Monday , November 25 2024

Short term residents of the BES islands may have to leave if they lose their jobs

Website Koninkrijk.nu reports that  residents of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba who have lost their jobs due to the corona crisis, have insufficient financial resources to support themselves and have not resided continuously in the Caribbean Netherlands for 5 years, must return to their country of origin.

This is evident from the letter that the Social Affairs and Employment unit of the Rijksdienst Caribisch Nederland sends to islanders who, due to the loss of their work, make use of the emergency scheme for ‘former employees’ of the Ministry of SZW. The temporary arrangement is intended to (largely) compensate for loss of income due to Codvid-19 during the first 3 months after the dismissal.

The subsidy for the first group to make use of the scheme from October will expire on 1 January. The RCN unit informs them by letter that they must ‘actively’ look for other work. If that does not work (and that is most likely given the crisis), people ‘may’ qualify for social assistance. But that only applies to those over 18 and who have been a ‘lawful and continuous’ resident of the Caribbean Netherlands for the past S years.

For those who do not meet the latter criterion and ‘do not have enough money to get by’, the letter said, ‘the law stipulates that your right of residence ends’. In other words: one must leave the island of residence. Only in ‘exceptional’ situations can one still claim social assistance, for example if the airspace of the country of origin is closed.

The original artical can be read HERE.

Koninkrijk.nu

 

Letter to the Editor: A LESSON FOR ZVK AND MINISTER HUGO DE JONGE
Address Island Governor Jonathan Johnson, Saturday, October 31, 2020

2 comments

  1. For small islands with a small population this sounds quite understandable. Otherwise, in no time half of Venezuela would find the route to some islands. Here solidarity is the enemy of well-being for the original own population. Maybe hard to decide, but look at Lampedusa. Would you like to see your island become like that island?

    But to drop a bombshell: what about criminals who were guests on the islands? Scientific investigations have pointed to the nationality or origin of criminal offenders on the islands. So far nothing has been done with this information.

  2. For small islands with a small population this sounds quite understandable. Otherwise, in no time half of Venezuela would find the route to some islands. Here solidarity is the enemy of well-being for the original own population. Maybe hard to decide, but look at Lampedusa. Would you like to see your island become like that island?

    But to drop a bombshell: what about criminals who were guests on the islands? Scientific investigations have pointed to the nationality or origin of criminal offenders on the islands. So far nothing has been done with this information.