GOVERNMENT HAS RELEASED a Green Paper titled Comprehensive Review Of Immigration Policy And Proposals For Legislative Reform, dated October 2009.

The document is divided into three sections. Section I sets out several key issues that require reform, including freedom of movement within the context of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy; management of labour migration; border control and national and regional security, and public health and public policy.

Section II looks at the role of the Immigration Department in national development and in contributing to Government's economic growth targets and security objectives.

Section III deals with the Immigration Department's proposals for legislative and policy reform.

Among items of major concern are the amendments necessary to enable Government to satisfy obligations under the Economic Partnership Agreement, signed in 2008 between CARIFORUM states and the European Community.

The whole system of the granting of work permits requires an overhaul, particularly the restyling of what may in the future be known as "the guest worker programme".

In this connection, there are recommendations for the capturing and storing of fingerprints, a matter that to date, due to poor public relations efforts, has evoked much comment from the citizenry, more so since Barbadians were called upon to be fingerprinted.

As mentioned earlier, due to pressure for space and stress on education, medical and transport facilities, but more especially land ownership, we had a look at the Bermuda model, which states clearly that citizenship is "given to law-abiding non-Bermudians after they marry Bermudians, live together locally and then wait ten years".

Now, Bermuda citizenship is in two parts. All who are Bermudians by both birth and Bermudian parentage are British Overseas Territory Citizens, but this is according to British law not Bermudian law.

The other part is that both parents or one qualifying parent of a child born in Bermuda must also be Bermudian by birth and descent, including having other family members born in Bermuda.

We have mentioned the above in the light of the recent protestations that the period for amnesty qualification was too long and also that persons who submitted applications for regularisation of status should be permitted to remain, pending not only finalisation of the application, but in the event of an appeal being lodged, until completion of the appeal hearing also.

We believe that these considerations are humane, but we must guard against those who may be tempted to abuse the system.

The review of immigration policy should be undertaken with due diligence.