A bill entitled “Immigration and Passport Validation Bill 2023” was laid before the House of Assembly today by Deputy Premier Hon. Kye Rymer.
This after the Governor took emergency action to allow the House of Assembly to reconvene today in order to address legal challenges to the belogership and voting status of 688 Virgin Islanders.
As explained by Rymer this new bill was brought to the House of Assembly on the advice of the Attorney General. This, to correct an issue said to have been caused by an oversight by the previous Attorney General when advising cabinet on the Fast Track Programme in 2019.
Despite the issue that has unfolded, Rymer stressed that this does not invalidate the value of programmes such as the Fast Track Programme which allow deserving persons, many of which fall victim to backlogs in the immigration system, to gain legal status in the Virgin Islands.
He also took the opportunity to assure Virgin Islanders that the process of recalling the house is a constitutionally supported move, and that this decision will not impact the upcoming General Election.