Barbados' Ambassador to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), David Commissiong, said Haitian nationals are being deceived to come to Barbados, following the decision of the regional governments to remove the visa requirement with conditions for Haitians to visit the Member States https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-25982-haiti-flash-free-movement-without-visa-in-the-countries-of-caricom-for-haitians-under-condition.html

"What we see is that there seem to be in Haiti [...] unscrupulous individuals who deceive the Haitians [...] many Haitians are asked to pay between 2,500 and 3,000 US dollars, against the insurance of housing and finding them a job in Barbados, but that's not true," Ambassador Commissiong explained.

These statements come after 9 Haitians were expelled from a home on December 27 after paying a supposed agency, which promised them housing and work after their arrival in Barbados "We did not come to get into trouble . We paid to come and now that we are here, there is no work for us. We went to town, on construction sites, we went everywhere to look for work [...]", said one of the Haitian victim of crooks...

Some asked the local authorities to help them find temporary accommodation others said they would accept help getting tickets to get back to Haiti because they realized that their dream of a better life in Barbados could never become a reality said the Ambassador, adding that a document written in French, Creole and English, had been sent to the Haitian Government describing the conditions under which Haitians are allowed to enter Barbados as in all CARICOM member countries without VISA for a period of 6 months. However, the Haitian citizen will have to prove that he has sufficient financial resources to support himself for the duration of his stay without becoming a burden for public funds.

David Commissiong recalls "If a Haitian travels to Barbados as a visitor he is not allowed to work." However, if a Haitian national falls under the program of qualified nationals, who has one of the 10 currently approved skills and has a CARICOM certificate of competence, he may be allowed to work without the need for a specific work permit the Ambassador emphasizing "However, this only concerns a small fraction of the Haitian visitors who come, because to date, Haiti does not really have the structures in place to allow its inhabitants to fully participate in the national program CARICOM Skills."

See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-25982-haiti-flash-free-movement-without-visa-in-the-countries-of-caricom-for-haitians-under-condition.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-24859-haiti-flash-caricom-examines-the-free-movement-of-haitians.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-24722-haiti-flash-barbados-abolished-visas-for-haitians.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-23683-haiti-flash-free-movement-of-haitians-in-the-caricom-countries.html

SL/ HaitiLibre