Non-nationals to pay more for services at the Immigration Department

The Immigration Department will be introducing a new set of fees more than three years after they were approved by the Cabinet of Antigua and Barbuda.
As of next Wednesday, Caricom and non-Caricom nationals will have to pay more money to apply for extensions, work permits, student permits and other services available at the department.
In some cases, nationals living outside of Caricom will have to pay twice as much for the same services. For example, to apply for a three-month extension, a Caricom national will now be required to pay $150 instead of the usual $75, while a national outside of Caricom will have to pay $300.
In addition to fees for the extension, it is mandatory for the applicant to submit a return ticket each time they apply for an extension of time.
The same fee applies to people applying for work permit applications for one year or a  student permit.
A Caricom national applying for a residency certificate will have to pay a non-refundable processing fee of $200 and $2,000 for the 3-year certificate upon approval. A visitor living outside of Caricom will be subjected to pay the non-refundable $200 processing fee, as well as $3,500 when the document is approved.
Eulandis Pilgrim, station chief at the Immigration Headquarters Extension Division, told our newsroom yesterday that this is the first time in 15 years that changes are being made.
“This is nothing new, it is outlined in the Act that governs the operation of the Immigration Department. It is just that they are now being enforced,” Pilgrim said.