By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Immigration Department has developed the BH-1B work permit to target companies the government is seeking to attract for its "technology hub", it was revealed yesterday.

Dr Donovan Moxey, who chaired the government-appointed Technology Hub Steering Committee, told Tribune Business that the new work permit was designed to encourage technology companies to relocate to Grand Bahama using the Commercial Enterprises Act.

The permit, first unveiled at last week's Bahamas Blockchain and Crypto Currency conference, is a critical component to the country's bid to capitalise on Donald Trump's recent US immigration crackdown that has impacted the skilled foreign workers technology companies rely upon.

"Immigration announced its BH-1B work permit that is targeted at technology companies that come in under the Commercial Enterprises Act," Dr Moxey, president of MobileAssist, told this newspaper. "We want companies to look at the Bahamas for relocation when their workers' US visas expire."

The new work permit's rapid development indicates the Government is moving quickly to implement many of the recommendations submitted by Dr Moxey and his committee in January this year, which set out the broad legislative, infrastructure and enabling environment required to establish Grand Bahama as a potential 'technology hub'.

Leading the "immediate opportunities" identified by the Committee was its proposal to target US companies who are heavily reliant on the H-1B visa workers impacted by Mr Trump's recent Immigration actions.

"There are several immediate opportunities that should be explored by the Government and the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) in order to support the establishment of a technology industry sector in the Bahamas," said its report.

It specifically identified the "recruitment of US companies who want to re-locate workers with soon to-expire or recently expired H-1B visas to the Bahamas. This would represent an immediate positive impact to the Grand Bahama economy, and would primarily benefit the local economy with respect to opportunities for temporary and permanent housing, transportation, entertainment, restaurants, retail and education, as well as initially provide opportunities for non-technical jobs. There are hundreds of US companies and thousands of highly skilled workers that can be recruited and re-located in a matter of months".

The idea was also floated at this year's Grand Bahama Business Outlook by GBPA president, Ian Rolle, a member of the Committee, and who appears to have taken the idea from the report. He described it as a "tremendous opportunity for Freeport to grow its population in a meaningful way, and in a short period of time".

"Imagine if we had 10,000 of these high-tech persons coming to Freeport. They make on average $86,000 to $90,000 a year," Mr Rolle said then. "If they spend at least 60 per cent of their wages in the communities, that's about $500 million."

The Trump administration has been making it difficult for persons to apply for, or renew, H-1B visas, which facilitate the hiring of specialist foreign workers by US companies, and entry of persons with advanced degrees.

Such workers are in high demand among technology companies, and the Committee's thinking appears to be that the Bahamas offers a convenient offshore base in close proximity to the US should such firms have to relocate H-1B personnel or themselves.

"The current cap of H1B visas in the US represents an opportunity for the Bahamas to attract skilled workers and the companies that want to hire them. This could be a great opportunity to re-locate company teams/divisions to the Bahamas who have H-1B visas that are set to expire soon," the Committee's report enthused.

However, it immediately noted that Immigration and work permit reforms would be required to facilitate such an effort. The Committee suggested that H-1B permit holders "be fast-tracked and receive comparable Bahamas work permits", provided such applications are sponsored by a company domiciled in this nation.

"The Government may want to consider creating a new type of work permit to specifically serve as a fast-track replacement for holders of a current or recently expired (within 12 months, or longer as per Immigration guidelines) of US H1B Visas," the report suggested.

"The Government will also need to create corresponding spousal/partner and dependents residency permits for holders of H-1B Visas. Spouses/partners should not get work permit status unless they are also employed by the company in a technical area."

The Minnis administration appears to be following these recommendations to the letter, with the Commercial Enterprises Act - and its liberalised work permit regime - complementing the new work permit in efforts to signal the Bahamas is open to business.

GIBC Digital, the New York-headquartered technology firm, which is promising to deliver a $50 million economic impact and 150 jobs to Grand Bahama within three years, entered this nation via the Act.

The Act allows senior foreign management and key personnel to enter the Bahamas and establish physical businesses - in targeted industries only - without possessing a work permit once the venture receives the necessary approvals.

Such a permit must be applied for within 30 days of their entry, and the Bill mandates the Director of Immigration to make a decision on approval within 14 days of receiving the application. Should the Director not respond within that timeframe, the work permit is "automatically deemed to have been granted".

The Act is designed to bring certainty and predictability to the work permit approval process, something often cited as a major impediment to the smooth conduct of commerce in the Bahamas.

The 'specified commercial enterprise' legislation is targeted at industries that are foreign exchange earners, and which have been cited by the Minnis administration as part of its economic growth and diversification strategy.