By FAY SIMMONS

Tribune Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

A Cabinet minister yesterday said the Immigration Department has generated “record revenue” of more than $123m during the first ten months of the current 2024-2025 fiscal year.

Alfred Sears, minister of Immigration and National Insurance, said the Department is now planning to beat the targeted $140m that the Government has budgeted for it to collect in the upcoming 2025-2026 fiscal period from the issuance of residency, entry and work-related permits.

“I can report that the Immigration Department has again surpassed its revenue performance from the previous fiscal period. Revenue collected for the period 2024-2025 up to May is estimated to be $123.771m,” said Mr Sears. “This compares to last year’s $97.65m.

“It is also projected that this year coming, the Immigration Department will surpass $140m in revenue for fiscal period 2025-2026. The Department of Immigration, through follow-up investigations, targeted delinquent accounts and more efficient collection efforts to collect outstanding payments during this period, which has resulted in a record increase revenue for the Government.”

Mr Sears noted that the cost of repatriation is a significant expense for the Department and a “tremendous burden on the public purse”. These exercises are expected to cost the Government more than $1.8m in the 2025-2026 fiscal year.

“Repatriation expenses for the period 2024-2025 to May were estimated to be $1.551m with other repatriation expenses currently being processed for payment. The 2025-2026 Budget is projecting, and contains, an amount of $1.847m for the repatriation of undocumented immigrants,” he added.

Mr Sears said cruise lines will now be subject to a fee of $3 per day for each foreign ship’s crew employee that disembarks from their vessel to work at a private island destination. He added that the daily fee will include both an Immigration fee and National Insurance Board contribution, and the cruise lines will only be able to secure the work visa if there are no Bahamians available to work.

“As tourism has changed, currently 78 percent of the tourist arrivals to The Bahamas are cruise visitors, and these cruise operators have established cruise destinations, some of which are cays and some of which are on land. A practice has developed in these cruise destinations, where crew members work on shore, serving food to thousands of cruise passengers,” said Mr Sears.

“The regulation that we have laid makes it mandatory now that the crew of cruise ships who work on land will be subject to securing a work visa, which at the daily fee of $3, is inclusive of the Immigration fee as well as the National Insurance contribution so that the revenue to the Government of persons working on shore would be generated.

“And, of course, this is done within the context only in the case where Bahamians are not readily available to work on the cays, and some of the cays are having difficulty getting the requisite number of Bahamian employees.”