By Neil Hartnell

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Immigration Department must “clean up its act now” before the government imposes any further responsibilities such as the 14-day work “visa” exemption, an ex-minister is warning.

Branville McCartney, who was responsible for immigration before his resignation from the former Ingraham administration, told Tribune Business that the department was already creating a “nightmare” and “disaster” as it struggles to cope with its existing obligations.

Citing several cases he is personally familiar with, the ex-Democratic National Alliance (DNA) leader recalled the Immigration Department’s failure to even acknowledge the six to seven letters and numerous phone calls his Halsbury Chambers law firm had made on behalf of a client who had already been waiting three years to discover the fate of his permanent residency bid.

And Mr McCartney said his businesses had typically seen work permit renewals take between eight to 10 months to be approved, meaning that “by the time you get the permit it’s already time to reapply again”.

Warning that the uncertainty was damaging for both the private sector and expatriate employee, he revealed how a Filipino pharmacist employed in his family’s business had been unable to work for several days after being picked up and detained by Immigration while awaiting a response on his renewal application.

Though the pharmacist was eventually released, Mr McCartney said delayed or late work permit renewals often meant expatriate workers were unable to send money home to meet financial obligations outside The Bahamas. Such difficulties can make it hard to recruit essential foreign staff with specialist skills, holding back growth for individual companies and the wider economy.

As a result, Mr McCartney argued that the Immigration Department should not be loaded with additional obligations, such as the 14-day short-term work visa exemptions, until it shows it can handle its existing work permit and status responsibilities more efficiently.

The Immigration (Amendment) Bill 2019, recently passed by both houses of parliament, aims to further eliminate Immigration bureaucracy and red tape - and occasionally unpleasant experiences at the airport - by ending the requirement for certain business executives to obtain a “short term” or any type of work visa/permit if they are in The Bahamas for 14 days or less.

While “understanding” the Government’s intent to improve the ease of doing business, Mr McCartney questioned how the exemption will operate in practice, adding that the “mechanics”had not been made clear to the Bahamian people.

In particular, he queried how Immigration will monitor the exemption to ensure it is not abused and that the Bahamas does “not open the floodgates” for foreign workers to come in and “do anything they wish”. 

“They put this provision there with the exemption for 14 days, but those persons who now have a right to apply and also wish to renew, it takes 14 months at a minimum,” Mr McCartney told Tribune Business. “I say that to say, for persons renewing work permits or applying for residency status, as it stands now it takes forever and a day.

“Now they’re talking about 14 days.... We have a difficulty now in Immigration with the long-term work permits and renewal of permits that take months and months and months. If we can’t get that right, how will we get this right?

“We need to clean up our act now in Immigration with respect to its operation, and where we are now and the issues of permits, residency and the like prior to us moving forward with these exemptions,” he continued.

“The process we have now is not working in the sense of the efficiency of it. We need to get what we have now sorted out before we think about adding in new types of Immigration status and exempt certain persons coming in.”

Mr McCartney, whose family is involved in diverse businesses ranging from a retail pharmacy to law firm, real estate and schools, added that it was extremely difficult to obtain from Immigration the status of work permit applications/renewals.

“When I was in Immigration, my policy was that persons seeking a work permit for the first time, that should not be lingering around for more than one month for determination,” he revealed. “For renewals, I got to the stage of no more than two weeks once those persons had everything in. I had a Board meeting every week. Now, Jesus, it’s a nightmare.

“I’ve had applications in for eight to 10 months waiting for a renewal, and by the time you get the work permit it’s time to apply again for the renewal. Last year we had a Filipino who was a pharmacist, and his renewal application had been in for some time. Immigration picked him up, and he was unable to work until he showed his application was in and they processed him to let him go.

“That caused disruption for the business. Many times persons waiting for renewals can’t send money home to their families because the bank will not allow it. It’s horrible; not only for the businesses but those persons who have financial obligations outside The Bahamas and can’t send money. It’s ridiculous, man.”

Mr McCartney also recalled the trials of a client who, before coming to his Halsbury Chambers law firm for assistance, had spent three years waiting fruitlessly for an answer to his permanent residency application. The ex-DNA leader and former Immigration minister fared no better.

“He came to me, and I sent correspondence to the director of Immigration, Clarence Russell. To-date, I haven’t received a response from him,” Mr McCartney told Tribune Business. “We’ve sent five to six letters, called, and not had a response or acknowledgement. 

“Terrible, terrible. You can’t get anything out of Immigration. You can do this Act, fine, but is it going to operate in the same manner as it is now. It’s a disaster; it’s a disaster.”

The 14-day exemption applies to persons attending Bahamas-based conferences and seminars as participants, plus trade shows and summits; or working as a non-executive director of a business “being carried on in The Bahamas” where they are not involved in daily operations.

Also exempt are senior executives and management professionals who fly in to “attend a business meeting with a local company”. This applies to chairmen, directors, shareholders, all executives from the rank of chief financial officer up, managers, consultants, attorneys, compliance officers and accountants.

Others included under this initiative, and exempt from the short-term work visa requirement, are auditors, actuaries, medical professionals, analysts and controllers.

The private sector has been pushing for such reforms for years, both on the grounds that it will enhance The Bahamas’ ease of doing business and reputation, while avoiding embarrassing incidents that have over the years seen senior corporate executives refused entry and/or detained and given an grilling by Immigration officers at the airport.

Mr McCartney, though, said that while he understood the legislation’s intent - and “it can be beneficial” - there were questions over how it will operate in practice.” The question will be the mechanics of it, and I’m not clear how that will happen, and how it works and will be monitored,” he added.

“The foundations and groundwork are not in place because we don’t know how these people will be monitored. They have to have something to come into The Bahamas. They have to go through some Immigration process to get that. Otherwise that could open the floodgates, with people saying they’re here for a meeting and doing all sorts of work.

“I don’t know the mechanics of it. The Bill is silent on that. That has to be tightly monitored or anybody could come in. The intent of the Bill is good, but putting it into practice is a whole story as to how it works and will be monitored.”