THE BARBADOS Welcome Stamp visa, which permits non-nationals to spend up to a year working in the Caribbean island, has already hit the $1 million mark in terms of payments processed so far.

Barbados minister of tourism senator Lisa Cummins revealed the success of the initiative during a Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) webinar on Tuesday.

Cummins said that the initiative had prompted a significant increase – from individuals, families and companies – in the interest in working remotely from the island.

“This is an opportunity for them to work from a place like Barbados…for persons to get the economies all around the world going again and being able to do so safely from a jurisdiction like Barbados,” Cummins said.

She added: “Not just Barbados but the Caribbean overall really has to be commended for being among the top countries in the world to have managed the Covid outbreaks so that we are now in a position where many of us are welcoming people back to our shores, and we’re doing so safely.”

Outlining some of the figures, Cummins said: “We’ve already hit the 1 million mark in terms of those persons who are actually now beginning to have the payments processed into Barbados.” She later clarified to state she was not talking about 1 million people but a million in terms of the payment received so far, an amount she said was climbing.

She added that preparations are now being made to roll out the second wave of the Welcome Stamp.

Interest

Since it was announced in July, the opportunity to spend several months working in the sunshine has made headlines around the world.

In addition to application from employees and organisations based overseas, a significant number of students have also expressed interest in taking up the opportunity.

Applicants worldwide can apply to work remotely from Barbados through the welcome stamp, which costs US$2,000 (£1,570) for an individual and US$3,000 (£2,357) for a family. The family bundle consists of the applicant, their spouse or partner and dependants – defined as a child or step-child under the age of 26 years or any other relative who is, by reason of age or health entirely dependent on the applicant.

In order to be considered, applicants are required to earn at least US$50,000 (£39,288) per year and have health insurance.

Concerns have been raised over impact of the resumption of international travel to the island, which started back in July, but there has been no community transition of COVID-19 on the island to date.

Changing identity

Cummins also spoke about the impact of Barbados’ decision to remove the Queen as head of state.

She said that for many younger Barbadians the British monarchy is a “distant part of their consciousness”.

“They do recognise that we have a female prime minister, the first female prime minister, we have the second female governor general. We have strong, powerful, iconic figures that represent Barbadian and Caribbean civilisation – and they see no reason why they cannot ascend to the highest office,” Cummins said. “And I think that part of our identity is a critical part of our development and our civilisation, and it actually has to be a part of what we sell as Caribbean authenticity, Barbados authenticity in this case, to the visitors that come to our country.”