Back in December, the government announced that it would be conducting an amnesty program. They expect that as many as 40,000 irregular migrants could qualify for permanent residence under the program. Today, after months of planning, preparation and even a postponement, that program finally kicked off with a launch held in Belmopan.
For the next ten months, those who qualify will have a chance at getting a permanent resident status which will put them on the path to citizenship.
Four out of those ten months will be for receiving applications and the next six will be used for vetting them. And so far, the Ministry of Immigration has 6,000 applications pending already.
Here is a snippet from the launch:
And CEO Gilroy Middleton allayed concerns of those "just-come" immigrants who do not qualify but who may still try to slip in.
For more information on the Amnesty Program, residents can visit the ministry's website at immigration.gov.bz.
