pavani

Hi all,

where can i find informations how to open a business in bbs and move in with my family?

Maria

Sunniebgi

my first suggestion is that you read through this forum.. there are many good posts about opening businesses and moving to Barbados.

in a nut shell, unless you have something truly spectacular or tons and tons of money with which to live on, it's not the easiest thing to do. Barbados Immigration and the Business Ministries are willing for you to come here, but living here is a totally different matter. have a read and then decide

Serendipidy

Totally agree with Sunnie - Starting up a business in Barbados is completely unrelated to moving there. Anyone can start a business but does not mean you can work for it or live in the country.

pavani

Many thanks for the quick replies.

I live in italy and is not easy understand how the life is here. Many people in the world think this is a paradise...may be just for a short time.

We aren't so rich to live without work. We want expat and start a new life, working hard like here, but without stress ( high traffic, bad people, shitting politics, more 50% tax,etc ).

I read many documents how to open a business in bbs (very easy compared to italy), but don't found any good information about the owner (can i work inside? is there a immigration permit for me and my family when i start it?)

I'll read all the old post now

ps: sorry for my poor english.

Thanks again!
Maria

Sunniebgi

You may spend the money to open a business and hire the employees, but to work in your own business, you must have a work permit. this is not the easiest thing to do even as the business owner.

it's unfortunately, but that's the way it is.

Serendipidy

Your English is very good Maria compared to my Italian (non existent lol) - well done for writing so well

There is an italian couple who owns Mama Mia's and i think an italian restaurant called Luigi's

here is the link for their restaurant
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biNn8CpadXk

who knows maybe if you contacted them they might be able to advise you in Italian on your business plans etc - Barbadians and people who settle there are very friendly so might be worth an email if you could find their email address

pavani

@Serendipidy, tnx, but i'm pretty sure that my english is not good. Italian people are famous to speak only italian and use hands to 'speak' other languages (i'm one of them). Anyway i watched the video: the pizza is the real italian pizza (somewhere i saw fake disgusting italian pizza). To be onest i understand 95% of Guise Ferri spoken and only 40% of other two girls LOL I'll try to contact she , thanks for the suggestion

@Sunniebgi, i saw you know well the laws. I have many doubts how to moving. We can fly to bbs with a tourist permit (3-6months valid), but:
- with this permit, can i open a business or is needed a different permit?
- Can i rent house and rooms for my business?
- when i open the business, my permit will change in other or must i go home when it is not valid?
- hire locals, is in my intention but if i can't work inside, who/how they will work without know the job?

Thanks again!!
Maria

pavani

@Serendipidy, tnx, but i'm pretty sure that my english is not good. Italian people are famous to speak only italian and use hands to 'speak' other languages (i'm one of them). Anyway i watched the video: the pizza is the real italian pizza (somewhere i saw fake disgusting italian pizza). To be onest i understand 95% of Guise Ferri spoken and only 40% of other two girls I'll try to contact she , thanks for the suggestion

@Sunniebgi, i saw you know well the laws. I have many doubts how to moving. We can fly to bbs with a tourist permit (3-6months valid), but:
- with this permit, can i open a business or is needed a different permit?
- Can i rent house and rooms for my business?
- when i open the business, my permit will change in other or must i go home when it is not valid?
- hire locals, is in my intention but if i can't work inside, who/how they will work without know the job?

Thanks again for your nice help!
Maria

evie202

You need to form a company to own a business . The odds on you being allowed to stay and run the business are ridiculously small , sorry but just been through this . I have had to leave my business and lease it out . It really isn't worth the stress , there are many less hostile islands !

pavani

Ugh, i'm very sorry for your business. I wrote an email, can you answer?

TERRYBENT

Hi Maria

I opened a bar restaurant seven years ago, it lasted two years, if you are thinking of going into bars and restaurants my best advice is dont!

In order to get a work permit yourself then it can be a long drawn out process, mine took over a year to come through, however you can own a business and nominally run the the business whilst employing locals. That said I know someone who got a work permit to set up a one person business, employing no locals, and with no investment last year!

Rents for commercial properties in tourist areas are high and a lot of businesses are closing because landlords have no concept of how hard things are at the moment.

If you are looking to work in an area where you need govenmental licences or permission, forget it. I have been waiting for 4 years for a government licence for my new venture and they simply ignore you. The current government do not seem to like expats (Brits in particular).

If you know what you want to do look at this website wwwinvestbarbados.org if you still want to go ahead email the CEO at [email protected] and he will be able to help.

As all have said before it is not easy but with the right help, and Wayne Kirton is the right help, it might just happen!

Terry

pavani

Hi Terry many thanks for your post,

My idea is not really a restaurant but similar (after my visits i'll decide exactly what) Can you explain the main problem? No tourists/clients? Too much tax? Too high rent? Bad/wrong employees?

What i don't understand in this moment are all the steps from the begin (i tried to find informations on the net, but nothing). How to open a business in just 3 months? Invest money in a business without have the garantee to stay in the country is dangerous (or i understand wrong this?).

This sound much like italy...

Identical identical to my country. :-O Do you know the costs for a rent ?

Governative licenses for what? Anyway i think to not need this

In the last months i written to many many people and sites, also investbarbados. Mr. Marshall has answered to me with all the informations about the documents for the license, forms for incentive and much more (i'll meet them during my soon visit). Unfortunately don't explain much about the permits, costs and possible problems.

Maria

Serendipidy

Maria hopefully i can answer a few questions

To set up a business you have to contact a lawyer (dont think you can do it on your own) who will register the company with the correct bodies this takes a couple of months. You then have to set up bank accounts - not an easy thing to do at all as you have to supply references from previous banks and character refs etc. You will also need a permanent address in Barbados. You can set up the company as an entity but obviously dont have to go into setting up a bar or restaurant etc immediately.

As Terry mentioned employing locals is not a requirement - I too was a one person company but I was set up under a previous government. My approach was to set up my company with my lawyer first then once set up I moved to Barbados and applied for my work permit as CEO of my company. This took 8 months to come through and I think i got mine because my expertise are in off shore IT services so a skills requirement. You will not likely get one for managing a restaurant or bar or club or anything similar as a local can do that and will not need your expertise.

Only once I got my work permit did i officially relocate to Barbados although I was residing there waiting for it to come through - I knew there was no guarantee on getting it so kept my home here in UK at same time. Like i said this was years ago and I was allowed to wait on island until my permit came through - unlikely that will happen now as most are getting 3 months permits. Therefore it is likely any permit you request will have to be submitted and then you return in the event it is granted. It would be then i would suggest you set up your investment - please note a decision could take up to 2 years and you will be constantlly asked for further paperwork so it was in my interest to go through a lawyer. If and when a permit is allocated it will be for 1-3 years and I think the cost I paid years ago was around $4000bds for 3 years. You also need to add to this the cost of Company Setup Fees, Lawyer cost and Application Fees I cant remember the fees I paid but the figure of $11,000bds total outlay sticks in my head (this may have included my accomodation costs for that period tho)

Once the permit time is up you then need to go for a renewal which again will cost the same amount for the subsequent periods but they can take years to make a decision on a renewal and meanwhile you and your business is in limbo although they say it can operate as normal how can you operate a busines with no idea of its feasiblitity for next 3 years?. This is a really precarious situation to be in because if they deny you at any stage of any application you will be asked to leave the island with 2 weeks notice and not return for 1-2 years. This is an awful situation many have faced with people having assets ie houses, cars, leases and children in schools.

I strongly suggest you dont make any real investments or decision until the next election is over to see who is in power. According to Wikipedia "The next general election in Barbados must be held by January 2013. According to the Constitution of Barbados elections can take place no longer than every five years. The last general election was held on 15 January 2008." - others are saying that the election is likely to be held before then and siting early next year.

TERRYBENT

Serendipity, as you will know everything is made up as they go along at immigration however people get different experiences.
I have replied to Maria in a PM but to not confuse people in my experience some of your above points are way off the mark, that I experienced!
1. You DO NOT need a lawyer to set up a business. I used one for my first company but did my second myself and it took 2 visits each lasting 10 minutes. All of the paperwork can be downloaded on the CAIPO Website.
2. As the OWNER/INVESTOR in a business be it a bar or whatever you will, and I did, get a work permit. Half of the bar/restaurants on the island would not exist if the owners could not get them.
3. Whilst your application is submitted immigration issued me with visa extensions for 13 months until mine was approved, and I know plenty of others who have been treated the same.
4. The cost of setting up a company yourself is under $1000, paying an attorney to deal with WP applications though could cost you $10,000 however the Bar Council will advise you of the correct fee as it is regulated.
5. I know of no person who has been self employed or employed by their own company to have too many problems with renewals, especially if they have been paying staff and taxes on time and correctly. If you have come to the notice of the authorities however that is a different matter. Work Permits issued to people to be employed on contracts are the main ones being declined at present as the law has always said that if you are here doing a job part of your employers agreement in being granted it is that they use you to train someone to do the job. Obviously some people fall foul of immigration for a variety of reasons, the most common being overstaying their visa.
6. Working with Invest Barbados is a great way to do it as they make things go smoothly and give all the advice needed. I didnt on my first company, wish I had and would always deal with them now!

Finally, yes you are right, a change of Government will probably make a big difference, it has been clear to me that things have changed under the current administration, why I recommend anyone opening a business not to just cosy up to the current government but prepare for change. Personal opinion is this lot will hang on until Jan 2013 as it will be close at the moment and they may not win, ask the expats and they all think they are doing an awful job, however drink in rum shops as I do and ask the "poor black man" and they think they are doing OK, the one thing is that if they had called an election once Mr Thompson died they would have walked it, by hanging on they are in the middle of a deep recession and it may not go their way, hence why I think they will cling to power now as long as they can!

Please dont think I am trying to disagree with you, I am simply telling my story, which clearly is different to your experience. I moved here lock, stock and barrel, rented a house for a year opened the business within 10 weeks, bought a house a year later and here I am still, everyone gets different experiences, the most important lesson I have learnt is NEVER, NEVER argue with anyone in Immigration however frustrated you get or how stupid you get treated! They hold your life in their hands, rocket scientists they are not but powerful? Hell YES!

Serendipidy

Terry whereas its healthy for someone to debate and challenge anything that is said on here including myself i find that your comment that im way off the mark in your experiences to be somewhat confrontational when im expressing my own experiences maybe you have friends in all the right places whereas some of us are not that lucky.

In relation to permits You state "Half of the bar/restaurants on the island would not exist if the owners could not get them" are you saying that half the island bars and restaurants are owned by expats cos thats not my experience in fact some of the ones i did know who did own had problems with extensions etc so have sold up

I had extensive experience with invest barbados both here in the UK and in Barbados even attending and speaking at a hotel conference here in the UK and found them to be nothing but talk. I was a Barbados youth business mentor and a member of the small business association as well as being on a board of a local IT association and i paid all my taxes and had no immigration visa issues and still had problems with a renewal which i actually asked to withdraw in the end.

Good luck with whoever feels they might get a 13 month extension whilst your permit is approved cos again i guess its who ya know cos i have never heard that from any expat i know or ever on this site before. Out of interest Terry when did you go through the whole process was it recently or way back when things were easier?

Apologies to other readers if i sound a little agitated but sometimes its not what is said but how its said - I might be a moderator but even i get the hump sometimes