Bermuda Launches 10-Year Work Permits
Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Bermuda's Ministry of the Economy, Trade and Industry has announced the launch of 10-year Work Permits for skilled workers.

The 10-year permits were introduced on November 1, and, according to the ruling Progressive Labour Party, the policy is “an important step in building Bermuda's economy and striking a balance between globalization and local business”.

Bermuda's Minister for Business Development and Tourism Patrice Minor, told parliament that companies that apply for the permits on behalf of international workers would also need to demonstrate they have programmes in place to employ and the develop the skills of Bermudians where possible.

According to Minor, to qualify for a Long-Term Work Permit, a company must demonstrate that it has a "significant presence" in Bermuda and has a staff of at least 20, half of whom should be Bermudian. Also, the company must provide entry level positions to young Bermudians and must provide equal payment and benefits to both Bermudians and non-Bermudians.

Minor explained that 10-year permit holders must be responsible for making decisions that are "critical to the continuity of the company in Bermuda" and that the position applied for must be one "where either the company's presence in Bermuda is contingent on that person remaining in Bermuda such as the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer or Chief Financial Officer; or where it can be demonstrated that Bermudians are unlikely to have the qualifications to fill the position and, historically, no Bermudians have applied for the position".

The cost of a 10-year work permit has been set at USD20,000.

“The presence of non-Bermudian workers in our workforce is directly related to globalization and our economic success," Minor said. "There are insufficient Bermudian workers with the appropriate skill sets to fill all the available jobs. We are quickly working to establish programmes that will help those in transition to acquire new skills.”

“With this in mind, I trust that it is clear that the government is indeed evolving how we strike the balance between work permit holders and the Bermudian workforce," Minor added.