News: Foreigners competing for Jamaican jobs? Government to give foreigners one year residency to live and work in island.

Speaking last year at the opening ceremony for a new Passport Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA) office at the Fairview Plaza in Montego Bay, Minister of National Security Dr. Horace Chang, revealed that a submission will soon be made to Cabinet for the agency to grant a one year temporary residency to eligible foreign nationals.

Nearing the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr Chang noted, an increase in travel to the island will be expected. 

“One of the questions coming out of the pandemic is 'where will I live', and in figuring this out one has to establish residency, which is why PICA is working to establish the temporary residency programme. The impact of that will not only increase demands on the operations of PICA, but will provide an opportunity for foreigners to live and work in Jamaica for one year,” the minister said.

Dr. Chang noted that PICA was one of the finest agencies which falls under the portfolio of the Ministry of National Security, and over the years, it has developed a reputation for providing quality service while interfacing with the public in the issuance of passports.

This move however, may prove contentious to some sectors of the society. Local entertainers involved in the tourism sector, hoping to capitalize as much as possible on the reopening of hotels and tourist attractions, may view this as cutting down their fair share of what is already a smaller pie, due to travel restrictions caused by the novel coronavirus.

Several months earlier, Karen Smith acclaimed jazz artiste and president of the Jamaica Federation of Musicians and Affiliated Unions (JFMAU), speaking to a local Jamaican newspaper, revealed that Jamaican musicians and singers were being replaced by performers from Cuba and the Dominican Republic for jobs in the tourist sector, and in fact, Jamaican artistes were not fully utilized as entertainers in local hotels and resorts. Lamenting the lack of true representation of Jamaica's culture and music she said:

"For nearly 10 years, local dance groups, variety acts, singers, and bands have been shut out of employment, replaced by foreigners with work permits for large entertainment companies and Spanish hotels. Jamaican entertainers have been underemployed within the sector for far too long, making them even more vulnerable during this time of crisis." 

It should be noted that prior to Covid-19, most work permit granted to foreign workers, were for the tourist sector, to work as entertainers. Smith had asserted however, that during these current critical Covid times, Jamaicans should be given first preference for these opportunities. 

"Jamaica’s entertainment product has never been at full capacity and is even more vulnerable now post-COVID-19. We want to see our local performers on all our stages when the hotel sector reopens. Many entertainers within our community were struggling to survive before the pandemic, which made it even harder with hotel closures. These Jamaicans should have some comfort and confidence in the Government to know they will be first in line," she said.

Unfortunately, with the possible granting of this one year residency to foreigners to live and work in the country, employment opportunities for local entertainers may be even more dismal.

Of note PICA's Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Wynter, revealed that last year over 4,000 individuals were granted Jamaican citizenship.

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References

Karen Smith interview from newspaper article 'Lock them out! - No work permits for foreigners, urges musicians’ union.' Jamaica Gleaner. June 6 2020. http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/entertainment/20200606/lock-them-out-no-work-permits-foreigners-urges-musicians-union