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.
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”
Purposefully 4 years and more to accommodate the election cycle.
268 gone gone
SMH