I am officially tired and frustrated
 

well this yr would be 6 yrs since i have been married to my bajan hubby, i applied for citizenship since early 08 and gotten reside and work documents. I then got my ID card and insurance card, my ID card has now expired in late march. My husband and i got our interview in april of this year (finally, which was a horrible experience) they then requested lots of additional documents which i provided. Now that my ID card expired and so does my reside and work documents, i cant work in barbados or transact any legal business because they now put me back on extension and it stated i am a visitor and cannot work. The officer that interviewed us said that we will hear from them in due course and i will receive my official documents at a ceremony, i just dont know how long i can take this. I would like to transact business but cant, i would like to apply for a drivers licence but cant because i will need my ID card. :(

Re: I am officially tired and frustrated
 

Hi VSaul ya frustration is understandable but the worst is over...they dont want you to jump through hoops in Bim they want you to set fire to them and limbo through...power mad...im guessing a drivers licence dont stop you driving as can get temporary but really as there is no accountability for the "services" provided by barbados government officials..you got no where to go with your frustration...u got no choice girl but to put ya head down and wait for them to get bored of the games....feel free to come vent here lol cos we knows ya pain lol!!

Re: I am officially tired and frustrated
 

I hope to hear from them soon and get a letter in mail saying I got citizenship!! I don't want to ever have to go there again, awful people. They just kept asking for more and more documents for me to carry in to them, hopefully they don't ask for more.

Re: I am officially tired and frustrated
 

I, too, am a little ttired and frustrated with the seemingly endless hoops my husband I are having to jump. It is very energy sapping to have to go through meeting after meeting to take tiny steps towards living in Barbados. At thee moment it would appear to be easier to swim there than take the official route. I have to force myself to remember the beaches, the people, the sunshine and the endless sugar cane fields around what I hope to soon call my home. Roll on September!

Re: I am officially tired and frustrated
 

I honestly think they hope to wear people down so they give up ... the thing is am i wrong when i say this is a civil right? if this happened in UK/US i am sure there would be crys of racism or infringement of civil liberties for such treatment of immigrants

Re: I am officially tired and frustrated
 

I feel your pain. My husband waited 5 years for his permanent residence. However those years flew by. This is just the pace and way things are done on Barbados. Sometimes though you need to bother them (in a nice way) down at immigration. This is what he finally did and lo and behold it was granted!! Perseverance it's worth it. And by the way sugar cane fields, almost extinct.

Re: I am officially tired and frustrated
 

I was asked to leave Barbados about a year ago in order to obtain a :Special Entry" Visa. My lawyer submitted the form just after my leaving. I, also, in April submitted a "Re-Entry" Visa for my return. To date, I still await acknowledgement of the Visas. As I own property there I am, of course, anxious to get back to the island. Having spoken to Immigration, I was informed that my application was, with many others, waiting on someone's desk to be seen. As it is now nearly a year and no further forward does anyone have any solutions

Re: I am officially tired and frustrated
 

OMG! That's awful. We've made it in on a short term VISA so far and are very aware of how precarious our status is but, as yet, all the hassle now seems worth it - and the ( empty now) sugar cane fields are still waving at us. Good luck lizzie.

Re: I am officially tired and frustrated
 

Lizzie, am I reading this right? You were asked to leave and you own property???

Were you working? With a work permit?

Are you a UK passport holder?

Have you tried to get back in just as a normal tourist?

Surely you should be entitled to up to 6 months as a UK passport holder.

Unless you have been naughty in some way. It doesnt take much.

And what is a Special Entry visa all of a sudden?

So frustrating, and you are not the only one.

Re: I am officially tired and frustrated
 

This is not unusual. I am a Bajan a professional and I applied to work, yes there were vacancies. Each time I visited on vacation and hoped for an interview, I was told the invitation was sent (always after I returned to the UK). I have continued to work abroad. I have land for over 10 years with the intention to build but like you each time more and more documents are required. This is live in most hot countries, i have spent most of my years working in hot countries. So you just have to chill!

Re: I am officially tired and frustrated
 

Sounds aweful. I am married to a Grenadian, getting citizenship involved paying 200 pounds, filling in a few forms and getting a docs letter plus form from the uk police, then sitting back for 3 months. Very civilised.

Re: I am officially tired and frustrated
 

With Barbados unlike Grenada, people are queuing up to live there. Barbados has been recruiting nurses from the Philippines and South Africa, how many other islands in the Caribbean has taken on this role? Even England is making it difficult for emigration, so of course little Barbados has to face the fact that it can no longer say yes to everyone I was in Barbados in 2007 and worked with a lady who came for a vacation and never left the county. How many other countries can one do such a thing?? Keep smiling and be patience and things will eventual come to fruition. It is not a first world country, although it would like to believe it is!

Re: I am officially tired and frustrated
 

Grenada makes it impossible to immigrate unless you meet the criteria, but its then just easier. Actually im not sure, what is the allure of barbados? I never found it as pretty as the mountainous islands, a bit scruffy in a lot of places.

Seeiously, unless you have a familial connection, why do people choose barbados?

Re: I am officially tired and frustrated
 

Its a good question Bob..why Barbados?...I think that it is a home from home for us Brits...there are a lot of British influences that are familiar..names, places, foods etc...also the standards of the roads, public transport, building infrastructure and the beauty of the beaches (for me St Lucia is the prettiest of the islands I have seen) also the direct flights and availability of them. For me I have always "felt safe" in Barbados although I have experienced a number of reasons not too it seems its not a feeling I have had when in Grenada, St Vincent, Jamaica, Trinidad, Antigua...maybe its the smallness of the place that gives me that feeling. Someone mentioned earlier its not a 1st world country but I heard it now is as of a couple of years ago (ironically this has affected important grants that were previously given by America for such things as HIV medication and awareness). All in all for me I choose Barbados as it represented a set of moral, family, spiritual and work/play balance that I have not found in the UK....but I am challenging myself to look elsewhere ...Cayman was disappointing as for me it had no soul or culture ..so bottom line for me Barbados "feels" safe, beautiful, friendly and developed

Re: I am officially tired and frustrated
 

Interesting. I am married to a grenadian and have been there (and to most eastern caribbean islands) lots of times.

For me, Grenada is the most beautiful of the mountainous tropical islands. It is a bit wild compared with tobago and st lucia,cbut nicer for it. Sure like most islands living is different, with some limitations in terms of getting stuff, and in terms of the cost of importing.

However, it has the most superb beaches, the most beautiful rainforest, and a lot of really nice places to enjoy yourself. In recent years the sophistication of shopping, eating out and leisure activities has increased, and house prices have remained affordable so i am spending more time there.

The lovely old fashioned people have been and remain the islands best assets.

Im not sure that i care about the poor performance of the cruising economy, some surveys i have read say these ships should not be encouraged, i am more interested in the resurgence of small hideaway locally run hotels and guesthouses. Sure the sandals resort by the airport (best place for it) is a money spinner, but for the island economy and for the locals i feel the smaller establishments mean more.