Opinion | A Better Turks and Caicos Islands: Learning from Bermuda’s Immigration System

The Turks and Caicos Islands has developed rapidly, and immigration has played an important part in supplying the labour, skills and investment needed for that development. However, as the country continues to grow, immigration policy should also ensure that Turks and Caicos Islanders are not left behind in their own economy.

TCI's population was approximately 52,299 in 2025, according to the TCI Statistics Authority, with real GDP growth of 4.5% and unemployment of about 4%. This means we are dealing with a relatively small population alongside a rapidly expanding economy. Decisions about employment, residency and population growth can therefore have a significant long-term effect on the country.

Bermuda provides a useful example. Its 2026 work-permit policy requires most non-Bermudians to obtain permission before working. Employers must first advertise positions locally and properly consider qualified Bermudians. Bermuda currently has 48 categories of employment closed to overseas workers, while another 18 categories are restricted, meaning additional conditions apply before a foreign worker can be employed.

That is one feature I believe TCI should seriously consider strengthening.

TCI already has protections. Government guidance says a work-permit application should be made only where there is a genuine job and attempts to recruit a Turks and Caicos Islander have failed. Employers must advertise qualifying positions locally, provide salary information and demonstrate attempts to recruit Islanders.

So the problem is not simply that TCI has no local-employment protection. We already have important rules. The question is whether our rules are strong enough, targeted enough and consistently enforced.

What I believe TCI should adopt from Bermuda

1.      Create a clear list of jobs reserved for Turks and Caicos Islanders. Entry-level and other occupations for which sufficient qualified Islanders are available should normally be unavailable for new overseas work permits. The categories could be reviewed annually according to labour-market data rather than being permanent.

2.      Create a second list of restricted occupations. Where TCI has some qualified people but not enough to fill every vacancy, employers should have to demonstrate serious recruitment and training efforts before receiving overseas permits. Bermuda uses both closed and restricted categories rather than treating every occupation the same way.

3.      Give qualified Islanders genuine first consideration. Advertising a vacancy should not become merely a formality before an overseas employee is hired. Employers requesting a permit should document which Islanders applied, their qualifications, whether they were interviewed, and the legitimate reason they were not selected.

4.      Protect opportunities for young Islanders. Bermuda has said summer employment and internships should be reserved for Bermudians. TCI could take a similar approach so our high-school graduates, Community College students and young adults can obtain their first work experience instead of being told they lack experience while entry-level jobs disappear.

5.      Connect work permits to training and succession planning. When a company repeatedly employs expatriates in skilled positions, it should be required in appropriate cases to identify and train Islanders who could eventually move into those positions. Immigration should therefore contribute to developing our people rather than creating permanent dependence on imported labour.

6.      Strengthen enforcement against working outside the approved occupation. Bermuda emphasizes that workers must have valid permission and comply with the conditions of their permit, with sanctions for unauthorized employment. TCI should continue improving inspections and enforcement so someone admitted for one occupation cannot simply move into another without approval.

7.      Make the system more transparent. Government could publish annual figures showing work permits by occupation, nationality, industry, renewals, refusals, local applicants and positions transitioned to Islanders. This would allow the public to judge whether immigration policy is actually serving the national interest.

8.      Strengthen border and background checks. Bermuda announced further immigration measures on September 3, 2026 aimed at border security, security vetting and protecting employment opportunities. TCI, because of its size and geographic position, also needs modern information-sharing and identity-verification systems.

9.      Review pathways to permanent residence carefully. Bermuda generally allows certain long-term residents to seek a Permanent Resident's Certificate after at least 20 years of ordinary residence, with other specific categories having different requirements. TCI currently provides, among its routes, a PRC pathway based on ten years of continuous legal residence subject to other requirements. These are substantial policy differences and deserve national discussion.

10.                                   Keep immigration connected to economic need. We should never create a system that prevents businesses from obtaining doctors, teachers, engineers, specialist tradespeople, hospitality professionals or other skills genuinely unavailable locally. Bermuda itself recognizes this balance: protect Bermudian opportunities while allowing immigration to address real labour shortages and support economic growth.

Protecting our economy

A stronger system could protect the TCI economy by ensuring that more of the wages created by economic expansion go to Turks and Caicos Islanders and long-term lawful residents, while businesses retain access to skills they genuinely need.

It could also encourage companies to invest more seriously in scholarships, apprenticeships, professional development and training.

The aim should not be "foreign workers versus Turks and Caicos Islanders." Many expatriate workers have contributed significantly to building the Turks and Caicos Islands. The objective should be a system in which immigration complements the local population rather than unnecessarily replacing it.

Protecting our population and national identity

TCI is a very small territory. Immigration decisions made today can shape the size and composition of our population for generations.

Turks and Caicos Islander Status is already recognized by Government as the country's highest local immigration status, governed principally by the Constitution and the Turks and Caicos Islander Status legislation.

That makes it reasonable for Government to have a long-term population policy asking: How large should our population become? What skills do we need? How many people can our schools, hospitals, roads, housing supply and infrastructure reasonably support? How do we maintain a strong Turks and Caicos identity while remaining an open and successful economy?

Those questions should be answered through data and national planning rather than immigration decisions being considered one work permit at a time.

Immigration reform alone is not enough

There are several other areas I would place alongside immigration reform in a national plan for a better Turks and Caicos Islands: stronger technical and vocational education; affordable housing and home ownership for Islanders; better public transportation; improved roads, drainage and utilities; stronger healthcare; more investment in youth and sports; greater protection of beaches, reefs and Crown land; diversification beyond tourism; support for locally owned businesses; and programmes that prepare young Turks and Caicos Islanders for management, professional and ownership positions.

My proposed principle would be simple:

Turks and Caicos Islanders should have the first opportunity to participate in the prosperity of the Turks and Caicos Islands, while immigration should supply the skills, investment and labour that the country genuinely needs.

Bermuda's system is worth studying because it tries to make that distinction explicit. TCI already has some similar protections, but we could go further by establishing clearer protected occupations, stronger enforcement, workforce-development requirements, transparent statistics and a long-term population strategy.

That would not mean closing the Turks and Caicos Islands to the world. It would mean managing growth carefully so that development strengthens our people, our economy and the future of our country.