These steps will clear Belongership backlog
Governor John Rankin has outlined a number of measures he believes the government can take to clear the backlog of residency and Belonger applications which stood at 2,226 applications as at 1 June, 2023.
The Governor said he has liaised with the Deputy Governor’s Office and Immigration officials to come up with some actions which he has shared with the Premier. One of the measures the Governor recommends is for the residency and Belonger application system to be digitised instead of continuing as a paper-based system.
Governor Rankin also said the government needs to hire more staff to process the applications as there is currently one person doing this job. He added that the government needs to create a system where interviews are reserved only for persons who absolutely need it.
“We might also have to consider how many of the individuals applying need to be interviewed. Some of them who may not qualify may simply have a decision made because they don’t meet the requirements. There are others who clearly qualify and actually don’t need to be substantially interviewed. So they will only be interviewing in cases where there is doubt and further information is needed. Those are the sorts of areas where we could speed up the process and get those applications moving quickly,” Governor Rankin stated.
It is unclear why the government has not implemented these changes the Governor said he has recommended, as Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley has not yet made a statement in response to the Governor’s claims.
In his third quarterly report on the implementation of the Commission of Inquiry reforms, Governor Rankin indicated that the government was moving rather slowly in implementing changes that the United Kingdom needs to see to lift the Order in Council currently hanging over the territory.
The Governor added that if reforms continue to lag, he may have to use his powers to access public funds to implement the necessary actions that need to be taken.
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We are going to lose our country to expats.
BVI.. being forced to give expats rights!
Enforce the 7 years rule where expats have to exit the country after 7 years…MY PEOPLE WE ARE BEING OUTNUMBERED…CANT YOU ALL SEE?…WE MUST STOP IT AND STOP IT FAST
We had Fraser to kill years ago. He isn’t against expats but real us real. We are already outnumbered; which other country has done this – stupid enough to be outnumbered.
You allowed the loss of your “country” to criminals so diluting the criminal population with ex-pats who, on the whole, respect the laws of the land is a big step forward!
FIRST , ITS NOT OUR COUNTRY / SECOND , SO HOW CAN SOMEONE TAKE IT / , THIRD , ITS NOT THEIRS EITHER ,SO HOW CAN THEY TAKE IT ?
•¿• / AND FOURTH , THE LORD GIVE ( 5 ) SENSES PLEASE TRY AND FIND THEM AND USE THEM FOR YOURSELF , YOU WILL BE AMAZED HOW WONDERFUL IT TO BE ABLE TO THINK FOR YOURSELF , AND STOP LETTING HYPOCRITES PLAY TRICKS ON YOUR MIND USING THEIR KNOWLEDGE TO FOOL YOU ( THIS A FRIENDLY ADVICE
Blame the legislators, which you elected (every member of the electorate can assume some blame here), who failed to build appropriate laws decades ago, not the people claiming their rights under your law.
Really? Why would you make this ridiculous racist comment? How many from BVI have UK passports? Do you hear people from the UK saying the same about BVI people? Stop being so small minded and simple. Just because you live on a tiny rock doesn’t mean that you must also have a tiny rock inside your head instead of a brain!
Just like the expats being forced to give BVI people UK passports
This Governor has more important things to do…like security and CCTV at the prisons…yet he is breathing down Immigration necks to disenfranchise BVIslanders. Why do they have to process all these applications now? The Government should institute a quota of taking only a certain number of applications each year for residency and belonger and it is time that our laws change to Cayman where workers can only work for a certain period. The UK trying to destroy the BVI – well partly it is God’s judgment for the sins of this nation – but God is merciful. This sleu of residency and belonger applications is no good for the BVI…we are too small…and this is an expat speaking here. It’s nice and looks good but long term no good for the natives are being driven from their land. May the Lord have mercy and steer the Premier to do with is right for this territory. England will not always be our master.
Expats are not being forced to give BVI people UK passports…the UK brought that on herself…and nobody forcing the UK…she want to be mother…well mother provide…but little by little she is taking away rights that her OTs should enjoy and wanting to exert more control. the UK is not innocent in this…not at all…look at the history over the last 400 years…she was sent to proselytise but she has become pagan and now her children must go to her to convert her back to the Lord before she becomes lost.
Please look up the meaning of words and use them correctly. The comment is not racist. You perhaps might have meant xenophobic…but is it really? Isn’t it a legitimate concern …even if it ‘sounds’ xenophobic?!
Look how ranking trying to sell the bvi
But, many of you rush to have your children in the USA amd not your homeland.
I prefer to be outnumbered with honest expats than with indigenous criminals. The same dog s**ts ruining BVI. I so sick and tired of hearing all you talk s**t.
Most of these people don’t like the BVI people a lot of them know that with a BVI passport they can travel into the USA via St, Thomas, they also know that they can apply for UK passport. We are already a minority in our own land there is going to be a lot of trouble if you keep flooding the BVI with outsiders.
Solution, bring the Legislation in line with policy that has been practiced (20 years). Just like how the HoA went speedly to correct the legislation for those fast tracked, call a HoA meeting and deal with the legislation speedily.
A native Virgin Islander to the Nth generation
There are still people living here for 20 & 30 years who still can’t get residency SMH
Yes the people of the UK make those comments. That was the reason for Brexit.
It is obvious that the majority of the bloggers are indeed expats.
Rankin has one item on his agenda – “Belongership”
giving rights to long term residents….outrageous!!
My boss specifically wants to hire expats over locals because of the commitments they make to.obtainna work permit ensures they will slave on the job for pennies. No local is going to accept the treatment from majority of these heartless cold employers many of whom are not just locals but were once expats themselves but now married to locals.
Did you come out of the belly with a country in your hand? Life is short, everything beside the Word of God is temporary. Let the good, hard working, well behaved tax payers get what the law says they can get in peace and love.
This bozo is obsessed with this issue. I wonder why?
With all of the issues facing the BVI, this is what the Governor is prioritizing??
The Governor has to tell you to digitise this process? I am too ashamed of some of our leaders.
im an expat and can legally apply to become a belonged i have resided in the country fully since 2010 and was here before that. I say this so people can understand, i can apply , i have a right to apply, I don’t have an absolute right to be granted belongership as someone who just resides in the country for a length of time.
My paperwork is sitting on the table as i don’t wont to put it in and be there with the thousands of others, so i will wait and i have been married more than 15yrs to a BVIslander.
I do however agree that work permits must have experation dates as the territory that hopefully will become a country cannot sustain that level of expats as they would take over the local population, this is why the school system is over burdened all the kids that parents are on a yearly work permit yet their kids are taking up 70% of places in the school system.
Ummm, maybe they just don’t like your bitter miserable @$$…..I know many expats who live here and the love the territory and it’s people. It’s just that there are some locals who are miserable and prejudice towards anything foreign. Not because you are born here means you OWN the place.
Being married to a local does not mean that one is not an expat!
Do you not know any expats who are “bitter miserable @$$es? I do.
Oh fuc…g yea about time we take over. But it suddenly occured to me that only the governor can deport persons. What does this say Mrs wrong funeral director. That tola belongs to UK and not tola. You all can’t deport anyone. You all took a good thing and ran it into the ground. You had a choice, Ronnie or Walwyn and you chose slowman to lead ayo. That make sense and talking about independence. All that nonsense about who born hay is coming to an end. We taking over slowly but surely. Thank you Governor and thank you UK.
We need to change the qualifications because too many people qualifying now that’s the problem. Why we letting all these people come here and stay forever!?
@more important. God should strike your lying fingers. You no expat, go back to the pit of h**l you local monster.
No! No! Its not the same The issuance of belongership need to curtailed!
The Governor is bending over backwards to work with the BVI Govt…The BVI govt playing games, they not serious, they talk serious, but no real action. The Governor is not being taking seriously..
The country belong to England ??
I’m surprised that funeral j@ck@$$ ain’t gone on the radio again to chat f!@&ery
We really need to leave this island for this people to see who is going to clean their sh!t and who’s going to do the work that their lazy ass are not willing to do…
We leave on a round planet
No border neided
So many war just over borders,how stupid is this
Yall crazy…who tf ask for UK rights? If UK say they own us the UK rights is automatic…tf!? I’m glad you noticed we live on a “rock”. Go tf home to your “not rock”.
Forced u say lol…who tf you see begging for UK Status? It is there for us to take mf we ain’t ask for shit…its yall who begging so you dont have to retire in that god forsaken place called the UK.
They only trying to out number the BVI. But England need to recognise the BVI belong to Jesus amd He will have His way.
Interviews clearly give the person and immigration a chance to feel each other
Many ppl live to work n send home money
Nobody really cares to know anything or do anything for the interest of the country
I have lived here over 21 years
Married over 10 years and still haven’t got anything
If someone don’t like you
They go immigration and tells lies on you
It’s all about who knows who
That had never changed and u are the victim but because you’re an expat your nothing
As I said i know many fellow countryman that don’t know anything period about the islands and not interested to know either
This right here won’t allow the screening of these individuals
It is so weird BVIslander love their Island so much but ashame to born their children here, why can’t more of you guys born your children here to increase the local percentage to expats. Your motto is “ I born here” but the action saying something else . Only saying I born here and being unpatriotic in action. Then blame expats for some of the problems caused by you all doing!!
These comments are really saddening. So much hate in this little place.
It’s the law
Yep, you might be quite right. It’s simple because you don’t like to share. Just imagine your first thoughts are so one sided. Why could it be well let’s be good neighbor to those who will contribute to help build this nation?
Many who wants to stay are not going to live on social development money, they are here investing,time ,money and energy to make a better community. They are an addition to this country for the better, many have their children here and have spent long years working and investing here. If they put a house up in the hills or down in the gut it help build this nation. In sense of assets that accumulate value ,that eventually count to the nation borrowing from other developing banks.
Try read some books and educate your mind of what it means to build a nation.
@ more important things,
This is not on a back burner idea for some.it’s for people who qualify to become citizens. Cayman Islands do not have a population of 30 thousand people. Look the the demographics of The BVI , there are not 20 babies born each year’ but the young people has already killed 15 person , and more that 2 has lost at sea, and many incarcerated. None of which contribute one penny to help build this country during their absence,so there need to be people fitted into filling the gap.
It’s top priority for the governor,so dragging this out will result in the governor do what the governor have to do. It’s not our country it’s a territorial attachment to the UK.
When Fraser said it years ago literally the entire population pounced on him. He didn’t say it from the point of view of hate or dislike toward our Caribbean brothers and sisters but real is real. No country wants its locals outnumbered. If you come to work, we have no problem. When your permit time has ended take your vacation in your home country and then we welcome you back once your employer wants you back. It’s a simple matter. This is not being said from the point of view of hate at all but we must keep it real.
@@ISLM, You call down the BVI people every chance you get yet still you want to belong why? you know who you are you are here for the US dollar not for the benefitof the BVI in anyway. SO JUST SHUT YOUR STUPID MOUTH. We know that 95% of the people who blog on this are people like you.
@@ISLM, You call down the BVI people every chance you get yet still you want to belong why? you know who you are you are here for the US dollar not for the benefitof the BVI in anyway. SO JUST SHUT YOUR STUPID MOUTH. We know that 95% of the people who blog on this are people like you.
Interesting to see the racism portrayed here. These people must be same ones in the customs and immigration agencies. Makes sense
What own land, You own the land. Its a British overseas territory!!!!!
The funny part about this is the locals one who fighting against the expats are the ones who dont own a straw in their own country, no business no apartments nothing and making these expats come here and achieve more than them…get up and get yourself together and leave the expats alone because all my life i know them been working hard for us locals
It’s really not complicated. If you locals don’t like the law that says after 10 years expats can apply then march your MS into your district reps office and demand the laws be changed. You see this isn’t about colonialism or oppression but it’s about being a responsible citizen living in a representative democracy. You have to take part in the democratic process. If the majority of voters want the law changed then it will be changed. Stop whining about the governor and the uk when it’s a locally passed law that is being enforced.
Ignorance is the worst disease that can happen to people like you!!!
Exactly!!
You’re NOT losing your country instead you should be VERY grateful to have us amongst you. Love from an expat.
Your Excellency, Governor Rankin, you may have discretionary powers by law to put your hands into the Virgin Islands Consolidation Fund to clear by force the backlog of applications for Belonger’s status, citizenship and residency; but you are OVER STEPPING YOUR BOUNDARIES. Your are not an ancestral VIslander nor the Premier and it is VIslanders who have THE RIGHT TO DETERMINE THEIR POPULATION “MAKE UP” NOT YOU, Governor Rankin, NOT Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) and certainly not the UK Parliament. UK did not want their population “make up” to change anymore hence the BREXIT exercise where UK left the European Union (EU). Governor Rankin, UK, your country, left the European Union (EU) because it was losing its Britishness. Why do you want to intervene in the Virgin Islands affairs to change its population “make up” to suit UK? These requirements are a privilege not a right. That is the Premier’s job. Firstly, the Premier needs to amend the Immigration Act to change the 10 year requirement to 20 years, and secondly, then create Regulations to have annual quotas as to how many persons can get this privilege annually like the UK, USA and other first world countries do. It is not the Governor nor Foreign Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) nor UK Parliament decision to make for the Virgin Islands. Your Excellency, you are out of line and violating the United Nations provisions for small states like the Virgin Islands to handle their progress to self determination and its population “make up”. Ancestral VIslanders are the ones to decide the destiny of the Virgin Islands, not the Governor! Jehovah, Almighty, please intervene, I pray in Jesus name and stop the Governor and whoever are instructing him to over step his boundaries. Please stop it, now!
You’re not being forced to give BVI to expats, you’re being educated to distinguish between doing what is right and wrong.
People should not qualify for residency or belonger status based solely on the number of years working in the territory. A work permit is not right. People come here to work. They don’t move here on a “green card”. Therefore, in my view this process is all wrong. One should not think they he is entitled to citizenship in this territory because the labour department granted him or her permission to work here for a number of years.
Where are the increments. Heard increments are still been delay and more lies again.
Where is the BVI Ports increment is Mrs P still collecting the workers hard monies. 2020 and 2021 and 2022 increments @BVI PORT AUTHORITY.
they keep promising us our monies and still renting patsy building that allegedly full of mole.
BVI PORT brought decastro building on main street y they not using the building as offices so they can save money so they can pay us our monies. They buy expensive boat over 400k land virgin millions of dollars. What kind of Board members that dont care for our well been.
I not blaming the new board members cause they just came but they need to pay us our monies.
Governor RAnking we attend a meeting feb 2022 promise made by the acting Directing manager we will be paid our full increments and yet we still waiting for increments. promise made for the first quarter of this years. 2023 . 3 years of monies owning we still cannot get it. They cut our monies in 2020 for 6 months 25 % claiming monies short but yet we knows what kind of monies the BVI PORTS AUTHORITY makes.
We know. The staff knows they always finds a way to steal our monies and then come lie to our faces. They claim budget has to past first then they the leaders will try tie up our heads we are not under Government. So why the damm bloody hell we waiting for the budget?. Why u guys keep lying. We want our 3 years that owed to us.
Hon Preimer pretents well he dont care not once has he showed care for us BVI Port workers he never drove throw the BVI PORTS TO SEE OUR FACES NOT HE NOT THE GQ MINISTER NINE OF THEM SUCKERS. 2023 and still owing.
Why all the lies. Why. All the other Startitory Board been paid. BVI PORT AUTHORITY MAKES MONEY cause we collect form people living this island, cargo SHIP well warefage etc. Containers boats docking. Where is the monies who stealing our monies??
Governor Ranking u need to come inside the BVI Ports authority to much fishy Business going in that mess up place.
Conditions of the ports u need to take a drive inside and walk around LOOK AT THE OFFICES WAREHOUSE WHERE PEOPLE HAVE TO RISK THE HEALTH EVERYDAY , see for your self.
Pls remove the BVI PORTS AUTHORITY FROM BEEN STATITORY BACK TO Government.
We dont HAVE tools to work with.
The cleaners all buy their own Product to clean where they work at. Can u imagine they dont provide cleaning products for their own cleaners. Lol. Paper towels soap bleach down to plastic bags for the bins they use it again and again. Where is the monies??? Who stealing the f ing monies???.
We the staff are tired Budget past so pay us. Imagine cleaners buying their own cleaning supplies and still not getting paid increments the failing them. Lmao listen that place is mess up.
I know
Governor, sir. What about the back log in cabinet. Lots been through the exam and interview but waiting for cabinet. You chair cabinet. Please fix this ASAP.
Please leave the schoolteacher alone, she tries.