If you are a non-Bermudian, i.e. a foreign national, you will need a work permit to work and live in Bermuda. You yourself can not apply for the work permit. It's your employer, i.e. the company or establishment hiring you will need to apply for the work permit for you.
And normally an employer can do so only after they demonstrate that there is no eligible Bermudian available for the job and therefore they had to offer the job to you.
The work permit is then issued by Bermuda's Department of Immigration on the name of the employee but for an employment only with the specific employer who applied for it and not for any other employment. It may take several weeks to process the work permit although in normal circumstances the department aims to issue the permit within 20 working days.
Note that although Bermuda is a British Overseas Territory, it is not a member of the European Union (EU), and therefore citizens of all the EU countries as well as those of the UK, are required to follow the same procedure as a citizen of the USA or Canada would (or for that matter as national of any other country seeking a job in Bermuda). They do not have an automatic right to work in Bermuda. This includes even visiting consultants and guest speakers.
Over 20% of the Bermuda's population are expatriates and working in Bermuda on work permits. Bermuda presently has a resident population of about 65,000. Annually over 10,000 work permits of 1-5 years validity have been issued in Bermuda over the past few years. And this excludes temporary work permits. However, to work and live in Bermuda, you will need the work permit regardless of your nationality and job role.
Earlier there used to be a maximum term limit of 6 years beyond which �a work permit could not be further extended, and the employee had to leave the island. This term limit has been eliminated by the OBA (One Bermuda Alliance) led government in 2013. However as before, a foreign national will continue to require and obtain a work permit in order to work and live in Bermuda. Before expiry of the Work Permit and depending on further requirement, the work permit can be renewed or extended.
Elimination of the term limit does not mean offering permanent residency or citizenship to a foreign national. This move has been made to attract better expat participation in order to grow the island's economy. However, when a company applies for a work permit for a non-Bermudian, it needs to specify a period and pay up for the fees accordingly. A work permit for longer period has higher fees.
As recorded in Bermuda Digest of Statistics 2022 issued by Department of Statistics (Government of Bermuda), in 2021 the estimated number of work permits issued were 6813, out of which number of Private Sector Work Permits issued were 6,469 and number of Public Sector Work Permits issued were only 344.
Unless you are a Bermudian, married to a Bermudian or have a Permanent Resident's Certificate, you need to hold a valid work permit to work in Bermuda.
Several different types of work permits are issued by Bermuda's Department of Immigration. The employer needs to apply for a type based on the requirement ( 1. Type of work, 2. Length of time the employee will be working in Bermuda) and by paying the appropriate fees.
There are 7 different types of work permits. 1. Standard Work PermitsStandard Work Permits are issued to all organizations to employ foreign nationals provided they can demonstrate that no Bermudian, spouse of a Bermudian or a Permanent Resident Card (PRC) holder is qualified or available for such job. Standard work permit is issued for 1 to 5 years. Most foreign nationals get jobs in Bermuda on this work permit. Companies can apply for this type of work permit for open, special or restricted category of jobs and not for closed category.
As of 2023, One-year Standard Work Permit fee is $1015.00, two-year permit fee is $2,530.00, three-year fee is $3,795.00 etc. Often the employer recovers the work permit fee from the salary of the employee.
2. Periodic Work PermitsPeriodic Work Permits are applicable when an employer hires a non-resident who will need to visit the island several times over a period but for short intervals (of up to 30 days). This includes persons contracted for periodic services like business consulting as well as visiting sales persons etc. If a longer stay is required beyond 30 days, it can be extended by another 30 days.
Such periodic work permits are also issued for a period of 1 to 5 years. In case the Bermuda based company engages an overseas company to provide the periodic service and not an individual, this work permit can be issued on the name of the overseas company instead of an individual so that different foreign individuals from the overseas company can periodically visit Bermuda to provide the service.
The fee structure of Periodic Work Permits is similar to that of Standard Work Permit fee. 3. Short Term Work PermitsShort term work permits are applicable for visiting sportsmen, entertainers etc. It's issued for up to 6 months but can be extended by another 6 months. It may be used by all employers including non-profit organizations, religious institutions and registered charities to employ individuals for the said amount of time. Normally, this work permit can not be used for seeking employment in the island.
Fee for a Short Term Permit for up to 3 months is $705, up to 6 months is $1070 (in 2023). 4. Global Work PermitGlobal Work Permit can be issued to a foreign employee who is already employed elsewhere in a global company and being transferred to Bermuda in a new role, without the requirement to advertise the position. This work permit is issued for 1 - 5 years.
1-year Global Work Permit fee is $1,955, 5-year fee is $7,460 (in 2023). 5. New Business Work PermitsNew Business Work Permits are automatically issued to new start up businesses in Bermuda. Up to five such work permits are issued in the first six months of operation of such business. This permit can be issued for a period starting from 1 year and up to 5 years.
1-year New Business Work Permit fee is $1,955, 5-year fee is $7,460 (in 2023). 6. Global Entrepreneur (GE) Work PermitsGlobal Entrepreneur Work Permits are issued to exempted companies to bring in foreign expert for a period of up to 1 year in work related to business planning, working on government approvals etc.
1-year GE Work Permit fee is $1,955 (in 2023). 7. Fintech Business Work PermitThis allows a Fintech (Financial Technology) company that is new to Bermuda, to receive an automatic approval of up to 5 Fintech Business Work Permits for the first six months of obtaining the first new Fintech Business Work Permit. It can be issued for anything between 1-5 years. Fees for this are the same as the fees for Global Work Permits.
Note that in all types of work permits, the employer specifies the initial time period in the application and pays up the work permit fees accordingly (longer the period, higher is the application fee). Application can not however mention a period which is more than the maximum allowed in the type of work permit. All work permits may be extended if required. All extensions require separate fees.
By government policy, all companies (except some that are exempted or those applying for periodic work permits) should advertise for their jobs at least on three separate days in a local news paper over a period of 8 days. Jobs are usually advertised in Bermuda's only daily The Royal Gazette. The employers are also required to advertise their job positions in Government Job Board at www.bermudajobboard.bm for minimum 8 consecutive days.
And, they must give first preference to Bermudians, their spouses or permanent residents. Which means that an eligible Bermudian if available, should get the first consideration for the job. This is to ensure that locals are given preference for a job before an external skill is hired. Only in the case where the company is unable to find a suitable qualified local Bermudian to fulfill the job requirement, should they consider expatriate applications.
So does it mean that job prospects in Bermuda are very limited? No. There are number of areas where Bermuda has shortage in skills and there are good Employment Opportunities .
But there are some areas where jobs are closed to foreigners, some where restrictions apply, while some require special conditions to be met. Check Bermuda Closed and�Restricted Jobs for more information on such job categories.
Once the initial work permit expires, the employer can apply for extension. Theoretically, any number of extensions are possible. However before the application for extension is made, the employer need to again check for eligible Bermudian for the position through advertisements. So again a Bermudian would be given a preference.
Once the requirement of the job role ceases or your role becomes redundant, unless a substitute job is available or a new job is found within a stipulated time, one needs to leave the island.
Remember, you can not and should not look for a job while on a visit to Bermuda as a tourist. This will be futile and no company will entertain that. As per policy, you can apply for the job only from outside Bermuda. Once the job is offered, only then the employer can apply for the work permit on your behalf. Note that it's always an employer, not any prospective employee, who submits a Work Permit application to Bermuda Immigration.
When a job is advertised by a specific employer and you apply for the job and eventually get the job offer, the employer obtains a Work Permit application form from Bermuda Immigration. He then sends it to your home address (i.e. to the address of the prospective employee). The application form can also be downloaded from Government of Bermuda's website. You then need to complete the form and send it back to that employer who then formally submits the Work Permit application.
Make sure that you provide everything that is requested, exactly as asked for, together with supporting documentation (e.g. certified passport photos, certified proof of qualifications, medical and police clearances/criminal checks). Put together the relevant paperwork and submit it to your new employer as a single package rather than submitting documents separately. Return your completed documentation by courier. You will normally be able to reclaim your cost as a part of your relocation package.
Normally the following documents are asked for-There is no set period for processing the Work Permit. It can take from weeks to several months. You will need to fill up a detailed questionnaire form and send it to your employer. The hiring company needs to furnish a lot of details like your medical history, medical evidence that you can work in subtropical region, you can sustain constant high humidity, have no non-permissible disease like HIV, tuberculosis etc., have a clean previous employment record, and much more.
Department of Immigration issues the work permit to the hiring company and they should in turn send that to you. It is issued when the application for a specific job role has been approved.
When you enter Bermuda, you should have the original work permit with you and the required work visa (as may be applicable depending on your nationality).
Remember that work permit can no way result in immigration or automatic right of abode for any national even though you may end up staying in Bermuda for years. The only exception can be if you get married to a Bermudian while in Bermuda, and live together for a minimum of 10 years, then you can apply for citizenship.
If you are applying for a professional job in Bermuda, check if the employer has received the Good Corporate Citizen status. A company with such status consistently meets a set of criteria and comes in the good book of the government. This will help in much faster and smoother processing of your work permit by Department of Immigration.
Update: Effective August 25, 2017 Police Certificate has been made mandatory while applying for work permits. Affected work permit categories include standard, global entrepreneur, global, and new business work permits. Employers will need to produce police certificate of the applicant which should be valid for minimum 6 months. This is a step towards ensuring candidature is bonafide.
An employer makes the application for a work permit, pays the application fees, and then the work permit is issued by the Department of Immigration only for that employer and the applicant employee. So the same work permit can not be used to change your job and get a new employment. Any potential new employer has to make a fresh application for a work permit for you.
Secondly while on the island, an expat needs to work in the same company for minimum of 2 years before one can apply for a change in job. And no more than 1 change is allowed in a period of 5 years. However there can be exceptions though. Only in cases where you can demonstrate that you have been treated unfairly or made redundant by the employer, can you change your job. If you quit your job, another work permit is not issued and you will need to leave Bermuda.
If you are applying for a professional job in Bermuda, you should have a minimum bachelor degree and preferably higher degrees like masters or doctorate. There are some job categories for which work permits are issued, for some categories it is restricted and for some it is not issued at all.
Check out Bermuda Employment Opportunities to know what may be your chances of getting a job and a work permit in Bermuda. Remember, you can not start your own company in Bermuda or own a business with a work permit. Doing business in Bermuda will require separate documentation, you will need to find a local partner who needs to own at least 60% stake in the business.
There is no separate Bermuda entry visa required for any foreign national coming to Bermuda on a work permit. However all nationals other than those from USA, UK and Canada require a Multi Re-Entry Visa (MRV) for the country they are transiting through.
So for example if you are transiting through the UK, you will require an MRV of UK (which is currently a type of UK Standard Visitors Visa) to be landed in Bermuda. And this MRV and passport must be valid for minimum 45 days beyond the date of expiry of your work permit. Passport of foreign nationals who do not require MRV should be valid for at least the date of expiry of the work permit (45 days additional validity is not required in such case).
Read the relevant sections under Visa Requirements for Bermuda for more details.Your spouse can come and live with you in Bermuda if you have a work permit. However, if your spouse wants to work in Bermuda, he or she has to go through the same process to get a separate work permit. Otherwise the spouse would need to stay without work. In case your spouse has managed to get his or her own work permit, the renewal of that will be conditional on renewal of your own work permit which is considered the primary permit.
If you have more than two children, you are unlikely to be considered in a private sector job and also perhaps in a public sector job. That's because Government of Bermuda discourages this tiny island to get over populated, or over-burden the schools. If you have more than two dependent kids, your ability to financially support them in Bermuda would also come under the scanner. A child born to non-Bermudians in Bermuda does not become a citizen of Bermuda. Today in some job categories like in case of waiters, a non-Bermudian employee can not bring in spouse or children to Bermuda.
Having come to Bermuda on a work permit, you will generally not be able to own a home and will need to stay in rental accommodations. However there are exceptions though. Property prices in Bermuda for expatriates are far higher and limited to the top 5% valuations of real estate for a single family dwelling. So, if you are moving to Bermuda, check out Living in Bermuda to know what to expect and prepare for as you take the big leap in life.
Note that once you finish your term or decide to quit your job and return to your home country, you will no longer retain any rights as an expatriate employee in Bermuda. You will be required to go through the entire procedure of obtaining a work permit all over again as a new comer and will be treated as a new applicant.
This is a new system that has been piloted for some cases when an employer may want you to arrive in Bermuda more quickly than would be possible under the standard work permit. This would allow you to be granted a temporary, fast-track permit by which you can get into your job function immediately. You will still need to apply for a regular permit. However, under this system, it is possible for you to have permission to move to the Island earlier than would otherwise be the case.
The local government has adopted this system to tackle delays in application turnaround times. They have decided on dropping some steps from the vetting process, which would be carried out electronically rather than the paper system. This was cumbersome and more prone to human error.
These permits are used sparingly but usually require the following basic information:If a business visitor has a return ticket, they do not need work permit permissions. Moreover, their stay should not exceed 21 days (an extension can be obtained) and are required to undertake certain types of activities, some of which are:
One can enter Bermuda for up to 21 business days without a work permit for training in techniques and work practices, provided:
