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  • Antigua government clarifies work permit fees and immigration amnesty amid backlash

Antigua government clarifies work permit fees and immigration amnesty amid backlash

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CABINET NOTES: The Cabinet invited the Chief Immigration Officer and other members of her Department to its sitting; the Labour Commissioner and her Deputy, the Permanent Secretary in the Passport Office along with her Deputy were invited to its sitting, for the purpose of ensuring that the policy options selected by the Cabinet and the Parliament match the expectations and the anticipated outcomes which the Legislature set about to achieve with the granting of amnesty to the CARICOM citizens and the citizens of the Dominican Republic who may have failed to keep lawful their status in Antigua and Barbuda.

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An immigrant to Antigua and Barbuda, having spent four or more years in Antigua and Barbuda, is entitled to lawful residency.

The members of Cabinet view the granting of amnesty to the immigrant who has not paid his renewal dues as having had his/her deficiency cured by the amnesty, putting that immigrant on the path to citizenship when he/she has spent seven years total and becomes eligible.

The interpretation of the administrators was otherwise, requiring that immigrant to return to paying fees up until he/she has crossed the seven-year line and can present a valid certificate of residence with the application for citizenship.

After very intense discussions, the Cabinet and the administrators agreed that a grant of amnesty would serve as proof sufficient that the immigrant has satisfied the requirement of “lawful presence”, by the presentation of the Amnesty Certificate.

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In other words, there would not be any need for an immigrant granted amnesty to return again and again to claim amnesty once that had been done once.

The issue of cancelling the requirement of work permits for citizens of CARICOM and the Dominican Republic employed in Antigua and Barbuda, commencing 1 January 2024, was also clarified for the Cabinet members.

There would be no work permit fee, but an administrative fee of $100 for the processing of the request by the immigrant to seek employment in Antigua and Barbuda.

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One response to “Antigua government clarifies work permit fees and immigration amnesty amid backlash”

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

(CONSULTING SERVICES – INDIVIDUAL SELECTION)

 

OECS MSME Guarantee Facility Project

Loan No.: IDA-62670, IDA-62660, IDA-62640, IBRD-88830, IDA-62650

Assignment Title: Senior Operating Officer (SOO)

Reference No. KN-ECPCGC-207852-CS-INDV

 

The Governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines have received financing in the amount of US$10 million equivalent from the World Bank towards the cost of establishing a partial credit guarantee scheme, and they intend to apply part of the proceeds to payments for goods, and consulting services to be procured under this project. 

The consultant will serve as the “Senior Operating Officer (SOO)” for the ECPCGC and should possess extensive knowledge of MSME lending with some direct experience lending to Micro, small and medium-sized businesses, knowledge of the internal control processes necessary for a lending operation and the ability to design and implement risk mitigation procedures. The ideal candidate should possess an Undergraduate Degree from a reputable college or university, preferably in Business, Accounting, Banking or related field, with a minimum of 5 years’ experience in lending, inclusive of MSME lending. The initial employment period will be for two years on a contractual basis. Renewal of the contract will be subject to a performance evaluation at the end of the contractual period. The assignment is expected to begin on September 30th, 2021.  The consultant will report directly to the Chief Executive Officer of the ECPCGC.

The detailed Terms of Reference (TOR) for the assignment can be viewed by following the attached link below. 

 

https://bit.ly/3iVannm

 

The Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECPCGC) now invites eligible “Consultants” to indicate their interest in providing the Services. Interested Consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have:

  • An Undergraduate Degree from a reputable college or university, preferably in Business, Finance, Banking or related field; and
  • Minimum of 5 years’ experience in MSME lending. Applicants should also have:
  • The ability to design and implement risk management procedures 
  • Extensive knowledge of MSME lending with some direct experience lending to small and medium-sized businesses
  • Extensive knowledge of MSME banking operations
  • Knowledge of the internal controls necessary for a lending operation and the ability to design and implement risk management procedures
  • Experience developing and presenting information in public, including responding to questions in real-time
  • Experience lending to MSMEs located in the ECCU
  • Knowledge of marketing and communicating with the MSME sector
  • Ability to draft procedures to be used in a lending operation
  • Familiarity with the mechanics of a loan guarantee program
  • Exceptional written, oral, interpersonal, and presentation skills, and
  • Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office suite.

The attention of interested Individual Consultants is drawn to Section III, Paragraphs 3.14, 3.16, and 3.17 of the World Bank’s Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers July 2016, [revised November 2017] (“Procurement Regulations”), setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest. A Consultant will be selected in accordance with the Approved Selection Method for Individual Consultants set out in the clause 7.34 of the World Bank Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers. 

 

Further information can be obtained at the address below during office hours 0800 to 1700 hours:

Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation

Brid Rock, Basseterre,

St. Kitts.

Expressions of interest must be delivered in a written form by e-mail by August 11th, 2021, to [email protected]

 

For further information, please contact:

Carmen Gomez-Trigg                                                            Bernard Thomas

Chief Executive Officer                                                          Chief Financial Officer

Tel: 868-620-8144                                                                  Tel: 869-765-2385

Email: [email protected]                                          [email protected]