Barbados information needed please, moving & schooling
 

Hi,
I would be grateful if anyone could give advice on the following;
My husband is currently in Barbados and is in the process of obtaining his work permit (does anyone know how long a work permit lasts? does it have to be renewed?). I would like to join him with our two 13 year old boys as his work is likely to be ongoing for several years (we are all British citizens).
I thought we should initially plan to go for the allowed 6 months and if everything was OK, apply for an extended stay whilst we are there. Can anyone advise on how likely we are to be allowed to extend our stay presuming my husband's work permit is granted? (his firm has put the application in for him so I'm assuming there will not be a problem).
Also, regarding schools, I have read several different posts but I'm unsure what to do first - do we contact the schools independently in the first instance or should we contact the Barbados immigration department? How long does it usually take to arrange schooling and do we need to wait until we are in Barbados or can we apply before? How likely is it that my children will not find a place or be permitted to attend school in Barbados? I am concerned because if we were staying here they would be starting their GCSE subjects in September and if we have to return, they will have missed a whole chunk of schooling!
I'd be grateful for any help or advice!
Jane.

Re: Barbados information needed please, moving & schooling
 

Work permits have expiry dates, but I think it depends on the company, type of work etc. and there is no set answer as to how long or short it takes to get one.

RE schooling. The children, regardless of the school, will need a Student Visa to attend schools. This would likely only be obtained once the parents work permit has been granted. I would suggest 2 things.. Check with The Codrington School about possibly schooling for your boys at that age and also contact the Ministry of Education about their admittance into a government Secondary school (which is really their only choice other than Codrington). http://www.mes.gov.bb/contact.cfm check out this page for contact information, but if you send an e-mail follow it up with a phone call.

Good Luck.

Re: Barbados information needed please, moving & schooling
 

Hi there,

Thanks for your help and I will be following your advice.

Regards,

Jane.

Re: Barbados information needed please, moving & schooling
 

Hi Jane, We moved out to Barbados May 2007 with our little 7mth old boy, who settled well but I felt there was a lack of toddler groups and nurseries where we were living (St Peter) and after thinking long and hard we realised that he needed more contact with other children so we returned to the UK to settle back in North Devon. However, we are yet again in the throws of coming out in may to view some property with the hope that 2nd time lucky! We loved the island and all the people were so friendly, the whole way of life is so much more relaxed and healthier which is what we want for little Croyde. How have you found settling in? I have read your articles on schooling and wondered how you are getting on with them? We are looking at the websites for Codrington and St Gabriel's but first hand experience would be great. have you met many other young families as that is what I found hard being a new mum and no-one else to have a chat & coffee with! Would be great to hear from you, and perhaps we could meet up when we come over in May. Would love to hear from you, Many thanks Denise:cool:

Re: Barbados information needed please, moving & schooling
 

HI Denise,

I'm sorry your first experience in Barbados was not such a good one. I'm surprised as there are a number of british expats on the island and there is at least one toddler group that several british expats attend.

Your child wouldn't be ready for primary school just yet, not until they are 4 yrs, so you should be looking at pre-schools and nurseries.. I guess it will depend on what are you plan to reside in. If it's the west coast, there might be someone better on the site to help you out. There are several good ones in the middle of the island and on the south coast.

For Primary, if you do plan to stay for a while, I'd suggest getting on a waiting list as soon as possible. All 3 of mine attended or are attending St. Gabriel's and I am very satisfied with that choice. The schools website has not been updated lately, unfortunately, but it does give some good information.

Good luck with things and have a safe move.

Re: Barbados information needed please, moving & schooling
 

Hi SunnieBgi

Thanks for your info, I don't suppose you know where I can find the toddler group information from? It would be good to attend when we come out in May to view the properties. We are looking around heywoods in St Peter, do you think this might be a bit remote for residency? My husband loves surfing on the south (near the Hilton) so perhaps there is a more suited area that we don't know about. How long have you been on the island and where did you move from? I also understand from our previous neighbour in Heywoods that the work visa thing is quite hard to get, if you have any tips on how best to apply I would appreciate it. I am a Hairdresser but also do accounts/boook keeping for my husbands businesses. Thanks for your time on replying, I can't wait to get back there....the weather today is freezing and drizzling!!!! Denise:thumbdown:

Re: Barbados information needed please, moving & schooling
 

there is a Thursday Morning group. Anne Marie Hickey [[email protected]] This is the person in charge of this group or at least was. Send her an e-mail to see if she is still involved or can pass on the info who is.

Heywoods is way up the west coast, as you know, but I guess much depends on what you are doing, what kind of business you are in, if it's a work from home thing, it really doesn't matter where you are. We live in the middle of St. George, so it's easy enough to get to many things on all coasts, but even then somedays it feels like it takes forever to get anywhere.

I've been here 15 1/2 years and am originally from North Carolina. I still do find it difficult to live here, and unfortunately the price of many things is headed up sharply, so be considerate of that with your plans to move here. having said that, they are going up sharply everywhere.. so guess it really doesn't matter where you live these days.

Good luck with the work permit thing. There are some hairdressers I'm familiar with who have moved here from the UK, but to work, you should try to contact one of the salons here to see how they can help.