Three pieces of legislation were passed in the Anguilla House of Assembly on Tuesday, December 15, to tighten up previous Acts to allow visitors to reside in Anguilla and to contribute to the economy.
The three legislative measures are:
• The Immigration and Passport (Amendment) Act, 2020, which allows non-nationals to enter, reside and work remotely, in Anguilla, for a period of 12 months. It is part of the Government’s plans to mitigate the impacts of Covid-19 on the island’s economy.
• The Economic Residency (Amendment) (No. 2) Act, 2020, to provide an avenue for persons who have already invested in property in Anguilla to obtain residence by investment.
• The Select Anguilla Agency (Amendment) (No.2) Act 2020, to facilitate the Residence by Investment programme in terms of Select Anguilla Agency, and its alignment with the Ministry responsible for economic development and investment.
The Minister of Economic Development and Investment is Mr. Kyle Hodge, an Island-wide Elected Member of the governing Anguilla Progressive Movement Government. He and his colleague, the Minister of Home Affairs, Mr. Kenneth Hodge, tabled the amending legislation in the House. Minister Kyle Hodge serves in the fifth Ministry of Government which was created under the recent amendments to the Anguilla Constitution and by a split of Premier Ellis Webster’s responsibilities.
Mr. Kenneth Hodge explained that the amendment to the Immigration and Passport Act was to enable Immigration Officers, at the ports of entry, to grant up to 12 months stay in Anguilla to digital nomads as opposed to the six months previously granted.
He continued: “The Act only currently allows officers to grant persons a period not exceeding six months on entry…As I said, Madam Speaker, this amendment will allow officers at the ports of entry to facilitate entry up to a period of 12 months. There is also an inherit convenience in this, as well, in that it basically minimises contact with and inconvenience to our visitors in this Covid pandemic.”
Commenting on the legislation, Minister of Infrastructure and Tourism, Mr. Haydn Hughes, credited the Government’s team for their work, particularly with respect to Covid-19, the subsequent lockdown of the island and the handling of economic development. He referred especially to the work of the Parliamentary Secretary, Mrs. Quincia Gumbs-Marie.
He stated: “Madam Speaker, I have been so honoured and privileged to have as a team-mate the Honourable Parliamentary Secretary, a brilliant, smart and articulate lady – but we don’t give her enough credit for the job she has been doing in tourism and economic development. She said that we should have a programme where people could leave wherever they are in the world and come to a destination as beautiful and wonderful as Anguilla.”
He praised her for her insight and the benefits the programme provides for Anguilla. He went on: “We have the ability to empower our Immigration and Labour Department by ensuring that we have the right legislation in place. It will give them the authority and the tools to ensure that this digital nomad programme, that we have unveiled, will benefit the people of Anguilla. When persons come to Anguilla to work digitally, they are not taking away jobs from you and me, Madam Speaker; or from the hotelier, restauranteur, taxi-driver, boat operator, or anybody else. They are coming to work remotely from home. Now, with this legislation, we are not only telling the market that we have a digital nomad programme, but it is enshrined in the law.”
Mr. Hughes added: “We must also give tremendous credit to the Minister for Immigration and Labour, Mr. Kenneth Hodge, and his team; and also to the Attorney General and his team for working very hard to ensure that we can come to parliament in less than a year to pass this legislation.”
Island-wide Elected Representative on the Opposition side of the House of Assembly, Mr. Jose Vanterpool, also spoke on the Immigration and Passport (Amendment) Act. He said in part: “Madam Speaker, anyone who has followed the campaigns, throughout the election cycle, will know that this push for digital nomads was something that was touted by both sides. I would dare say that it was initially touted by our side but, regardless of which side brought it first, I want to congratulate the Government for fulfilling their mandate and coming through with this promise.”
Mr. Vanterpool, an Island Scholar with a Master’s Degree in Computer Science, added: “I have long been an advocate for the potential transforming of Anguilla’s economy through the use of technology as a second pillar – to add to what we already have for tourism. We saw how fragile our economy is by having all of our eggs in this one tourism basket. When Covid-19 set in, we were forced to close our borders, resulting in the majority of persons in our economy being left without employment, even until today.
“Madam Speaker, by empowering our children in Anguilla, with the skills of these digital nomads…I think we have the potential of training them in the more viable and sustainable aspects of our economy – with technology being a pillar that stands beside tourism.”
Commenting on the provision of the Act, Mrs. Gumbs-Marie said it was phase-one of the digital nomads programme. “It is geared primarily at a time when Covid-19 is the major concern in tourism, and we realise that it is safer to make Anguilla attractive to long-term guests,” she explained. “They do their two-week quarantine and we don’t have to worry about them doing activities in the bubble. After that, they will be here and will have the opportunity, like my colleague from Road South said, to rent from Anguillians; purchase from Anguilla’s grocery stores; drive Anguillian rental vehicles and even, in some cases, have their children in Anguillian schools. That is also part of the programme because we are also appealing to families.”
The Parliamentary Secretary stressed that Anguilla was boasting a good internet service and access, and was in the same time zone as the United States of America. “All of these things help to make Anguilla an attractive place for a programme like this,” she concluded.
Leader of the Opposition, and Former Minister of Home Affairs and Immigration, Mrs. Cora Richardson-Hodge, speaking on the Economic Residency (Amendment) Act, said in part: “The original Economic Residence Act was passed by the former Anguilla United Front Government in 2019. It was during that time that there would have been a discussion and a realisation that we ought to make provisions for economic residence. Many persons may or may not know that we are unable to issue passports as in many countries. And while we are unable to give economic citizenship, we are able to provide economic residence.
“As the mover of this Bill mentioned, the importance of section three allows for persons, who owned property in Anguilla, to obtain economic residency so that even when the Principal Act was passed in 2019, there was a retroactive aspect to allow persons to be able to benefit from economic residence.”
She continued: “For those persons who came to Anguilla long before the economic residency programme….they ought to be allowed the opportunity to become economic residents. I applaud the extensions that are being provided in paragraph three of the Act.”
Minister Kyle Hodge, who explained the various amendments to the Economic Residence legislation, was praised for his work by Minister Kenneth Hodge who said: “I believe the Minister’s heart is in the right place and that we will see one or two things happening under his Ministry of Economic Development in the years to come – not only to 2025, but in 2030 and beyond.
“I would like to commend the Minister and to wish him the best as he forges ahead in fielding economic opportunities for Anguilla.”
