The Cabinet has approved an immigration amnesty for eligible non-nationals living in Antigua and Barbuda, aimed at easing labour shortages and allowing affected individuals to regularise their status.
The decision was taken at Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Gaston Browne, who noted the economy’s performance and a strong jobs market.
Director of Communications Maurice Merchant said the amnesty is designed to support sectors facing labour gaps while offering relief to non-nationals who fell out of status mainly because of financial hardship, rather than deliberate non-compliance.
Under the initiative, qualifying individuals will be able to restore their immigration status without penalties, enabling them to live and work legally and contribute more fully to the economy.
Cabinet said the move is also expected to benefit employers by widening the available labour pool during a period of increased economic activity.
Details on eligibility, application procedures, the start date and the duration of the amnesty are to be presented at Cabinet’s next meeting by Immigration Minister Sir Steadroy Benjamin and officials from the Department of Immigration.
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Give me a break. The government always talking about labor shortage in Antigua and Barbuda and yet still skilled local contractors are out of jobs all because those big developers are given the green light to import laborers from places like Mexico and Dominican Republic.
This is a major problem right now in Barbuda. Look out for your people first
SNAP GENERAL ELECTION INCOMING… 🗳
Election coming
Why don’t Antiguans get this guy out of their parliament
And if the locals don’t like to work, unfortunately, they have to look for someone else to solve the problem.
Antiguans r u full a chat and nothing else.
Every foreigner demands and gets their way.
Contractors who are paying these crooks in the cabinet to keep and import cheap Labour knows what they are doing.
@Steven it’s cheap Labour and criminals they’re importing.
Mr. PM you’re taking a page out of Joe Biden’s playbook. Immigration for votes. Politicians are the sleaziest creatures. Poor Antigua.
My daughter is an Antiguan, College graduate, hoping to start university in the next year or two. She has applied to several work places government and included, since September, and not place has called her. She is qualified for the jobs to which she applied. She had to call the work places. No job is out there. Stop lying
This guy is proving that he can’t afford to lose an election. There has been an everlasting amnesty so what is he trying? He’s once again targeting the non-nationals to keep him with oppressing and suppressing us and then boast about how far ahead we are of their homelands. Antigua probably needs the extra hands because most of our young men seem to be engaged in brush cutting. That’s all the use the Money-Hawk has for them. He needs to be stopped and there’s no better time than now.
Sadly Diamond, the indigenous Antiguans have been placed at the back of the employment queue, due to the influx of cheap foreign labour.
I really hope that your daughter is a determined young lady. It sounds like she only needs an employer to give her a chance.
All the best in her endeavours. It sounds like you have raised a very bright and articulate child.
Wishing her the best 👍🏾
The country is finished. At this time saving work for Antiguans and Barbudans should be priority for this ABLP but instead they are saying they do not care about Antiguans and Barbudans and will give away all the jobs to foreigners. Just like all top positions in the ABLP administrative agencies were or are foreigners. Can Antiguans and Barbudans get a chance, now, please? That is all I am saying.
That’s one side of the story rent killing us people subletting property to rent and nothing can’t be done cause the police here in Antigua like they don’t know what is subletting but the police not to be blame is the stupid property owners who letting it to happen I can’t even see two thousand dollars good at month end to pay sixteen hundred a month the police needs to start go around and check for the people who subletting people property. Antigua can not be good with all these scams and stupidity 🙄 the country needs a shake off
Police needs to STOP subletting of people property rent taking all we money
Great move. Now maybe businesses will be able to get skilled and honest workers. It’s been a long time coming. And as much as people here are upset they would do well to realise that many businesses here would rather hire anybody but Antiguans for a variety of reasons and none of them are for the reason Antiguans think or blabber in about. It’s not racism but rather good business sense. Less theft, less fraud, less late staff, less industrial sabotage. The list of reason go on.. This situation is if Antiguans own making and not because of a labour shortage this is a great development for employers
Every time these politicians want votes they jump up about they showing love for foreigners with amnesty or millennial act, and that’s the both party ALP and UPP. They giving them out passports and each time they do these amnesty it goes with a plot of land entitlement hands in hands with the passport, go into these new housing projects that government is constructing and is foreigners get first house preference.
This can’t happen no where else in the Caribbean, the virgin islands comes to mind where it will never happen, and if it does and you commit any crimes it is revoked and the property seized and immediately deported, and that’s what we see trump doing and the UK did with the so call windrush occupiers.
Most ppl in the comments dnt like foreigners man but #1 most Antiguan like to wrk with government so they can clock in and go bck home to sleep #2 they want to dne wrk by 12pm #3 they dnt like to wrk and we knw dis u need to tlk about dat most Antiguan stay home and dnt do nothing you all must stop it prejudice and it dnt look gud and sound gud stop hide behind you all comment and tlk facts
Facts, Finally, someone is telling the truth. If you want to verify, go to the construction sites and you’ll see the vast majority of West Indians not working, chatting, and wasting work time. Meanwhile, the
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