Government withdraws immigration, citizenship bills for revisions

G overnment has withdrawn the Immigration and Barbados Citizenship Bill previously before Parliament and replaced them with revised versions following recommendations from a joint select committee. Minister of Home Affairs Gregory Nicholls told the House of Assembly on Tuesday that the changes followed months of parliamentary scrutiny and public consultation on the proposed legislation. “The Joint Select Committee in its report recommended a number of changes to both bills which the government has considered,” he said. Nicholls said the recommendations led the government to instruct revisions to both pieces of legislation, resulting in the withdrawal of the earlier versions and the introduction of replacement bills on Tuesday.

He noted that the bills had been returned to Parliament unchanged on April 29 following the February general election, which interrupted the work of an earlier joint select committee. Government had opted to continue the consultation process rather than immediately amend the legislation based on submissions received before Parliament was dissolved. The new committee began its work on May 13 and held nine meetings before producing a report, which was laid in the House on August 11. Nicholls said the committee considered 24 written submissions, along with contributions from stakeholders including the Barbados Bar Association, Barbados International Business Association, employers, political representatives, university students and Barbadians overseas. The minister thanked those who participated in the process, saying public scrutiny was important for legislation of…