COI: Comprehensive review of residency, Belonger status needed
The Commission of Inquiry (COI) report has recommended that a review be taken of the processes for the grant of residency and Belongership status in the BVI.
The Sir Gary Hickinbottom-led Commission said that in particular, the review should explore the open discretion currently held by Cabinet in making such grants.
In his report, Sir Gary said that any such powers should only be maintained where necessary.
He further noted that where any such powers are maintained, they should be subject to clearly expressed and published guidance.
He recommended that the review could be led by a senior public officer and said as part of that review, the position concerning the length of residence required for Belongership applications based on tenure should be clarified and confirmed by statute.
Full Audit on Fast Track initiative
Meanwhile, the Commissioner also recommended that all applications for residency and Belongership status under the Andrew Fahie-led administration’s Fast-Track scheme be the subject of a full audit performed by the Auditor General or some other independent person or body instructed by her.
Sir Gary said a report on that audit should be presented to the Governor.
According to the Commissioner, the terms of that exercise should include consideration of the extent to which the statutory criteria were applied to the application, and by whom.
He also said it should examine whether the executive exercised any discretion in relation to the selection process and, if so, how it was exercised and whether any guidance or criteria were applied.
Furthermore, Sir Gary said the audit should explore whether, in terms of governance, there were any inherent weaknesses in the Fast Track scheme.
He added that unless relevant BVI authorities consider otherwise, further steps including any criminal investigation can await the outcome of that audit.
According to the COI report, the evidence shows that governance in the BVI has especially poor under the former Andrew Fahie-led VIP administration; adding that this was clearly illustrated, among other things, by how residency and Belonger status were being granted.
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Take back those that did not qualify, period. Problem solved
They gave status to their friends and croonies while people who lived here over 30 years can’t get status
did you apply when they was given out in 2019.all who live here for 20 yrs and over was allowed to apply. why didn’t you?? stop chatting crap.do you think because you live her for 40 yrs they are going to call you and say hey this is your belonger card or certificate?? ypu must apply.
LOL LOL LOL
People like you are heartless and are part of the problem. Do you know how many people sent in applications and were told they can’t be found?? Keep supporting the dirty politicians
Facts….. they are do many applications that was never found, while persons who only spent 2 years and some who don’t even live here got it… so this is facts
And the LAW is only 10 years! People like you lied to us! I waited and waited. 27 years of baby sitting you dumb a** ignoramus. Did you here from Hon Wheatley lately???
How about ending the system altogether.
A citizenship selection based on an archaic caste system is divisive, racist, and reeks of third world colonialism practices. We claim to be better and want independence, yet we can’t break free from a biased process of favoritism and wealth. All for buying a vote later in an election.
That, is shameful
So what do you propose?????????
Fully agree. There is no reason why BVI should not have the same resident/citizenship policies as in any other country. Belongership = Appartheid!
Why is a U.S. citizen required to provide nothing to enter the USVI, can remain as long as he wants, can vote, reside and open a business. A UK citizen is required to show a passport and can only remain for a specified period, cannot vote, cannot open a business and must apply for a license to own property. BELONGERSHIP=APARTHEID. Racist to the core and should be brought before the United Nations Human Rights Committe and be condemned. Enough of the BVI RACISM
Investigate the insurance man’s Belongership. 4 years and a Belonger. I guess no money exchanged hands for that, Lmfao. Belongership needs to be taken back and those that received it prematurely by way of crookedness should be sent back to where they came.
You seem to have a vendetta against insurance man. go drink some water or if shortage deh where you living go tek a sip in the sea
Did insurance man pay you or the government after Irma what was truly do? The government should have stripped him of his license and thrown him out of the Territory. Instead they gave him Belongership. Can’t make this crap up. Corrupt to the core!!!
Cut out that belongers stupiness because those folks already belong to some where .. Just give their kids that born here status and end of story
the constitution and eliminate the discriminatory belonger status. Residency=BOT Citizenship=Voter
Wow…no body backing a reviewc of applications..no comments.All those who put in and were treated with apathy if you went too even ask about it after seeing ppl here far less time and there family getting through, .should be allowed to become belongers..especially after going school and paying taxes…not getting in trouble…30 years plus.Ddp put alot through cabinet also towards the end.You’ll be surprised who as folks lose their status..Instead of giving belongers them want to give in the
exemption..telling ppl they can’t find your application…playing fool to catch wise…and I went school with the same lady telling me I must get proof I went high school.How you think I got my exemption from the eighties…from Hon Cills day…schoooooooool.primary school..high school.Immigration officers I went to school with are shocked when I fly in and am not in the resident line.Some are like..your one of we!!Something ain’t right!!.You think so.
All their friends applications are fast tracked and people who apply normally have to wait for years. and you cant even call to find out the status because of the immigration powerhouses. There every woman is a Chief immigration officer and the chief useless.
Great news.NDp ministers were into giving leg ups..especially if you could do a few things around their homes properties…joining their church helped also…same as the VIP gang.Have a great day having your status reviewed.
Take back all except those applications that were part of the backlog
I warned the then Premier Fahie, to follow the Belongership letter to the law, and grant status, to all deserving applicants!
Instead, allegedly Under Mr. Vincent Wheatley, applications that were placed for years, were summarily denied!
It was such a shame!
And now, here we are!
And to imagine, it took a COI inquiry, coupled with the Federal arrest of disgraced Andrew Fahie, to get us to where we are,today!
I am hoping that with corrective investigation, all ill- gotten statuses, will be revoked, and deserving applicants, are granted status, which they so rightly deserve!
This is the most fundamental change which the territory must look at.
and the new constitution needs to not use discriminatory words such as belonger.
fine to look at the fahie fast-track silliness, although as that was a process which was done in the public knowledge, it is unlikely to be the worst in terms of exercise of discretion etc.
THE WORST is likely to be the former *** favouring of her friends who got belongership under the table after irma based on their cosiness with her ladyship. a review should be done of all the grants in the year post irma. those in financial services who obtained theirs by sucking the *** should be reviewed.
When you apply and don’t get a response and you check with them about your application, even though you here over twenty years , they asking you how long you are here and you say 22 yrs they telling you that you just come!!!
Why you dont speak about how you and the maid disrespected your wife
Say what, don’t say that.!!
If the law is 10 years and they would not accept applications for 10 years, Thats 10 years of taxes collected of work permit fees. e.g. a layer has paid $10K year for 10 years $100K in taxes collected.
This sounds like a massive class action lawsuit against the government.
When you go after 10yrs they wouldn’t even watch at you even thou its well within one’s right.
If a child was born on the island and left before the 10yrs would they have to live back on island for the passport application to be made?.
Yes Roger I am familiar with your anguish at the hands of the local political elites. That explains a lot thank you…
Let’s talk about the Jamaican lady who is a spiritual advisor (cough cough) that the disgraced premier gave discretionary belongership. Mind you she has never lived or worked in the BVI. Clearly the Senegalese didn’t play his cards right.
oh yes this case needs to investigate specially with that chief inmmigration there allegedly they gave a lot of belongers and residence to people who were not complete time on the island and the ones need to be belongers or residence they dont have it so this is not legal COI i ask you to investigate properly
My application in for belongers so long. Not even a call I get as to why my application has not been processed..After. This Dept really need investigating and shaking up..
They played forget to implement this one. Look how they jumping and implementing visa rules that was there and shipping registry rules that was there. This rule was there why not implementing it too.
please Minister of immigration take a bill before cabinet and change the law that states 10 yrs for belonger status.make the changes to suit the policy of 20 yrs.how on God’s earth you have a law that states 10 yrs?? this is seriously some sick minds that made that law.a small county like this cannot give away belonger status for only living here for 10 yrs.if this have to happen you will not find one indigenous bvi lander in 10 yrs.mark my word.i am an expatriate and it seems we expatriate are bent on taken over this small island from these generous people. and yes generous because we are so humble when we arrive but in a few months we finding all fault about the people and their country.why are we trying to take this beautiful island from its owners??? why?? are these people flocking to live and take over any other Caribbean Island???absolutely none. so why do we want everything work just to fit our needs???this place cannot house the world. it is just to small. presently we do not have enough work for everyone. we expatriate wants every laws and policy to suit our needs .my gosh man give the people room to breathe. it’s their parents and foreparents that fought for their freedom so they can have these beautiful virgin Islands. it’s not our foreparents that fought for it.it was their’s. find out what your parents and foreparents fight fore and claim it.every man and woman from another island that comes here to work or play want to have a slice of the pie.well the pie is finish.and as an expatriate I would March with the many bvi landers in support to change that foolish law about getting belonger status at 10 yrs.if this unity government cannot change that law they need to be removed from office immediately. most other Caribbean Islands and it’s people fought for independence and this island out of the few to remain under British rule you coming now to tell the indigenous people what to and how they should do it.my gosh bvi landers they cannot tell the government in their birth country how to run there show but coming here and dictating everything. let’s do our 20 yrs and then apply for belonger status. please check out how Bermuda runs there giving out of belonger status and then you folks can come for me. I am sick of this wanting to have it all.
Then to be fair and consistent, Belongers must also wait 20 years to get British and US citizenship.
If y’all stupid a””” had done right by a lot of persons y’all would have seen what a real protest and fight for a country is like but instead y’all fight down people who help to build and live here for years and fooling them offffff,,,,, now tak wa y’all get for being stupid UK Rule all the way, feel what it’s like to be bully
I wish your comments would come from a place of Knowledge. Those expatriate have to pay for the status , it is not given freely. Next, its the law on the books to have it for ten years, but all the politicians sits there and carry on with the oppressive move to extent it and never change it on the books. To fix this, the people who are there over ten years should be given their status.
Another, it will be best to include at least ten thousand expatriate for population growth. The Virgin Islands cannot survived if their children are always leaving and not returning. Most of the natives are having expats wife and husbands. So , I am not sure how you think this will not change. It is something you would not be able to prevent.
Finally, there are work here for many people, but the opportunity is extended to only a few. What was now done after Irma, should have been done twenty years ago. Minimized the products and services. for just a scenario where Five or ten business which sells clothing, another five or then business that sells fruits and vegetables, five or ten in tourism. When one business capitalized on all the items, its hard to share the outcome. This, contribute to poverty and keep people from opportunity. If ten people sells coconut oil, no other should sell it. for small island nation it keep all employ.
Your point would be valid only if people would wait for belongership to have Babies with locals. That’s not the case #mutepoint
It’s really a little sad that people can’t see the positive side to integration but rather are so fearful of being fair that they invent excuses to appease those unjustified fears.
Given that the BVI is small geographically a recommendation could be made that if after ten years, one would not have made a minimal contribution of a certain amount (monetarily through investment, or by sweat equity, societal contribution, taxes paid, law abiding etc.) to the territory then they would not automatically qualify for “integration”. But to so arbitrarily suggest that everyone must wait 20 years is really contemptuous disregard to the rule of law and good human conscience. Further, a disincentive to anyone spending time, and contributing to the betterment of this collective society.
A case can be made that time alone shouldn’t be a qualifier but 10 years is no little bit of time. If the BVI wants respect and solidarity, it must also show integrity being fair and by honoring the human rights of everyone residing here. A double standard society isn’t respected anywhere.
Remove British passports too. All those people who barely speak English who settled in the BVI and have never set foot in the UK, should not have British passports. Sadly, they do.
And so many BVI islanders have no problem popping over to STT to have baby to get a US passport! NOT fair!
I agree with you 100%. As an expat myself. I cannot understand why my fellow expats feel like we should come in another man’s country and want to run things. Some of us are so rude and agresive if the locals do not put their feet down we will trample all of them and when we cannot get to do that we cry bloody murder and say we are treated like dogs. However, at the same time we can boast how we can support our families and build mansions back home because of working in the BVI. We do things we could not have done if we were living in our own country. A lot of bad experiences we have in the BVI is because of our own bad ways. One very important issue that needs attention is expat men and women marrying to locals for status. We expats complaining about bad treatment if the locals say the crap my fellow expats does to them on a daily some of you head would spin any place else it is jail time. Sick of bull. We all will eventualy reap what we sow.