BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – CARICOM nationals living illegally in Barbados will benefit from the six-month amnesty window announced on Tuesday (May 5) by Prime Minister David Thompson.

In order to qualify for the reprieve, immigrants must submit an application to the Immigration Department before December 1 and must be able to prove they have lived in Barbados for at least eight years prior to December 31, 2005.

“With effect from June 1, 2009, all undocumented CARICOM nationals who entered Barbados prior to December 31, 2005 and remained undocumented for a period of eight years or more are required to come forward and have their status regularised,” said Thompson.

They will have to satisfy a number of conditions including passing a security background check and producing evidence of their employment. Those who have not regularised their status will be sent back to their homelands.

Calling current immigration levels “unacceptably high”, Thompson stressed the issue of illegal immigration could no longer be ignored.

“I must make it clear that after the qualifying period has expired, those CARICOM nationals without lawful permission to remain on the island will be removed.”

However, the Prime Minister insisted his government was committed to adhering to agreements on migration within CARICOM, particularly the CARICOM Movement of Skilled Nationals Act that was passed in Parliament in 2004.

Opposition Leader Mia Mottley warned the Thompson administration to prepare for backlash, as the plan singles out nationals of CARICOM countries. She stressed that the amnesty should be carried out in a humane and transparent manner and in keeping with local and regional legal obligations.

“Coming on the heels of the draconian way in which many CARICOM immigrants have been unceremoniously removed from Barbados over the last year, this action will undoubtedly have implications for Barbadians working and moving in the wider region,” said Mottley.