Consular Division Responds To Concerns over Residency Applications

The Office of the Deputy Governor has released a statement following reports by some individuals who expressed concerns that they were still required to submit bank statements when applying for residency. In August, Premier Donaldson Romeo announced the temporary removal of the savings requirement for persons wishing to apply for their permanent residency permit

The Consular Division within the Office of the Deputy Governor issued a statement on Tuesday, stating that the policy removing the savings requirements only came into effect on October 7th 2019. Therefore, the division would not have been in a position to accept nor process permanent residence applications before that date as there was no legal basis upon which to do so.

This policy is only applicable to individuals who have been a resident on Montserrat for 12 years or more and is only available for a limited time.

In relation, to the issue of requesting bank statements, applicants are advised that as per Regulation 3(c), they are required to provide proof to the satisfaction of the Governor, that he or she has consistent and adequate income from employment or any other source, to maintain himself or herself and dependents who live in Montserrat. The provision of a Bank statement is one such piece of proof which helps to satisfy this requirement.

 The Office of Deputy Governor is, therefore, asking applicants who have any further questions or comments on the application process for Permanent Residency in Montserrat under the new residency savings waiver to contact the Office of the Deputy.

All applications for permanent residency are approved by Cabinet.