Barbados Tourist Visa
A Barbados tourist visa is issued for either 3 or 6 months., You may need to apply for the visa before travelling to Barbados. To see if you need a Barbados tourist visa, please use the Visa HQ tool to the right.
Barbados Residency through your Family
If your spouse is a citizen or permanent resident of Barbados, you are eligible for residency. If your spouse is a citizen, you can apply for citizenship after being resident in Barbados for a period of 7 years. Please note that your status of spouse needs to be legally recognised in this country.
If your child is a citizen or permanent resident of Barbados, you may apply for a parent residency visa.
Barbados Work Permit
All immigrants who want to work in Barbados need to register with the immigration department before they start working. There is a short-term work permit that is valid for up to eleven months, but for a longer stay on the island, a long-term work permit is required which is valid for a maximum period of three years. An application fee of $150 needs to be paid and a number of documents have to be submitted with the application. A medical check is required, a police certificate of character, qualifications and a detailed cover letter explaining the nature of the employment or business and the duration of the employment.
Barbados Person of Independent Means Residency Visa
You can apply for Barbados residency if you can prove that you will not be a burden to the country. The Barbados immigration department does not publish an exact figure for exactly what this entails. Using a qualified and trusted local immigration lawyer will make this application much easier. You can either prove that you have income from sources outside Barbados (this is a defacto Retirement Visa) or that you will invest a significant amount into the Barbados economy by starting a business.
Barbados citizenship has many advantages, not least a Barbados passport. The Barbados passport was ranked 24th most powerful in the world, with visa-free access to 160 countries globally.
Barbados citizenship through your family
If you were born in Barbados, you are most likely a citizen of Barbados.
If your mother was born in Barbados and was a citizen of Barbados when you were born after 29th November 1966, you are probably also a citizen of Barbados.
If your father was a citizen of Barbados when you were born after 29th November 1966, you are probably also a citizen of Barbados.
If your spouse is a citizen or permanent resident of Barbados, you are eligible for residency. If your spouse is a citizen, you can apply for citizenship after being resident in Barbados for a period of 7 years. Please note that your status of spouse needs to be legally recognised in this country.
Barbados citizenship through residency and naturalisation
After 7 years of legally living in Barbados, you can apply for Barbados citizenship through naturalisation.
Barbados offers a residency option for an investment into a local business. This can be a pathway to Barbados citizenship and a Barbados passport.
Barbados Residency by investment
If you are a person of independent means and you are investing in a business in Barbados you can apply for Barbados residency.
You need to show that the business will benefit the local economy and will employ Barbados nationals.
After 7 years of residency, you can apply for Barbados citizenship and a Barbados passport.
Do you have experience moving to Barbados? We’d love to hear from you about why you chose to move to Barbados and the pros and cons of living and working in Barbados. We’d be very interested in your experience with Barbados visas and residency permits, Barbados citizenship, Barbados nationality, and Barbados passports. Please contact us to share your Expat story here.