The small Caribbean island of Barbados, part of the British Commonwealth, has recently experienced a sharp spike in the number of COVID-19 cases. As of 14 February 2021, Barbados had 2,061 positive cases of COVID-19. Nearly 80 percent of these cases have been reported since the start of 2021; Barbados had reported only 383 positive […]
Last updated: October 2022
From UNHCR, "Submission on Barbados to the Universal Periodic Revew, Fourth Cycle, 43rd Session," May 2022
Migration matters are regulated by the 1966 Constitution of Barbados, the Barbados Citizenship Act, and the 1976 Immigration Act. Barbados has ratified the ILO Migration for Employment Convention in 1967, the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime in 2014, the Protocol Against Smuggling of Migrants in 2014, and the Protocol to Prevent Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children in 2014. Policies regarding visa issuance and entry requirements for foreign nationals vary but all CARICOM nationals are automatically granted a six-month-stay and have less stringent entry requirements.
The Immigration Act is currently under revision, but UNHCR has not had the opportunity to review and comment on it. The Immigration Act provides that“A person who is refused permission to enter Barbados may be detained in custody by an immigration officer or a member of the Police Force in such place as the Minister approves until he is removed from Barbados.” There is little available information about how many people are detained for immigration or asylum-related reasons or the extent to which the country imposes immigration detention.
Barbados has become a major destination for migrants from Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, and OECS Member States due to“a perceived robust economy, overall high standard of living and a well‐developed social services system” . Barbados Coast Guard is the entity responsible for the enforcement of provisions of every law relating to the regulation of any harbor or port of Barbados, quarantine, immigration, fisheries, territorial waters and economic zones, safety at sea, the detection and prevention of the contravention of laws relating to revenue and customs, the prevention or persons from boarding, holding or clinging on to any vessel without the permission of the master of the vessel, and, if necessary, the removal of any such person from the vessel.
There is an estimated population of 35,000 Venezuelan nationals in Barbados, but there are no data available on the number of Haitians/persons of Haitian descent. There is no readmission agreements with Venezuela or Haiti in the public domain and it is not known how many Venezuelans or Haitians have been deported or have regularized their status. In 2022, a group of 33 Haitians, suspected victims of trafficking en route to Guyana, received a six-month permit to stay under the CARICOM freedom of movement scheme within the economic community.
Barbados succeeded to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons on 6 March 1972 and retained a number of the reservations made by the United Kingdom on notification of the territorial application of the Convention. Barbados is not a State party to the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. Nationality is governed by the 1966 Constitution of Barbados and the 1966 Barbados Citizenship Act. The nationality framework incorporates ius soli and ius sanguinis provision for the determination of Barbadian citizenship. It is UNHCR’s understanding that the Government intends to adopt a new Act on Citizenship in 2022/23.
DETENTION STATISTICS
Administrative Migration Detainee Entries
Not Available
2019
DETENTION CAPACITY
ALTERNATIVES TO DETENTION
ADDITIONAL ENFORCEMENT DATA
PRISON DATA
POPULATION DATA
LEGAL & REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
Does the Country Have Specific Laws that Provide for Migration-Related Detention?
GROUNDS FOR DETENTION
Immigration-Status-Related Grounds
LENGTH OF DETENTION
DETENTION INSTITUTIONS
PROCEDURAL STANDARDS & SAFEGUARDS
COSTS & OUTSOURCING
COVID-19 DATA
TRANSPARENCY
MONITORING
NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS MONITORING BODIES
NATIONAL PREVENTIVE MECHANISMS (OPTIONAL PROTOCOL TO UN CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE)
NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS (NGOS)
GOVERNMENTAL MONITORING BODIES
INTERNATIONAL DETENTION MONITORING
INTERNATIONAL TREATIES & TREATY BODIES
International Treaties Ratified
Ratification Year
Observation Date
CTOCTP, Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children
2014
2014
CTOCSP, Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime
2014
2014
Ratio of relevant international treaties ratified
Ratio: 10/19
> UN Special Procedures
> UN Universal Periodic Review
Relevant Recommendations or Observations from the UN Universal Periodic Review
Recommendation Issued
No
Year Issued
2023
UPR Cycle
4th
Sources
Human Rights Council, "Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic
Review* Barbados" 10 May 2023, United Nations General Assembly, https://documents.un.org/doc/undoc/gen/g23/118/59/pdf/g2311859.pdf
Recommendation Issued
No
Year Issued
2009
Sources
Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review Barbados, A/HRC/10/73, 9 January 2009, https://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/document/barbados/session_3_-_december_2008/ahrc1073barbadose.pdf
Recommendation Issued
No
Year Issued
2013
Sources
United Nations. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Universal Periodic Review Documentation.
REGIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS
Regional Legal Instruments
HEALTH CARE PROVISION
HEALTH IMPACTS
COVID-19
Country Updates
The small Caribbean island of Barbados, part of the British Commonwealth, has recently experienced a sharp spike in the number of COVID-19 cases. As of 14 February 2021, Barbados had 2,061 positive cases of COVID-19. Nearly 80 percent of these cases have been reported since the start of 2021; Barbados had reported only 383 positive cases as of 31 December 2020.
An outbreak in early January 2021 in HMP Dodds Prison has been called the nation’s largest COVID-19 cluster, and counted 363 infected persons at its peak: 261 inmates, 85 officers, and 17 staff. Reports indicated that as of 1 February the situation had been stabilised because of “extensive sanitation, preventive scanning, testing, quarantining, […] isolation of prison officers, civilian staff, and inmates at Dodds,” in addition to expanding medical facilities and ventilation capacities (Nation News, 01.02.21).
The government’s policies to curb the pandemic from March until May 2020 included widespread testing and a curfew — initially a night curfew, which was later extended to be a 24-hour curfew. The measures in HMP Dodds Prison included quarantining newly entering prisoners for 14 days, temperature-taking, isolation of people with symptoms, testing, and banning external visits. In the light of the new surge in cases in 2021, new measures were introduced in the country on 1 January and tightened on 3 February, including a curfew, limited shop openings, banning public gatherings, and mask obligations.
The government did not close its borders after the onset of the pandemic and received a limited number of international commercial flights from the U.S. and UK in particular. Cruise ships were also allowed to dock on or anchor around the island while awaiting further operations. However, the government imposed mandatory quarantine for travellers entering the country and there have been numerous instances of non-citizens who broke it being ordered to pay a fine of BAD$6,000 before being allowed to leave. One recent case has gathered attention for its particular severity — a 49-year-old Jamaican was sentenced to 6 months in prison after not being given enough time to gather money for the fine.
The country’s Immigration Act (February 1976) provides that “A person who is refused permission to enter Barbados may be detained in custody by an immigration officer or a member of the Police Force in such place as the Minister approves until he is removed from Barbados.”
The U.S. Department of State 2018 Human Rights Practices Report for Barbados mentions that the country does not have legal provisions for granting asylum or refugee status.
There is little available information about how many people are detained for immigration- or asylum-related reasons or the extent to which the country imposes migrant-related detention measures.
Government Agencies
Barbados Immigration Department - https://barbadosdigital.com/articles/immigration-department
Barbados Government Information Service - https://gisbarbados.gov.bb/
International Organisations
UNHCR Barbados Profile - https://www.unhcr.org/where-we-work/countries/barbados
ILO, Barbados Profile - https://www.ilo.org/regions-and-countries/latin-america-and-caribbean/caribbean/barbados
IOM, Caribbean Regional Office (San José, Puerto Rico) - https://lac.iom.int/en/iom-regional-office
NGO & Research Institutions
Amnesty International, Barbados - https://www.amnesty.org/en/
Ombudsman Barbados - https://www.gov.bb/Departments/ombudsman
Human Rights Barbados - https://www.hrw.org/americas/barbados
