English Language Proficiency Requirement

The Policy introduces a new English language proficiency requirement for all foreign nationals for standard work permits in an effort to ensure that all persons coming to work in Bermuda have a working knowledge of the English language sufficient to perform their duties in a safe manner. Previously, this requirement applied only to Portuguese citizens. It now applies to everyone who is not a national of a country where English is the native language and who does not have a degree from a university or college where the language of instruction is English.

The burden is on the employer to confirm such proficiency in advance of hiring a candidate. That proficiency should be ascertained by the Test of English as a Foreign Language or its equivalent, and the test result must be submitted with the work permit application.

New Permits Categories

A new work permit category, called the Family Office Work Permit, has been added to the types of work permits now available to employers. It allows a company, limited liability company, partnership or other legal entity incorporated, registered or established for a single family for the purpose of managing that family’s affairs to receive automatic approval of five work permits within the first six months of obtaining the first work permit in this category. The family company at issue must be new to Bermuda.

The Family Office Work Permit does not apply to jobs that are in closed or restricted categories, nor is it available for entry level, graduate or trainee positions. The processing time for these permits is ten working days (so ten working days shorter than that for a standard work permit), and no advertising of the position at issue is required. However, once the term of the Family Office Work Permit expires, such a permit cannot be renewed, and the employer must apply for a standard work permit (with all of its regular requirements, such as advertising of the position to find a suitably qualified Bermudian, spouse of Bermudian or PRC holder, if applicable) if it wishes for the employee to continue to work at the family office.

Ability of Employers to Obtain Work Permits and Promotion Permission

As was previously the case, employees on standard or new business work permits are discouraged from obtaining employment with a new employer within two years of employment by an initial employer. They may only seek such employment with permission from the Minister of Immigration (Minister). Presumably, this is to protect the interests of employers who have invested time and money into bringing new employees onto the island and training them.

In addition, for new work permits, job changes, such as promotions, will not be approved within the first year after issuance. For renewed work permits, job changes, including promotions, will not be approved for the first six months after issuance. This, no doubt, has to do with the different advertising requirements for work permits versus permission for promotions, and attempts to ensure that employers do not try to subvert the intention of the Act and the Policy to provide employment opportunities to qualified Bermudians, spouses of Bermudians and PRC holders whenever possible.

Although these requirements have not changed, it is important for employers to keep in mind that in order to promote an employee on a standard work permit to a different job within the same business, the employer must first advertise the position internally and, if there is no suitably qualified Bermudian, spouse of Bermudian or PRC holder to do the job, apply for permission to promote in writing. In order to continue to employ a work permit holder in the same job beyond the expiry date of the current work permit, the employer must follow the standard process for obtaining a work permit. In such cases, the renewal application must be submitted no less than a month and no more than three months before the expiry of the current work permit.

Documents to be Submitted with Applications

The Policy also sets out a number of changes and clarifies requirements with respect to documents to be submitted with work permit applications. The most significant of these are likely the guidelines with respect to police certificates. For applicants coming to Bermuda for the first time, the applicants must now submit a police certificate from their home country, as well as any country of residence for the two years immediately preceding the work permit application. Importantly, the police certificate must now be a national police document, encompassing records from the entirety of the relevant countries, and not limited solely to a specific locality or jurisdiction. For the United States for example, this likely means obtaining an FBI certificate, which is a more complicated process than a state or county record check. If the police certificate is generated electronically or refers to an online portal, it needs to be certified as the authenticated police certificate that was issued. Police certificates continue to be good for only six months from date of issue.

More detailed guidelines with respect to the submission of acceptable photographs have also been included in the Policy. The Policy does not, however, speak to medical certificates, other than in the context of individuals from jurisdictions identified as high risk for tuberculosis. Presumably, medical certificates are therefore only required from applicants who meet the criteria specified for having lived in such jurisdictions.

The above are by no means all of the changes to the work permit policy, but they are some of the most significant ones. Interestingly, one of the changes contemplated during the consultation process which would have increased the processing time for standard work permits from twenty working days to thirty working days was not adopted in the final version of the Policy. The turnaround times for processing work permits have therefore largely stayed the same, with the only exceptions being the emergency short term permit and the landing permit. Hopefully, clarification of all of the changes that have been made in the Policy will make the work permit application and related processes easier for employers and applicants alike.

First Published in the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce Newsletter (Chamber Insider), October 2025