be codified by the new bill.
“Of course, we speak about the COI: That’s an aspect of it,” Premier Dr. Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley said when bringing the bill to the HOA last Thursday. “But really I think if we’re honest with ourselves, we needed to amend this act way before a COI.”
Dr. Wheatley also defended the 20-year requirement, claiming the tenure gives people the time to decide if the VI is where they want to “spend the rest of their days.”
“While some persons might think it’s a high threshold, we know that the Virgin Islands is a small place, and 10 years goes by in a blink of an eye,” he said. “And we need [persons] to establish a certain amount of time to get to know the territory — a certain amount of time to establish yourself.”
Opposition Leader Ronnie Skelton also spoke in support of the longer residence requirement.
“The premier mentioned removing the 10, [which was] a right, to 20, which was a policy for when I used to sit over there,” Mr. Skelton said. “You’re making it more legal, which is good.”
Additional requirements
The proposed bill would also add other prerequisites for belongership applicants, including requiring demonstration of “community participation and solidarity,” “inclusivity and respect for diversity,” “respect for cultural heritage and integration,” and a “willingness to engage in cultural and social orientation.”
Dr. Wheatley said he considers these provisions to be valuable additions.
“It is not, moving forward, going to be just about the amount of time that you’ve stayed in a place,” he said, adding, “But what I would like to know about is what has your contribution been to the territory of the Virgin Islands? What has been your contribution? And ultimately it has to be the contribution you made beyond what you’ve gotten paid for, because that is important if you’re dealing with love of a place.”
10-year minimum
A new immigration policy that Cabinet approved in April also advises allowing an applicant to obtain a certificate of residency after living in the territory for 10 years — and then requiring them to hold that certificate for another 10 years before applying for belongership.
The bill currently before the HOA does not include any such requirement for a certificate of residency, but Dr. Wheatley appeared to suggest that this provision could be added.
“You have to be here for a minimum of 10 years before you qualify for permanent residence,” Dr. Wheatley said when discussing the bill. “And not just that, you will have to be judged perhaps at a lower threshold for belonger status, but based on your contribution to the society.”
He added that there should be a campaign to educate the community on the process of qualifying for residency and belongership status.
Other amendments
The proposed legislation would also establish a committee that would determine “annual immigration quotas for residence or belonger certificates,” among other responsibilities.
Additionally, the bill would give applicants the right to appeal to an Immigration Appeals Board.
Mr. Skelton, however, took issue with the proposed board’s powers.
“The Immigration Appeal Board needs to happen,” Mr. Skelton said. “How it happens is what I’m questioning. The powers it has is what I’m questioning. I think they’re trying to take all the discretionary powers away from the ministers.”
Children
Also under the proposed legislation, children who are born in the VI to non-belonger parents would have a pathway to belongerhip once they turn 18.
Another proposed amendment regards spouses who have been married to a belonger for at least five years and therefore qualify for belongership.
Under the bill, such spouses would be prohibited from remarrying and providing the qualifications for belongership status to a new spouse.