Good afternoon to members of the media and the listening public…
Protecting Bermuda’s borders and its people is a top priority for the Government. Our island must have strong systems in place to manage the movement of people into the country and to safeguard the job opportunities available to Bermudians. This is vital to our national security and shared prosperity. Today I will be providing crucial updates on several immigration matters.
First, we are updating the Bermuda Immigration and Protection (Prohibition of Entry) Order. The purpose of the Order is to ensure that travellers to Bermuda are security vetted before they arrive and, also, that there is continued access for visitors and residents travelling to the US, UK, Canada and other destinations, through regular commercial air service.
It is important to emphasise that Bermuda’s border policy must also account for changes to border, transit and visa policies in the United Kingdom.
Given Bermuda’s geographic position and the limited number of commercial air routes available to the island, the United Kingdom provides a key, flexible commercial aviation pathway. As a result, changes to UK border requirements can have a direct impact on Bermuda’s ability to facilitate secure and efficient international travel.
Under the new Order, nationals of the following countries are considered visa-controlled and will require a multi-re-entry visa issued by the US, UK or Canada to enter Bermuda: Botswana, (Northern Part of) Cyprus, Ivory Coast, Naura, Nicaragua, Palestine, and St. Lucia. I must note that countries being removed from this list of visa-controlled nationals are Indonesia and Taiwan.
The new Prohibition of Entry Order will be effective once gazetted.
A second step being taken to strengthen the integrity of Bermuda’s immigration system involves addressing the issue of sham marriages. These are marriages entered into primarily for immigration or other legal benefits rather than to establish a genuine marital relationship.
While the vast majority of marriages are genuine, marriages can also be used to circumvent immigration controls. Recognising this, many countries have introduced safety measures to protect the integrity of their immigration systems while preserving the rights of genuine couples.
In Bermuda, we realise that there is no definition of ‘sham marriage’, nor is there the authority to investigate suspicious cases. This results in vulnerabilities and gaps in our immigration system. We have developed a policy framework to be shared with the public. In it, we define a sham marriage as a marriage entered into primarily to obtain an immigration or legal benefit without a genuine intention to establish a shared life together as spouses.
We expect most marriage applications will continue through the normal registration process. However, where objective indicators generate reasonable concerns that a proposed marriage may not be genuine, the Registrar will be authorised to refer the matter to the Department of Immigration for further assessment and investigation.
Indicators could include significant inconsistencies in information provided by the marrying parties, documentary irregularities, evidence of financial inducement, etc.
Where a sham marriage is established based on evidence, then immigration-related benefits a spouse gets through that marriage could be refused, cancelled, or revoked in accordance with the law. We should note the policy anticipates creating a criminal offence for knowingly entering into or facilitating a sham marriage for the purpose of obtaining an immigration or legal benefit.
Now moving on to protections for working Bermudians. I wish to inform employers and the general public of proposed updates to the Closed and Restricted Job Categories.
Recognising the critical role the insurance and reinsurance sectors play in our economy, we are taking steps to ensure that key entry-level positions in these businesses remain available for our people. Many Bermudians have experienced notable success in these industries and can directly link their success to the entry-level opportunity they were provided.
We consulted industry associations and clarified that the intention here is to protect the entry-level roles for Bermudians.
To that end, the Closed Job Category will be updated to include:
- Entry-level underwriting administration and underwriting roles: which may include underwriting assistance, assistant underwriters and trainee underwriters, etc.;
- Entry-level insurance claims roles: which may include claims assistant and claims associate, etc.; and
- Enter-level brokerage roles: which may include broker assistant and junior broker.
Avenues for success must remain available for Bermudians, and employment opportunities such as these must remain accessible.
These changes to the Closed and Restricted Job Categories will be in effect from 8 September 2026.
The updates provided today demonstrate the Government’s commitment to ensure our borders remain safe and that Bermudians have the opportunity to access prospects that help maximise their potential.
Thank you.
