Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

Labour and Immigration’s merged system to come online by December 1

Labour and Immigration’s merged system to come online by December 1

The modernising process which will see the introduction of a fully online automation system between the Labour and Immigration departments is expected to be operational in time for the return of tourists on December 1.

According to Labour & Immigration Minister, Vincent Wheatley, during a recent interview.

He said test-runs have been done on the system, and once it goes online, it will result in faster processing times when travellers get to Customs and

“What we are doing this week is we have been modernising Labour and Immigration, reforming Labour and Immigration, bringing Labour and Immigration into modern times. What we are doing is automating the system and when we open the borders on December 1st, our brand-new Immigration system will be in play,” the minister stated.

He added: “We had all the systems turn on last week, we did some more testing on Wednesday this week, we are going to be ready. Instead of waiting maybe 20 minutes to clear Immigration at the airport, maybe five minutes. As we speak, the testing is going right on.”

System will do amazing things


Minister Wheatley also said the system is likely to result in the reduction of cost for customers. He briefly outlined some of the key features persons can expect once it becomes active.

“The new system can do some amazing things in a very very short time. For example, it can track the country of origin, it can track skills set, it can track gender, it can track for professions, it can track many many things, so you get a much better idea of what the true landscape is in the workforce in the BVI,” Wheatley said.

Online payments waiting on legislation


Wheatley said the goal of the initiative is to make the system a “one-stop shop” where persons can upload the relevant documents, pay online and have their documents returned to them without the usual hassle.

He said the online payments will only be possible once the needed legislation is passed through the House of Assembly.

“To get the online payments done, you got to get the legislation passed first which is going to happen very, very soon. They had the first reading in the House last week, so hopefully, before the year is done or early next year, we have everything in place to move to where we should have been years ago, a modernised public service,” he explained.

Staff to be refocused


With the implementation of the new technology, Wheatley said the normal number of staff required for the daily operations will no longer be necessary.

In assuring that no jobs will be affected, he said that those persons who are no longer needed to process physical applications will be relocated to a different area of focus.

“Instead of spending time processing work permits, they are now going to be spending more time inspecting businesses. That’s what we’re changing into - from ‘Labour’ to ‘Labour & Workforce Development’. We are going to be spending more time seeing how businesses are operating … So we are moving towards the inspection stage of things because we expect them to localise the workforce. But who’s checking to see if they’re localising the workforce?” Wheatley questioned.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×