Govt looking to “broaden” economic permanent residency

Govt looking to “broaden” economic permanent residency
Elsworth Johnson.

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Minister of Financial Services, Trade and Industry and Immigration Elsworth Johnson said yesterday that the government is looking to “broaden” the country’s economic permanent residency offering, noting that digitization has helped to expedite that process.

Johnson said: “We are also looking at the economic permanent residency and how we broaden that for persons who want to come live, work and invest in The Bahamas, to make that process easier.

“We have had some complaints but we are not at the point where we can say to investors, ‘Check your agents.’ Sometimes people bring in applications that are not properly done.”

He continued: “If you want to come and live in The Bahamas by away of economic permanent residency and purchase a home, we want to know that all taxes are paid. Do not bring documents that are not properly stamped and recorded. When we get that, we can almost give provisional approvals in a day. Once we check with the international monitoring agencies and prove that you are a fit and proper person, you can come in.”

The Department of Immigration last month announced the reintroduction of its Monarch House location as a one-stop shop for services related to citizenship and permanent residency.