ST. JOHN’S, Antigua – The Antigua and Barbuda government has hinted at the possibility of extending an amnesty to allow undocumented foreign nationals to remain in the country legally.
“Based on the uptake of the amnesty offer, I anticipate that we will have to look seriously at an extension of the period. Already, we’re seeing [that] the Immigration Department allows for walk-in applicants and for appointments, [but] they’ve exhausted every appointment hour between now and the end of April,” Foreign Affairs Minister, EP Chet Greene, told Parliament.
“So, if we agree that we’re going to go back to the original intention of extending amnesty to all the persons affected, it means that with the period remaining already booked out, we will have to look at A, seriously and critically at either increasing the number of officers at the Immigration Department, extending the period for amnesty, or B, a combination of A and B, ” Greene told legislators.
Under the amnesty process, which began on March 1 and originally due to end on April 30th, persons living in Antigua and Barbuda for a minimum of four years, but less than seven years, may apply for residency permit. Those residing in the country for more than seven years may apply for citizenship.
In both cases, applicants must not have been absent from the country for more than six months at a time.
The Immigration Department said that it has been dealing with at least 80 applicants daily amid reports of some of those seeking the amnesty unable to secure appointments.
It has also reminded amnesty applicants to ensure they have the required documents in hand, including a completed application form, a passport, and a recent photo.
Last month, Greene defended its policy of providing an amnesty to foreign nationals working and residing in the country, dismissing suggestions that it is merely a political ploy.
“What do you do with a young Jamaican male who has four children in Antigua by an Antiguan mother, has no criminal record, fights every day in terms of his work to feed his children? Is it reasonable that we uproot him from his children and send him packing to Kingston?”
“Is it fair that we do not recognize the fact that he has no criminal record and is making a contribution to national development? It is those kinds of cases we hear every day,” Greene told Parliament.
Last December, Prime Minister Gaston Browne said Antigua and Barbuda has always had to deal with migrants who have been in the country for more than 15 years and are “now well integrated in our society, they have homes, they work and they have children.
“We have to be flexible enough to allow for some form of integration of these individuals in society as we seek to get the contribution of all. So I will certainly speak further on that issue of a possible amnesty,” Browne said then.
In 2015, Antigua and Barbuda passed the Immigration and Passport (Amendment) Act 2015 under which illegal immigrants could seek amnesty to have their time in the country extended.
