BVI needs stronger immigration controls to protect our people
Rosan
Political commentator Cindy Rosan is calling for stronger immigration controls in the BVI, warning that without firm policy decisions, Virgin Islanders risk being sidelined in their own homeland.
Speaking on her Morning Facts talk show, Rosan said discussions about labour shortages, residency delays and business needs often miss the real issue.
“How do we control the future of the Virgin Islands for Virgin Islanders? That’s the crux of it,” she said.
The outspoken commentator criticised the absence of firm immigration control mechanisms, particularly a rollover policy which limits the number of continuous years an expat can work in a country before being required to leave. This prevents individuals from automatically qualifying for residency or citizenship based solely on time spent in the workforce.
She referenced the Cayman Islands’ seven-year rollover policy as a model, noting that it was introduced despite intense opposition from major industries.
“They had serious pushback from financial services, hospitality and private businesses — and they put their foot down,” Rosan said. “When you make seven years in the Cayman Islands, you’re gone.” She added that Cayman implemented the policy retroactively and remains economically strong. “They were thinking about where the Caymanian would be in 20 years, 30 years,” she said.
By contrast, Rosan accused BVI lawmakers of lacking the political will to prioritise locals. “These guys that we elect, we put them in the House, and the last thing on their mind is what’s best for Virgin Islanders,” she said, suggesting some politicians are more focused on re-election and campaign financing than long-term planning.
She also raised an alarm about what she views as unchecked population growth tied to work permit holders. Rosan argued that without clear limits, people quietly accumulate time in the territory until they qualify for residency and, eventually, citizenship. She also referenced Filipinos and other expat groups who constantly get pregnant and have children in the BVI simply because there are no laws against it.
With elections on the horizon, Rosan urged voters to demand concrete answers from those seeking office. “You’ve got to ask them what the plans are to curb what’s going on,” she said, warning that without decisive action, the territory risks losing control of its future.
Copyright 2026 BVI News, Media Expressions Limited. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or distributed.
Nobody is going to offer this woman a job even if the Government could ban work permits completely and only allow belongers to work in the BVI.
Ms. Rosan’s employability is not the issue at hand. The issue is that work permits are being handed out even where qualified BVIslanders and Belongers are applying for jobs. This is a fact.
Sindee’s comments are driven by her continued unemployment – nobody in the BVI will employ her. She thinks if work permits are denied then somebody will offer her a job. Most people would prefer to close their businesses rather than employ her. It is all about her employability.
Honoring Virgin Islanders history is ok but it doesn’t tell the full story of the Virgin Islands by itself. Please use your platform responsibly Ms. Rosan. This us against them is just hateful and dangerous to your followers. BVI please do not vote for anyone with this hateful mentality and if you not sure just watch all the nonsense they talk throughout the years.
It’s not hateful or “us against them”. It’s facts. Look around and see that every other country is protecting theirs. Why can’t we? Cindy is 100% right!
Truth
I agree to the extent that our growth has been unsustainable, and as a result pur infrastructure os crumbling and outside of government, our people practically have no jobs, all the while law firms are fighting down Department of Labour because they don’t want to follow the law and hire local lawyers. Time to put a stop to this madness.
Follow the law? So a business that invests in their product to turn a profit should simply hire people because they’re from the BVI? That may explain why so many people are overseas doing BVI legal and other work?
Why don’t we point fingers at the real cuprits here?
The government’s priorities don’t include what is a moribund educational system. Zero emphasis placed on learning here, doens’t make someone optimally employable. Likewise, the educational foundation of the territory is not encouraging BVIslanders to move up the ladder, to achieve the leading roles in our firms of attorneys and chartered accountants.
Perhaps Ms. Rosan could point her accusations at a discouraging trade policy, one with roadblocks intermeshed between licensing, the Labour Dept., Immigration, and HM Customs, all designed to thwart someone going into a business. Nobody wants to get involved in manufactuing anything locally, thus no employment opportunities.
The Labour Code provides that a qualified BVIslander/Belonger has first preference for jobs in the BVI. Yes, so employers ought to follow the law. There are indeed persons overseas doing BVI legal jobs; however, it is a fact that those same persons are trained by local BVI lawyers to do those same jobs you are referring to. I am speaking from experience!
I agree with Cindy, we need to protect our locals. Even in the Philippines, there is protection for their people. And after the hurricanes, most fled. Only the locals were here to clean up and restore their territory. We better wake up.
That’s a bold-faced lie
Every country has a right to look out for its citizens………..
So wrong.
Many many foreigners including myself stayed after Irma to help rebuild. I spent months repairing roofs and building door and window frames. It became difficult though because some locals, with no construction experience whatsoever, decided it was a good time to get trade licences and start construction companies, hiring cheap labour and showing really poor quality whilst charging exorbitant prices. I worked for one of those companies, but had to leave because the corner cutting and shoddy workmanship was too much for me. Plus $18;an hour for being a master carpenter was an insult.
You too greedy! Its not the shoddy work that made you leave, it was your greed. $18.00 per hour is a very good wage, because you can make almost $3K per month. I doubt you’d have or could have made that much in your home Country. A fool and his money will soon be parted. I doubt your work worth more than what they were paying you. Nuff said…bye fool.
Protectionism as a policy does not foster progress and development. It promotes laziness, entitlement and mediocrity. That said, BVIslanders should have advantages and priority in their homeland… how that looks and works in the real World is what is holding BVI back.
BVIslanders DO have advantages, too many actually which is why the place has gone to complete shit! Look back at when our economy was booming and you will see that one of the reasons is IMMIGRATION! Simpl shutting out people not from here is a stupid idea and our bad economy is the fault of labour/immigration policies. Poor education system + entitlement = Failed economy!
Are we not saying the same thing…?
Unsustainable, and uncontrolled immigration does nothing for progress and development either. No one is arguing for protectionism beyond what is the global norms as and between country and its citizens.
I think you will find that the protectionism you speak of already exists…. to suggest that there is uncontrolled immigration in BVI is laughable. Every single non-BVIslander who works here needs a work permit granted by Labour and approval to reside or stay from the IMMIGRATION department.
A number of the work permits that are granted are obtained based on false and incomplete representations communicated to the labour department by employers. And once those work permits are granted, such work permits are continually renewed. Thereby expats are overstaying their time in the BVI. It should be 7 years maximum and that length of time should only be in exceptional situations.
How about pushing for better investment, education and training opportunities for locals, THENNN we can mandate that businesses hire them? There are many qualified hard working locals in the VI who either have a good career/job or their own business. So what should establishments do when they cannot find a suitable local, close their business? It’s funny that the people that make talk the most have never owned or ran anything except their mouths. The people on the radio and in labour dept. etc. are clueless when it comes to business. Is there unfairness? YES! When unfairness is found then it should be dealt with but trying to ‘fix’ immigration without FIXING the education/training environment you end up with what we have now, population that is too small and lots of businesses on their faces. It’s time to face reality and stop being victims all the time.
Most of the time Immmigration is mentioned in BVI it is a cover of xenophobia and ethnocentric prejudices aimed at so-called island people. Facts and commonsense are usually not considered. I think there is a need for better Immigration controls. Where crime is concerned, there are two nationalities featuring quite heavily in major violence and in recent years-males from Trinidad and from St. Kitts. Lots of recent killings and shootings have featured males from these two countries. No reaction from Cindy or other loud mouths like her. There was no hesitation some years ago to implement visa requirements for another country which everyone takes pleasure in scapegoating. I guess that makes too much sense or we just like to talk and sound good while doing nothing. She, Holy One from Dishonestly Speaking, Wiggie/Wobbly on the yellows site, should form a club. Set of idiots
Significant protectionist policies are currently being implemented in the United States. Additionally, similar practices have been customary in the United Kingdom and across much of Europe for several decades.
Likewise, significant protectionist policies are immediately needed in the territory as, the population has grown beyond sustainable limits.
Therefore, why do some individuals view it as problematic when the residents of the designated “bird sanctuary” seek to safeguard their existence and resources from overpopulation and excessive exploitation?
Given the extensive over population of the territory, It is now necessary to establish a limit on all residency requests and arrangements to ensure that local interests are prioritized, followed by the appropriate consideration of professional and essential requirements.
Without decisive intervention, the nation risks seeing its indigenous community marginalized to the point of invisibility, as unchecked policies and external influences threaten to dilute the cultural and demographic fabric.
You do realize that any person or organization looking to seriously invest significantly in the BVI will go elsewhere after reading your blog. The reason so many locals are out of work is because there is no industry, and, accordingly no Jobs. The reason there is no industry, and, ever has been is because of lack of outside investment. Not everyone is suited to financial services or tourism hence the current number of unemployed.
When we say ‘protect OUR PEOPLE’, are we referring to local employees or local employers as well? I’m trying to see something here.
Don’t be a Nincom…both are affected by this over saturation.
I think you missed the bus on this! There are local businesses who are trying to grow their establishments and need to recruit outside persons via work permit. They are being told they must hire persons that are local even if they don’t have the skill set that they are seeking. Imagine telling a restaurant that they cannot get the specialized chef they want. It’s understood that locals should get first preference but locals should also understand that persons investing heavily in their business and takin risks should have a seat at the table as well. So yes, the question about local business owners vs local employees is a valid one. None is more local than the other but the scale is tilted in a major way. “labour send me by you so you got to hire me!”. Notice that nowhere you see/hear anything about labour assisting with training anybody, just stifling progress. Keep it up.
We don’t mind who’s here legally but we need a BVI ICE to clean up this place . Over 1000 illegal immigrants Living in the BVI.
I Cry For My BVI, Land of My Birth.
I Cry for Present Generation, Catching Hell.
I Cry for Future Generations, Only Time will Tell.
Lord, You Sit High, But You Look Low.
How Much Further Lord, Do We Have To Go?
Father, Can You Hear My Cry….
Father, Can You Hear Me Now..
Father, Can You Hear My Cry…
Cleansing For The B.V.I.
Thirty five (35) years ago I warned the government of the day to be careful with the future of immigration in the Virgin Islands. There was no real concern demonstrated by same..fast forward and take a look today. There is blatant abuse of processes. Deliberate interference, spiteful decision making that are harmful to some immigrants and this country. There is a lack of serious surveillance, investigations, intelligence and enforcement efforts. There is a need to bring back credibility to the immigration effort and table. Be brave.
i agree rosan
You are a half breed anchor baby. One of you parent became belonger so stop being an idiot
The bvi needs 45,000.00 people in the country for its ecomony to grow . Where will you get it from interbeeding.
The hateful
Venom we spew on these platforms are not doing our country good .
It is your rude and disrespectful attitude of yours that have you unemployed
If expats are shut out or limited, who will rent those homes and commercial spaces and help keep mortgages paid? The local market may not be enough on its own.
we need our own trump to get some of these immigrants out of here
This is misleading. Cayman does not operate a hard “seven years and you’re gone” policy. The limit applies to work permits, not residency. Cayman has structured pathways to Permanent Residency and eventual status, which is why it continues to attract skills, capital, and investment.
The BVI economy depends on expatriate labour in financial services, construction, healthcare, education and tourism. Expats don’t displace the economy — they power it, pay taxes, spend locally, and transfer skills. Driving people out without a realistic local replacement plan would shrink the economy, not protect it. Policy must be based on facts and economics, not slogans.
This message is 100% accurate.
The issue the BVI currently faces is due to a focus on protectionism rather than education, building practical skills in young people and underscoring the narrative that all jobs are good jobs.
Instead, high school “graduates” who have never read a book from from cover to cover are sold the idea that they deserve to run a company based on their blood line.
The largest employers of expat labour are BVI owned business. Those owners, if asked, will say BVI nationals “dont want to work”.
Cindy and the progressive governments need to focus on creating a shift in the attitude of the persons allegedly “looking for work” because its not work they are interested in – its pay.
For most business owners, employing people based on their passports to sit around and do nothing but wait for payday is simply – bad business.
The really sad thing is this approach is recent, BVI nationals age 40 and up are hard working, diligent and infinitely employable, hence why they are often gainfully employed.
People improve economies the more people you can put into an economy safely improves the flow of money within one territory basic math. If you are wondering why the economy dipped it’s because the flow of people had been reduced. Every economy should see increase by year but what is the percentage of increase.
She hates local people