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Bermuda Work Permit and
Immigration Regulation
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If you are a non-Bermudian, i.e. a non national of Bermuda, you will need a work permit to live and work in Bermuda.
You yourself can not apply for the work permit. It's your employer, i.e. the company hiring you, will need to apply for the work permit once they have confirmed the job to you.
The work permit is then issued by Bermuda's Department of Immigration for that employer only and not for any other employment. It may take several weeks to months to process the work permit.
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Over 20% of the Bermuda population are expatriates and working in Bermuda on work permits. Bermuda presently has a resident population of about 66,000. In 2010, over 10,000 work permits of 1-5 years validity were issued in Bermuda. And this excludes temporary and periodic work permits. However, to work and live in Bermuda, you will need the work permit regardless of your nationality and job role.
Validity of the Bermuda Work Permit
The work permit normally has a validity between 1 to 3 years (in exceptional cases it can be for longer period). The period depends on the job skill. Higher is the job skill requirement that are difficult to get in Bermuda, longer will be the validity.
After the expiry of the work permit, the employer can apply for renewal. However, there is a maximum term limit of 6 years after which renewal is not possible. Having completed 6 years, you should be ready to leave Bermuda. Update Nov 2011: The work permit term limit has been increased to 10 years. However there are several stringent criteria that the company and the job role must fulfill in order to get the 10 year permit. Firstly the role should be critical to success of the company and growth of Bermuda's economy, and the company should have at least 50% Bermudian employees.
There can be exceptions to the term limit and can be waived in case of key staffs like CEOs, CFOs, senior management staff, or other key skills that are in real shortage in the island but essential for business. The exceptions also depend on the hiring company's profile. If the employer has demonstrated that they are Good Corporate Citizens by consistently following best practices as prescribed by the Department of Immigration, then their applications for key staffs can get a waiver of term limit.
Preference of employment in Bermuda
By government policy, all companies should advertise for their jobs at least on three separate days in a local news paper. Bermuda's only daily is The Royal Gazette where generally the job advertisements are made. Employers also sometimes advertise in other media including in foreign newspapers like in US, Canada, UK etc. And, they must give first preference to Bermudians. Which means that an eligible Bermudians if available, should get the first consideration.
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Only in the case where the company is unable to find a local to fulfill the job requirement, should they consider expatriate applications. So does it mean that job prospects in Bermuda are very limited? No. There are number of areas where Bermuda has shortage in skills.
When your work permit expires, before the renewal application can be made by the employer, they will need to again check for eligible Bermudian for the position through advertisements. So again a Bermudian would be given a preference. If a Bermudian is available for the job, you will need to prepare to leave Bermuda.
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Bermuda Work Permit Criteria
Remember, you can not and should not look for a job while on a visit to Bermuda as a tourist. This will be futile and no company will entertain that. As per policy, you can apply for the job only from outside Bermuda. Once the job is offered, only then the employer can apply for the work permit on your behalf.
Department of Immigration issues the work permit to the hiring company and they should in turn send that to you. When you enter Bermuda, you should have the original work permit with you. Remember that work permit can no way result in immigration or automatic right of abode for any national even though you may end up staying in Bermuda for years. The only exception can be if you get married to a Bermudian while, and live together for a minimum of 10 years, then you can apply for citizenship.
There is no set period for processing the Work Permit. It can take from weeks to many months. You will need to fill up a detailed questionnaire form and send it to your employer. The hiring company needs to furnish a lot of details like your medical history, medical evidence that you can work in sub tropical region, you can stand constant high humidity, have no non-permissible disease like HIV, tuberculosis etc., and have a clean previous employment record, and much more.
If you are applying for a professional job in Bermuda, check if the employer has received the Good Corporate Citizen status. This will help in much faster and smoother processing of the work permit.
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Note that the work permit issued only for one employer. Which means, generally you cannot change your job and can not hold more than one jobs in Bermuda. Only in cases where you can demonstrate that you have been treated unfairly or made redundant by the employer, can you change your job. If you quit your job, another work permit is not issued and you will need to leave Bermuda.
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If you are applying for a professional job in Bermuda, you should have a minimum bachelor degree and preferably higher degrees like masters or doctorate.
Remember, you can not start your own company in Bermuda or own a business with a work permit. While doing business in Bermuda will require separate documentation, you will need to find a local partner who needs to own at least 60% stake in the business.
Getting Families and children to Bermuda
Your spouse can come and live with you in Bermuda if you have a work permit. However, if your spouse wants to work in Bermuda, he or she has to go through the same process to get a separate work permit. Otherwise the spouse would need to stay without work.
In case your spouse has managed to get his or her own work permit, the renewal of that will be conditional to renewal of your work permit.
If you have more than two children, you are unlikely to be considered in a private sector job and also perhaps in a public sector job. That's because Government of Bermuda discourages this tiny island to get over populated. A child born in Bermuda does not become a Bermudian national or citizen.
Today in some job categories like in case of waiters, they can't bring in their spouse or children to Bermuda, even if they hold work permit.
Having come to Bermuda on a work permit, you will generally not be able to own a home and will need to stay in rental accommodations. Property prices in Bermuda for expatriates are far higher and limited to the top 5% valuations of real estate for a single family dwelling.
So, if you are moving to Bermuda, you should check Living in Bermuda to know what to expect and prepare for as you take the big leap.
Check Bermuda Jobs to know all about how to find the right job in Bermuda.
Check out Bermuda Economy to know about overall economic conditions of Bermuda.
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