His Excellency the Governor signed the Immigration (Amendment) Ordinance and Immigration (Amendment) Regulations 2012 into law on Mon, 23 July 2012.
This gives effect to the main messages received in the recent territory-wide consultation on the pathway to citizenship. Most of the provisions will come into law on 13th August 2012, but the new rules on Permanent Residence Certificates will come into law on 10th September 2012, which is when the current moratorium on new applications for PRC will be lifted.
The policy and legislation were debated by the Advisory Council on 30 May and 22 June and considered by the Consultative Forum in closed session on 25 June, and in open session on 27 June, when the legislation met with unanimous support, subject to some changes of detail (mainly affecting the new residence permits, and fees) which had been raised in the thorough debate.
The main changes to the law are in Section 3 of the Immigration Ordinance, which sets out the ways in which a person becomes a Belonger. In line with the majority of the responses to the consultation, from 13th August, the only ways to become a Belonger will be by birth, descent, adoption, by being married for ten years to a Belonger (other than a Belonger by marriage), or by being the dependent child of someone who becomes a Belonger by marriage. It will no longer be possible for the child of a non-Belonger who marries a Belonger to acquire Belonger status as soon as the marriage takes place, as a stepchild. There will be no provision for Belonger status to be granted in any other circumstances.
It will be the responsibility of an elected Government to bring forward an Ordinance which provides for Turks and Caicos Islander Status to be granted if certain conditions are met. This is a requirement of the Constitution, which also sets out the minimum conditions to be included in that Ordinance.
Other changes to the Immigration Ordinance include:
- It will be possible for Belonger status which was bestowed under the previous law to be revoked, where the Belonger is convicted of a serious criminal offence and is not resident in the Islands. This will only apply to those who had Belonger status granted for “an outstanding contribution to the economic and social development of the Islands”.
- All Belongers will be able to obtain a National Turks and Caicos Islander Status Card which will be lawful evidence of their status. Cards are being issued free of charge to those who applied as part of the current exercise linked to the electoral register, but the new regulations provide for a fee of $50 in future.
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• There will be a new criminal offence of marrying in order to gain immigration advantage, with a penalty of up to two years’ imprisonment and a $10,000.00 fine. This is aimed at so called “marriages of convenience” and would apply both to the person gaining immigration advantage and to the Belonger who is marrying them in order to allow them to do so.
• The law is being clarified to confirm that Belongers, PRC holders, and British Overseas Territories citizens by virtue of a connection with the Islands, ie TCI passport holders, are free to enter, reside, and work in the Territory, and cannot be excluded from or deported from the Territory.
Amendments to the Immigration Regulations include:
• Amendments to Schedule 3 provide for a new long-term residence permit for investors. From 13th August, it will be possible for someone who has invested $500,000.00 or more in Providenciales or West Caicos, or $250,000.00 or more in Grand Turk or the family Islands, to obtain a residence permit for up to ten years.
• The fee for a residence permit for the spouse of a Belonger will be increased to $300 per annum, with such permits being issued for up to 11 years. There are provisions for dependent children to be endorsed on the permit for $150.00 per child.
• There are amendments to Schedule 2, which applies to permanent residence certificates. From 10th September the Ministry will accept new applications for PRC under new, standardised rules. People will qualify for a PRC if they meet the general requirements, and have held a work permit, other than as an unskilled worker, or a residence permit, or have been in the Islands under Section 9, ie as a Government worker for ten years or more. Anyone who has held a work permit as an unskilled worker for ten years or more by 10th September 2012 will also be able to qualify, but time spent as an unskilled worker will not in the future satisfy any qualification for a PRC. The fees for all these PRCs will be $10,000.00.
• PRC will also be available to young people who are endorsed on their parents’ PRC when they turn 18; to young people who arrived in the Islands before the age of five, and who have been through primary and secondary education here before 10th September 2012; and to people who have been married to a Belonger for five years or more, where the Belonger spouse has died. The fees for these PRCs will be $5,000.00.
• Apart from those who qualify on the basis of having held a Residence Permit, PRC holders will have unrestricted permission to work. The provision in Schedule 8 for an “anniversary” fee to be paid by PRC holders, with limited permission to work, has also been removed. That provision has never been consistently applied.
• All applicants for a PRC will need to show that they have a sound knowledge of the English language and of the Turks & Caicos Islands. The TCI Community College will be involved in the arrangements for tuition and testing: more details of this policy will be issued in advance.
Separate from the amendments to the Immigration Ordinance and Regulations, the Ministry will be bringing forward new British Nationality Fees regulations shortly, to increase the naturalisation fees to $1,000.00 and the registration fees to $500.00.
