Amnesty On The Horizon For Non-nationals Who Have Been Unjustifiably Denied Citizenship

Government is moving to grant amnesty to people who are living in the country and who have experienced difficulty in obtaining citizenship, even though they qualify.

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, the Hon. Steadroy Benjamin says hundreds or perhaps thousands of people have been deliberately denied citizenship as a direct policy of the former administration.

Benjamin says the government is moving to correct this wrong by piloting the Immigration and Passport (Amendment) Bill 2015, through parliament.

According to Benjamin…many in the non-national community were deliberately frustrated as a matter of policy to provide grounds for turning down their applications.

He says the government has sought advice from near and far on how best to correct what he termed an ‘unjust’ situation.

Benjamin says when the members are voting to approve the bill…he wants a division…which means that each member would have to stand individually and indicate how he or she intends to vote.