By Kimone Francis
Asians make up the largest number of people requesting an extension of stay in Jamaica, accounting for 46 per cent of the 10,146 aliens registered in 2024, according to Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) records.
In its latest Economic and Social Survey Jamaica (ESSJ) report, the PIOJ said -there was a 19 per cent increase in the number of aliens registered in 2024, when compared to 2023, from 8,523 to 10,146 in 2023.
It said Asians accounted for the largest share or 46.6 per cent of individuals who requested extension of stay beyond six months, followed by Caribbean nationals,18.6 per cent, and Latin Americans,12.8 per cent.
An alien, under the Aliens Act of 1946, is defined as any person who is not a Jamaican citizen. The act distinguishes aliens from Jamaicans and Commonwealth citizens in certain contexts, particularly in relation to employment and visa requirements, but the core definition hinges on non-citizenship.
The 2024 report also said there was a 26 per cent increase in the number of Commonwealth citizens who migrated to Jamaica in 2024 from 2,861 to 3,630.
Immigration attorney Nadine Atkinson-Flowers said that while the report does not explicitly state the reason extensions were sought, it is likely that work permits are behind the requests.
WORLDWIDE PATTERN
She said that this has become a worldwide pattern, pointing to the United States, where there is a dedicated category for visas related to work permits for farm work or because of specialised skills and extraordinary abilities.
鈥淎 lot of those seeking extensions in Jamaica are likely doing so on work permits. If you are not a CARICOM national or have other Jamaican connection, just like with every other country, you cannot come to ours and just decide that you鈥檙e going to work. So a lot of the number may well be persons seeking extensions on work permits.
鈥淔rom our eye survey, we do see a lot of persons from Asian descent in the country in various categories of employment 鈥 construction, persons involved in car repairs. So I believe that is probably where a lot of persons are seeking extensions on work permits,鈥 Atkinson-Flowers said.
She said persons have reached out to her office 鈥渨ith the mistaken belief鈥 that they can travel to Jamaica and work freely without a permit, noting that she has had to dissuade them of the view.
Meanwhile, the PIOJ said the United States (US), Canada, and the United Kingdom (UK) continued being the major destinations for Jamaican migrants who are granted visas for permanent residence or citizenship.
It follows on a recent RJRGLEANER-commissioned Don Anderson poll in which participants selected the US as their top destination choice.
The North American country was selected by 49.9 per cent of those who said they would leave Jamaica while neighbouring Canada ranked second, with 42.6 per cent.
European countries and the UK were, together, the third most selected by respondents, at 23.2 per cent while 鈥榓nother Caribbean country鈥 was in fourth, with eight per cent. Countries in Asia were attractive to 4.8 per cent of the respondents.
The PIOJ report said migration to the US increased by 30.2 per cent in 2023 compared with 2022 (migration data for the US lags by a year).
The data revealed that 鈥業mmediate Relatives to US Citizens鈥 and 鈥楩amily Sponsored Preferences鈥 remained the primary categories of admission at 69 per cent and 26.5 per cent, respectively. Th-is was followed by 鈥楨mployment-Based Preferences鈥, which accounted for approximately 3.8 per cent of Jamaicans who obtained permanent resident status.
CHOICE DESTINATION
Atkinson-Flowers said the US was likely to continue to be a choice destination because of its proximity to Jamaica and language.
鈥淵ou can come to the US and start out as a student and end up as a citizen. So I would think that increase probably speaks to the continuing view of our countrymen that the United States is a great destination of choice. A lot of our persons who come to the States come via what we call family migration 鈥 work purposes and school,鈥 she said.
Conversely, the report indicates that there has been a decrease of 14.4 per cent relative to 2023 in migrants granted permanent resident status in Canada, with the 2024 figure totalling 3,715.
Similar to previous years, the report said, the majority, 78.3 per cent or 2,905 of Jamaicans granted permanent resident status in Canada, was in the working-age population of 15 to 64 years. -The 30鈥34 age group had the largest proportion of admissions of permanent residents, which accounted for 14.9 per cent of emigrants.
Jamaicans from the 0鈥4, 60鈥64, and 65+ age groups constituted a small proportion of emigrants, with 2 per cent, 1.7 per cent, and 2.3 per cent, respectively. –
The largest proportion of permanent emigrants from Jamaica with a known occupation was in the 鈥楶rofessionals, Senior Officials, and Technicians鈥 category with 11.4 per cent, followed by 鈥楶lant and Machine Operators and Assemblers鈥 at 1.1 per cent.
The occupation of 85.9 per cent of permanent emigrants was listed as 鈥榰nknown鈥.
Emigrants who obtained temporary work visas, however, were mainly from the 鈥楽killed Agricultural and Fishery Workers鈥 category, which represented 71.9 per cent or 8,755 of emigrants.
鈥淐anada is tightening its requirements. For example, some years ago, you could go to Canada as a student and there鈥檚 a path to become a permanent resident. The Government of Canada has tightened that particular path significantly. So that may account for the decrease,鈥 Atkinson-Flowers said.
In October 2024, the Canadian government announced a decision to reduce immigration and temporary foreign worker approvals.
At the time, then Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that his government would scale back the number of new immigrants allowed into the country in response to criticism over unbalanced post-COVID-19 pandemic immigration policies.
Originally planning to admit 500,000 new permanent residents annually over the next two years, Trudeau set a new target of 395,000 in 2025, with further reductions to 380,000 in 2026 and 365,000 in 2027.
This differs from the 2,875 Jamaicans who were granted citizenship by naturalisation or registration in 2024, representing a 45.1 per cent increase compared with 2023.
Disaggregated data on these categories of citizenship granted for 2022鈥2024 were not available.
British citizenship is usually granted to applicants under one of four categories: residence or marriage via naturalisation, and entitlement or discretionary via registration, the PIOJ report said.
kimone.frsncs@gleanerjm.com