Well, that was interesting...

On the morning of December 05, 2016 we visited the Barbados Immigration Office in downtown Bridgetown. This visit became necessary due to the stamps that were placed in our Passports when we first arrived here in Barbados (our stamps look just like the one pictured but the date was September 30, 2016). We were given three months approval to remain in Barbados even though we discussed our need for a 6 month stamp with the Immigration booth attendant / officer when we arrived at the Immigration wicket at the airport. She just smiled and gave us three months - apparently this is the new process - even though the Canadian High Commission website and the Barbados Immigration website each say Canadians may remain in Barbados for 6 months.

All of this meant our legal status as a tourist / visitor was due to expire at the end of December, 2016, and we would then be considered illegal aliens in their country. And, apparently, they are not very happy with visitors who over-stay their welcome.

Prior to today's visit we had stopped by the Immigration office to inquire about forms that would be necessary for an "extension of stay". We stepped into the reception area and were stopped in our tracks with a loud “you can't come in here like that” comment from the door security. We asked them if they had a form for an extension of stay and they reluctantly handed it to us with looks of disapproval and disdain for our apparent poor behavior for showing our shoulders and knees in a government office. On our way out with the forms we saw a sign posted on the exterior of the building (that we had not read due to our initial delight in just finding the correct address) and it gives explicit instructions about the dress code – what is allowed and what is not allowed....no shirt no shoes no service...

Upon filling out and signing the form and then finding and purchasing passport photos from a nearby photo shop, today we embarked on our journey back into Bridgetown on one of those “interesting” yellow buses with the blaring Jamaican rap. It took several blocks to shake that out of our heads while we walked toward the Immigration Office, and then we ducked inside the front foyer and changed our shirts from t-shirts and tank tops to short sleeved shirts with button-down collars. We both wore long pants and our suntanned legs were complaining profusely about that. All that to say we finally ended up in the long line up to wait to see the first Immigration Officer. It was sort of the same as standing and waiting to get into a favourite bar in downtown Vancouver and being able to see the slow trickle of customers being let in two at a time every 5 minutes. It took an hour to finally get to the front of the line and hand in our documents. He looked at them and made a couple of small notes by hand, stapled our mug shots to the form, and told us to get in the line up at the cashier to pay the fee for their service.

The line up at the cashier was short and we were each able to pay the $100 required for changing / correcting the initial stamp in our Passport (...I think this whole process is their way of getting more tourist income....). Along with a couple of obligatory ink stamps ("PAID") that had to be pounded onto our forms, we got our forms handed back again, and we were then instructed to go sit in the reception / waiting area until our names were called. We sat there and read our books, and watched almost all of the other people get called and get directed to one of seven small interview rooms – labeled room A, and Rooms 1 through 6.

Our name was eventually called - please proceed to room 1 - and then we found ourselves inside a small room with just enough space for two chairs to fit facing each other with knee space for only one person. We managed to squeeze in and then we had a long interview with a very nice Immigration Officer (Ms Arthur). She was very polite but made sure she got all of our personal information, our current accommodation details, my past history in working in Barbados (still in their records), and our long term plans for living in Barbados. All the while I felt like she was making observations of how Cyndi and I behaved toward one another as I am sure they don't want people moving to their country if they are not getting along....

When I asked about our long term residency plans for either Immigrant Status or Residency Status she said we would need to speak with another officer who dealt with those matters. She was not available at the moment and we were instead provided with a phone number that we could contact her at. She did indicate that people who wish to be granted residency in Barbados would normally get that through the Barbados Citizenship By Investment Program (whereby potential new immigrants would invest some millions of dollars in land holdings or a new development), or perhaps through their Immigrant Status Program whereby immigrants have already invested in real estate here and have a summer home that they own and visit each year for 10 or 20 years (up to 6 months in Barbados and then back to their home country again). They would look at those sorts of commitments as a positive influence on gaining residency on the island.

All of this took 2 hours and 15 minutes. We were very happy to go for lunch at a waterfront cafe along the Careenage called Jazz on the Waterfront. Crab cake on a sesame bun with potato wedges, salad, and of course Bajan hot sauce.

Our passports are now being held by the Barbados Immigration Office to allow them time to do more detailed investigations of our backgrounds and we were told to come and collect them again after 21 business days had past – as it turns out, that would be past the time of our initial stamp in our passport and then we would be considered illegal aliens.... hmmmmm... hopefully our lives will be without incident between the end of December 2016 and when they actually got around to stamping our passports and handing them back again.....