Sunniebgi

Not taking you to task at all.. my concern is "what is actually being said by the immigration officers and the real and true story".. I know you have written exactly what the person said.. but.. sometimes they like to tell different stories to different people.. and no . my friend doesn't have a big fancy house.. but she has been coming to this island for years and has a Condo that she has also had for years..

I too have a number of friends who lived on the island.. 2 sets that have Barbadian Born Children, who where all turned down for residency a few times and made to "reapply".. 1 couple eventually left (unfortunate) and the other finally got their residency.. (and as karma would have it, the children have grown up and gone to high school and University outside of Barbados and 1 parent is here, working, bringing in business to the island, and the other has gone back to be with them)..

and as said.. the ever changing goal post usually has to do with "who's standing at the counter when you approach".

I've actually been told that I must carry my Barbados Citizenship paper (which is 24 years old) with me when I travel, because on re-entering Barbados .. my Barbados Government Issued ID Card is not valid for Citizenship status on entry to the island.. go figure..

beachseeker

Thank you for understanding Sunnie. I hope others who try after us have better luck with the goal posts than we did....

satellite_ian

"I've actually been told that I must carry my Barbados Citizenship paper (which is 24 years old) with me when I travel, because on re-entering Barbados .. my Barbados Government Issued ID Card is not valid for Citizenship status on entry to the island.. go figure"

Sunni, is there any reason you haven't applied for a Bajan passport once you got citizenship? Not meaning to pry... just figure it would make travel/re-entry much easier....

Sunniebgi

Um.. because I'll never use it.. except to enter Barbados.. and I've been good with my piece of paper this long, but it just makes no sense that the ID Card, which shows me as a Citizen, wouldn't work..

Happyowner

Good morning Beachseeker. I am aghast at the information given to you by Immigration.

For years I have happily come in and gone out of Barbados for up to 4 months at a time in the belief that you could stay for 6 months then leave for a short while and come back. Well last January (2016 ) they caught me ! Told me the limit was 6 months PER YEAR ( when did that happen ? ) and advised me to apply for a Retirement Special Stay Visa for 5 years at a price of $7000 BDS which I declined .

However, a kind lady on Trip Advisor, advised me to look at The "Retirement in the Caribbean site " where I found that I actually was entitled to a Special Stay Visa for LIFE for a one off $10000 BDS . This is for a person and spouse and is really equivalent to Residency , in that I have an ID card and can travel in and out of the country, or STAY indefinitely. ( before BREXIT $10000 BDS would not have hurt so much but that was my fault for delaying )

So, the following August, I made an appointment to see the lady in Immi, I had met before , and armed with the necessary silly form which is really used to apply for an extension, but is also used for this. My Police Character Refce. My Birth Certificate, Copies of my bank accounts from the UK showing I received a couple of Pensions to keep me, Copies of my Bajan account . Proof of my Pensions, and Health Insurance , Land tax bill and Deeds to my little condo ( Which had to be worth a minimum of $150000.00 US ( not millions at at all ) I plonked the copy of the Retirement website in front of her, and said " I think you got my age wrong , I seem to be entitled to THIS Visa for LIFE !!"

She agreed, and sent me a letter in September directing me to come and pay the money . I paid, and that was that-----------------I can now stay forever in BIM NO problem.

So, you do need to buy a house first, but really, you cannot say that $150 thousand US is over the top,if you are thinking of retiring to somewhere like Barbados, and THEN you can apply and it's easy, provided you have met the age of 60 and can manage a one off payment of $5000 US ---------------it's plain sailing from then on.

I can't imagine who told you all this rubbish about "Investing" and bringing in Millions etc. It is just not true unless it was based on the fact that you do not have a house of your own and did not intend to buy one ( surly if you are committed to live somewhere, you would want your own place ?? ). I do not have millions, and struggled to find the $5000 US , but I am so relieved to have this VISA for the Island I love so much, it was worth every cent.

beachseeker

Thank you Happyowner for taking the time to join this forum, and then sharing your story and providing clarification to others on this site. It just shows how much the goal posts change depending on who you speak with. I still wish they would put specific details on their website so the steps are clear to all of us. I have several friends here in Barbados who are reading this string and they have some connections in government. Perhaps the message will make it's way to the bureaucrats that update and insert information on the web.

Welcome to the site - there is a lot of good information here. Thank you once again.

Happyowner

Thank you Beachseeker. I have been lurking on this forum since I joined in around 2009, but I never felt moved to post until I read you thread and spoke to Sunnie, who is a friend of mine.

I was so horrified by what you had been told , I just had to say what can happen if you just buy a little house, and surely, if you want to retire somewhere, you would be better off owning, than renting ? I bought my little condo some 10 years ago, but I don't believe the length of time matters that much, it's doing the deed that makes the difference.

Serendipidy

Wow Happy Owner that is the great and comprehensive information for questions re retirement in Barbados and the retirement special stay visa

You are lucky to have come across that kind lady on trip advisor and as we always say to people on this forum the info you receive can all depend on which immigration officer you speak to. It was great that the officer you spoke to acknowledged her mistake and followed through

I am going to copy and paste your comments and put a new forum post up here with the title as it will help a lot of people

I am guessing this is the website you mentioned?

http://www.retireinthecaribbean.com/

Happyowner

Hi Serendipidy------------------Yes that is the website, and I shall thank that kind Irish lady who p m'd it to me for ever. Funnily enough I asked someone in the ID department what the difference was between my Visa and Full Residence and there seems to be none apart from the right to vote. So when I no longer have to return to the UK at odd intervals I could look into it, but if they would want more money, I wouldn't bother.

I certainly won't be waving my ID card around on the bus . I'd rather spend my last two dollars than admit my age in person lol