The Barbados returning nationals programme is to be significantly changed in 2010. The age restriction for bringing your goods in duty free has been lifted; before it stood at age 50 to receive the full benefits, like bringing in your own car.

This will allow younger Barbadians to bring their entrepreneurial skills home much earlier, rather than waiting until retirement age when the skills may be unused.

Also, the returning nationals programme will now be known as the Barbados Network Programme to reflect its changes.

To quote the government:

‘A Barbadian national who is a citizen by birth, descent, registration or naturalisation will qualify for the programme once he was continuously resident abroad for ten years immediately prior to resettlement,’

This ten year rule hasn’t changed.

The Acting Prime Minister said that the necessity that a Barbadian by descent or marriage must have resided at least 183 days in Barbados prior to emigrating in order to be eligible under the programme, would be removed.

He also said ‘the qualifying period for annual Barbados Network Renewal status under the programme would however be increased from three to five years, to help reduce the incidence of abuse, especially in respect of the motor vehicle concessions.’ This means that to those bringing in a car duty free, you now have to keep it for five years before you can sell it to maintain its duty free status.

It would also appear that the longwinded administration connected with returning nationals and the duty free concessions, will be made much easier to complete. This should also make the process much shorter.
The changes will allow the Comptroller of Customs to ‘Grant automatic exemptions from the payment of import duties and taxes to those returnees whose eligibility has been appropriately certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.’