During recent testimony to the Standing Finance Committee the Department of Immigration’s Deputy Chief Immigration Officer (DCIO) advised that there are currently 1,721 pending applications for belongership and residency status.
Of those, 275 are belongership applications.
The DCIO advised that the department has recorded a massive increase in applications for residency and belongership since the return to a 10-year threshold for eligibility in 2022. More specifically, the DCIO stated that there was a massive influx between June 2022 and February 2023. The influx was said to reflect more than a 100% increase when compared to previous years.
She explained that during that time a number of people had to be turned away and asked to re-apply because they had applied for belongership without first achieving residency status, which is a prerequisite to belongership.
Focusing specifically on applications for belongership by marriage, the DCIO was asked to provide a timeline for processing those applications.
The DCIO went on to clarify the process of granting belongership by marriage, noting that 41 such applications were still being processed at the time.
The DCIO confirmed that the law states that someone who is married to a Virgin Islander or Belonger becomes eligible to become a belonger after 5 years of marriage. Following applications by both persons, the applications are checked by the department following which the applicants must be interviewed. Following the interview, a recommendation is made to the Cabinet for consideration.
It was explained that the Department uses a method of alternating during the reviewing applications of different kinds. The example given at the time was that in a case where 10 interviews occur, they alternate between reviewing belongership, belongership by marriage and residency applications to ensure balanced processing.