No disconnect between govt’s Belonger policy and the law — Dr Smith
Despite a 2012 internal audit suggesting otherwise, former Premier Dr D Orlando Smith said he believes there is no disconnect between the government’s policy regarding Belongership and what the actual law says.
According to the Immigration & Passport Ordinance, a person is eligible to apply for Belongership status when they’ve been an ordinary resident for not fewer than 10 years. But a government policy implemented in 2006 mandates that a person only qualify for Belongership after 20 years.
During a hearing before the ongoing Commission of Inquiry (COI) late last week, Dr Smith was challenged about the audit report which said the 2006 policy was not in accordance with the law.
While acknowledging there was a difference between the law and policy, Dr Smith — the former leader of the National Democratic Party — said his government had the latitude to make decisions as it saw fit.
He cited the Immigration & Passport Ordinance’s use of the term stating that a person may be granted a Belongers certificate if he/she has been ordinarily resident in the territory ‘for a period of not less than 10 years’. He said it is this term that gives Cabinet the latitude to make its own policy.
“It says ‘not less than’, so it could be 12, 13.” Dr Smith reasoned.
How the policy was rolled out
According to the former Premier, his administration’s policy did not say that persons could not apply at 10 years. “The policy says that the [Immigration] Board would make a recommendation after considering the 20th anniversary of resident in the territory,” he said.
Essentially, in the former Premier’s view, there was nothing to stop Cabinet from setting a higher threshold than 10 years.
Dr Smith told the COI that the Cabinet of the Virgin Islands at that time developed a policy based on the facts of the law.
“In my mind, there is no need or no reason that policy and law cannot exist. In fact, it always exists,” Dr Smith said.
Why two decades?
In explaining the rationale of having a 20-year threshold of granting status, Dr Smith said giving Belonger status is a significant thing in most countries.
“A country has to be careful about how they go about doing this. We looked at several different countries. We looked at America. For example, it takes at least 10 years or more before this can happen, much more. My son took probably 15 years. We look at a country like Monaco, and only three people were given Belonger status or citizenship in a year, and that was by the Crown Prince. So, there are various ways in which countries decided when, when the time is right to give citizenship,” Dr Smith explained.
He also said it is important that expats who are accepted into the territory are thoroughly assimilated into BVI culture.
If that did not happen, he said, it causes conflict between the persons who were there before and those who come after it.
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Forget about that the bigger issues are the wall, pier park and the plane those showed how incompetent your government was
You probably was sleeping during the COI. I was satisfied with their the responses I heard on these three things.
Guess what group is the bulk of unvaccinated.
What group was joying to the World at the onset of Irms as they shxamelessly looted andb bad talk
Gue@s what group and their generational criminal offspring necessitated we build a larger prison, filled it up quick quick to overflowing and we now need a second and larger.
Guess what group cause the VI increase it’s policefold to thousand fold ,necessitating a foreign occupation police force and it can never be enough. And on and on..
Covid’draining the swamp not a large enough solution but it is something never the less
Building your country is worth it and necessary to siphon the building material,discarding the defective and useless.
Votes at any cost mash up the place.
We need contributors of positivity.
Branson was a shoo in and others like him.
Otherwise we pay economically,culturally.
The cost monetarily and economically generated by the COVD current status in the VI is directly a result of a specific portion of the VI community including illegal workers whose outlook is one of no concern but for moi and a cultural mindset of disobedience and chaos. They should be disqualified for ever obtaining status in the Vi. They have demonstrated that they are not worth any consideration if their names appear on the list for such a request.
You do know that most countries will grant the wealthy citizenship immediately if they are investing in the economy of that country. Jobs jobs jobs. And I believe Mr. Branson met the qualifications for a “shoo in”. Be thankful! No everyone is out to harm the BVI.
The fact is that once it decided to transform itself from a subsistence agricultural economy to a finance/ tourism / construction based modern economy, BVI could not do without immigrants. They were needed to build the offices and rentals homes, fix the boats, serve the food etc. There were simply not enough belongers to do it all.
And it could not be done without outside investors. The vast majority of finance companies, charter companies and hotels were built by non belonger investors.
Some may wish for simpler days but unless we are prepared to go back to baking cassava bread and riding on donkeys , we need immigrants and investors.
Currently we treat neither of these groups in a way where we get the best of them and neither in a way that is fair to them…
To be continued
When they finish working they should go back home not encouraged or adopt a mentality that they are entitled to belonger status. They come to work they get paid they go home. Giving belonger status to thousands that have nothing to give but a poverty and criminal mindset as a matter of course,was/is ludicrous moronic and self destructive.
“Gue@s what group and their generational criminal offspring.”
Look no further than the miror raco.
Orlando n***y policies and naive ways is part of the major reasons why your party failed. You are a relic of the past and the NDP will do well to move on without you.
Maybe one day we can get rid of this archaic level of citizenship
Maybe the BVI will someday stop being a racist and apartheid Territory welcoming ALL to live, work and be citizens. Maybe one day there will be others than Blacks as Ministers, in government and business ownership. Maybe one day their will be no modern day slavery by use of the work permit. Maybe the COI will bring this all to fruition. We can only hope!!
Just maybe one day, they will stop treating expats so horribly!
The fact that it takes so long to get belonger status is ridiculous. You cannot compare countries like the US and Morocco to the BVI. You are simply saying “sweat blood for 19 years” and take a hike if something should happen before the 20th year. Seriously? Why we are making life so complicated for our own kind, is besides me. I just don’t get it.
I knew of an elderly woman who had been here for 35 years and she still had no belonger status. Still on a work permit after being in a country for so long? If this is not sad I don’t know what is.
yup
second class citizens
And how will that benefit the BVI. The BVI was and continues to be disaffected by immigration and because if their choice of immigrants. The BVI was a better place prior to immigration. How much of a gain for the. They always owned their land and homes and a decent education. They have gained zero. And lost plenty nonstop.
The choice of immigrants and to the extent of the cast amount is destructive on all front.
I am in agreement with Doctor Smith on this one.
Thanks COI for bringing this to light..My Father been here for 40 yrs and cant get belingers because someone in Immigration who had a personal beef with him keep hiding his file..We know that person me or my children have no love for that person and their children its like a life time of generational hate,, thats what this Evil unjust system is creating..Dont expect the people you hurt to be loving you and your children…..We kno people who only make 15 yrs and already naturalize because they have political connection…Hmm.
It is sickening.
40 years…Wow..tell us about the positive contributions he has made to the Vi..tell us how the VI has benefitted from his presence and feel free to enumerate his children contributions including yours. Your countrymen that are here,the ones from whom we lock our doors and for whom we open and build prisons Takers and no giving just whining and complaining and begging. He has a ,country, and always will. Go hassle their for your birthright. Did the VI tell you that you will be entitled to get status..living your best life here taking and tekking. How bad must his country be that he abandon it but you can classify our leaders as devil No gratitude opens a door of bad karma..not having BVI status should be the least of your concerns. Go find your soul!!
your soul is as filthy as they come!!! hope you go through something similar so you will know how it feels to be treated unjustly.. the wickedness that is…
All the support xpats gave NDP. That’s what you all did behind our backs..Then you all got the guts to say White people hate black people..When the truth is you black *** are the real haters….God don’t sleep.. What goes around will come around… Hope all you all end up Ballo…
If the law is 10 years or over for belongership why were no applications allowed? When Premier Fahie tried to reduce the established 20 year period to 15 years he was criticised and he had to put it back to 20 years. So were all those rejections over 10 years illegal then? If the rule 10+ years and it arbitrarily changed to 20 years then isn’t that an act of racism? I know people who have been here years and had to wait 27 – 30 years before getting their belonger status.
And how will that benefit the BVI. The BVI was and continues to be disaffected by immigration and because of their choice of immigrants. The BVI was a better place prior to immigration. How much of a gain for the peoples of the Vi. They always owned their land and homes and a decent education. They have gained zero. And lost plenty, nonstop.
Including the current COVID fiasco culminating in deaths and the cancelltion of scheduled cruise ship visits,the cost of medical care etc.
The majority of unvaccinated are Carrbbean xpats including illegals. t
He cited the Immigration & Passport Ordinance’s use of the term stating that a person may be granted a Belongers certificate if he/she has been ordinarily resident in the territory ‘for a period of not less than 10 years’. He said it is this term that gives Cabinet the latitude to make its own policy.
“It says ‘not less than’, so it could be 12, 13.” Dr Smith reasoned.
POLICY DOES NOT TRUMP LAW. Orlando talking p**s. Words are self serving..