4 days ago
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The House of Representatives met today to consider several bills. In today’s sitting of the House of Representatives, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Francis Fonseca, shed light on Belize’s participation in the Free Movement of People Initiative, which officially took effect on October 1 in collaboration with three other CARICOM Member States, namely, Jamaica, Barbados, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Minister Fonseca explained that the initiative represents a historic milestone in regional integration, allowing citizens of the participating nations to live and work freely across each other’s territories without the need for work permits. The program, he emphasized, seeks to gradually expand across CARICOM as part of efforts to enhance mobility, employment opportunities, and socio-economic cohesion within the Caribbean community.
Francis Fonseca: “Citizens of these four countries can now live, work and move freely without a work permit, without a skill certificate and without restriction based on occupation. Belize has prepared carefully for this transition, adopting an administrative approach from commencement to ensure a smooth and secure rollout. This includes a monitoring phase to assess implementation and identify operational gaps, cabinet approval and submission of a finalized bill to Parliament to formalize this arrangement in law, is forthcoming. Implementation systems in place include a new indefinite stay stamp, which is in use at all ports of entry, affirming the rights of nationals from these participating Member States to live and work in Belize. After registration with Social Security, nationals will be able to facilitate access to essential services such as education, healthcare and social security. In support of financial inclusion, the Central Bank of Belize has issued guidance to domestic banks to ensure that CARICOM Nationals, their spouses and dependents can access financial services once they have received their indefinite stay stamp. Security and health safeguards remain fully intact. Oversight measures ensure that individuals who pose a threat to public safety or who may become a burden on the state may be refused entry or removed in accordance with established procedures.”
Minister Fonseca noted that while Belize’s participation aligns with the region’s broader vision of integration, the Free Movement Initiative differs from the existing CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) framework. Unlike the CSME, which entails deeper economic harmonization and trade liberalization measures, this initiative focuses primarily on people-to-people movement, emphasizing cultural, labor, and educational exchanges rather than full market unification. Fonseca also compared Belize’s participation to other regional mobility frameworks, such as those seen in the European Union and the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), noting that Belize’s model prioritizes gradual integration and reciprocal arrangements to ensure inclusivity and sustainable growth.
Francis Fonseca: “In the EU, only about 2 % of citizens live in another member state, with 1 to 1.5 million people moving annually within a population of 448 million. Similarly, CARICOM, with a population of approximately 16 million, recorded just 15,000 intra-regional movements between 2007 and 2018, less than 1 % under the skills and establishment regimes. In fact, within the first week of implementing full free movement, only seven Barbadian nationals arrived, two for tourism and five for business purposes, none of them living, planning to live in Belize. And on any given year, less than 500 Karakum nationals under the skilled regime are recorded living in Belize. The decision by Belize, Barbados, Dominica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines to implement full free movement of CARICOM nationals therefore represents a pragmatic and forward-looking step toward deeper regional integration, enhancing opportunity and cohesion without triggering population shifts.”
The Foreign Minister elaborated that Belize’s unique geographic and socio-economic landscape requires a tailored approach to implementation. He underscored that Belize remains committed to ensuring that the framework is mutually beneficial, balancing opportunities for regional integration with the need to safeguard local employment and social systems
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