MANY Guyanese, who had made Barbados their home, are now, reluctantly, back in Guyana, with the approach of the December 31 deadline for those undocumented.

This is because of the new immigration policy being implemented by Barbados Prime Minister David Thompson, with effect from last June 1.

It gave amnesty to all CARICOM nationals who entered Barbados prior to December 31, 2005 and remained for more than eight years without having regularised their status.

They were allowed to stay on condition that they meet a set of requirements which the Government outlined.

Thompson had warned that, following the expiration of the qualifying period, those CARICOM nationals without lawful permission to remain will be deported.

Reports from Barbados said, with a large number of Guyanese no longer there, some businesses are beginning to lament the absence of their patronage.

Some small vendors have complained that their livelihood would be affected and the Guyana Chronicle has learnt that, even the entertainment industry on the island is feeling the squeeze, because, at any given time previously, Guyanese would turn out in their numbers at open air fetes, cruises and on beaches, spending freely.

A recent article in Barbados Nation newspaper reported that the Immigration Department expressed concern over the number of “obvious marriages of convenience” where non-nationals marry Barbadians in order to gain citizenship or permanent residence.

The problem manifests itself in either the non-national spouse scuttling the union before consummation of the marriage, having divorced or applied for some form of status for a new non-national partner, the article noted.

The Immigration Department view, contained in the ‘Green Paper’ on reform presented to the Barbados Parliament, is that there are strong suspicions that some Barbadian nationals are being paid to participate in such marriages of convenience.

Meanwhile, Guyana’s Honorary Consul in Barbados, Mr. Norman Faria said this country is taking a closer look at a recommendation to place limits on the granting of citizenship to children.

According to him, such a proposal, which is also in the ‘Green Paper’, has implications for the future of children of undocumented immigrants.