Immigration reform ‘to protect workers, boost growth’

Minister of Home Affairs Gregory Nicholls says Barbados must balance economic opportunity with labour market protection, even as the Government has moved to ensure Barbadian workers are not threatened by foreign labour being brought into the island.

Speaking during a recent debate in the House of Assembly, Nicholls described the Immigration Bill, 2026, as the most significant reform of Barbados’ immigration system since 1979.

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Nicholls made a case for Caribbean nationals coming into Barbados for employment, saying there could be “no equivocation as to the status of our brothers and sisters from the Caribbean community”. He said that “for too long Barbados has had interpretations of our laws” that have sent mixed signals about whether or not Caribbean people can have certain rights as it relates to entering the country.