Barbadian citizenship is not, and will never be, a commodity for purchase.
That was declared by Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley during her televised address to the nation last night.
She stressed that while Government’s planned reforms to immigration and citizenship laws will prioritise fairness, family connections and skills, they will never place the nation’s passport on the market.
“Barbados will not sell citizenship. Our passport, respected among the strongest in our region and the world, for that matter, carries the value of who we are. It is not a commodity. Once you become a Barbadian, there are no first-class or second-class citizens, only equal rights and equal responsibilities,” she said.
Mottley said the Immigration Bill, 2025 and the Citizenship Bill, 2025 will be central to tackling Barbados’ demographic decline while ensuring that it remains fair and competitive.
“In the year 2000, Barbados recorded 3 642 live births and 2 444 deaths, a natural increase of just over 1 100 people. In 2024, births were 1 995, while deaths were 3 088, a natural decrease of 1 100 persons. My friends, this is our stark reality,” she said.
Mottley said the reforms will first and foremost strengthen the bond with Barbadians overseas.
“We will move from citizenship as a right for children of Bajans to citizenship as a right down to great-grandchildren, because the first claim on Barbados must be those whose roots run deepest in our soil, and a great-grandchild is as important to a great-grandparent as their child and their grandchild.”
She also pledged that citizens of CARICOM will benefit from preferential treatment, while people with skills and investment to offer will be welcomed under clear and transparent rules.
“Beyond family, we will welcome skills and investment that lift productivity, expand opportunity and safeguard the Barbadian way of life.”
Mottley said the reforms will abolish the old “immigrant status” system and replace it with a more humane framework.
“These companion bills sweep away the immigrant status that is captured in the current Act. They create a clear, humane path to permanent residence instead. They put ‘reside’ and ‘work’ on firm legal footings so that families are not left in limbo, and they give spouses of Barbadians a straightforward route to settle and contribute with automatic permanent residence status.”
She said the reforms will be shaped through public consultation.
“A few nights ago in the House of Assembly, the Minister of Home Affairs opened the second reading of two companion measures, the Immigration Bill, 2025 and the Citizenship Bill, 2025, and then asked that those bills go to the Parliamentary Governance Standing Committee for wider consultation before final passage. This is how big change should happen in a democracy – in the open, with the country invited to weigh in.”
Mottley linked the reforms directly to the sustainability of Barbados’ social and economic systems.
“Our path is sober planning and our path must be about fairness. Our aim will always be to train and upskill Bajans first, and where gaps remain, we will bring in additional hands on time-bound transfer of knowledge terms. Each one, train one, so that Barbadians benefit first, last and always, even as we keep this country moving in the right direction.”( CLM)
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