Good morning, Mr. Speaker.

It is with great pleasure that I rise today to advise this Honorable House that the Department of Immigration has made significant improvements to the timelines for processing passports and work permits.

Mr. Speaker,

On June 23, 2022, I held a press conference to advise the general public of passport processing delays, in particular. I am sure the members of this Honorable House are well aware of the challenges British Overseas Territories Citizens (BOTC) were having when applying for a passport (first time or to renew). In short, passports that should have been taking our published processing time of 11 weeks were on average taking in excess of 20 weeks. The delay by an additional 9 weeks or more has been preventing Bermudians and Bermudian residents from being able to leave the Island for a vacation or undertake other major travel plans. This has caused much anxiety, especially when passport applications were submitted well in advance of the intended travel and/or allowed for processing of 11 weeks.

Mr. Speaker,

Since early 2022, passport applications quadrupled and continued to increase throughout the summer. However, notwithstanding legacy applications which require additional documentation from applicants, I am pleased to report that the passport application process has returned to 11 weeks. It should be noted that in the past 5 months, the Bermuda Passport Team, with the added assistance of students and vendors, has worked diligently to refine and return passports to the original processing time. In order to secure the necessary resources, the Department of Immigration enlisted 6 students who were registered with the Department of Workforce Development’s Summer Employment Programme of which approximately 3 students were assigned to the passport process. By early September 2022, 10 vendors were on-boarded, 5 of whom were assigned to the passport process. The Bermuda Passport Team continues to work to enhance the passport process so as to avoid returning to occurrences of undue delays in issuing passports.

Mr. Speaker,

The remaining students (3) and vendors (5) were assigned to the Work Permits section to assist with the backlog of work permit applications. They were assigned functional roles for vetting work permits, contacting employers for missing/additional information, and printing and issuing work permit documents. The work by the substantive staff, students, and vendors has paid off to the extent that the speed at which work permits are being processed has been readily observable by employers, associations and agencies alike. On February 23, 2023, the Board of Directors and Members of the Bermuda Hotel Association issued a press release to the general public to express thanks for the “timely processing and approval of the annual work permit renewal submissions.” The press release continued by emphasizing “this is a positive step in assisting hotels in maintaining optimum service levels for both our local and international guests.”

Mr. Speaker,

Expertise Limited, a major player in the recruitment arena also expressed, on behalf of its staff and clients, the demonstrable improvements in the flow of work permit applications from submission to decision. In an email to the Chief Immigration Officer, they said: “The Bermuda employers that are our clients are very pleased. Please extend great thanks to your team.” Other agencies have also commented on the improvements.

Mr. Speaker,

With the excellent achievements highlighted beforehand, the work of the Department of Immigration will continue so that in all areas of its remit its level of customer service will begin to exceed the expectations of the general public on a more consistent basis. In the coming weeks, changes will be made to front-facing interactions with clients who attend the Department of Immigration to submit applications and/or to make inquiries. 

Mr. Speaker,

Although the human resource complement will remain the same, it is expected that more than one customer service window in the reception area will be open to serve customers. Also, a provision will be made for the collection of work permit documents on an express basis, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., Monday to Friday. This means that employers who need to collect work permits will not be required to wait in long lines behind applicants who may be submitting more complicated applications. It is hoped that these small step changes will restore the lost confidence that the general public presently has in the Department, rebuild business relationships and address the needs of customers in a genuine and positive way.

Mr. Speaker,

The Department of Immigration team is excited about the future! I believe that their excitement and the changes that are on the horizon will be long-lasting and visible.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.