In order to “provide greater assurance” that Bermudian tennis professionals are given fair employment opportunities, the Department of Immigration has introduced a new process of referring related work permit applications to the Bermuda Lawn Tennis Association.
“In order to provide greater assurance that Bermudians who work in the sport of tennis are given fair opportunities for gainful employment in Bermuda, the Department of Immigration has introduced a new process of referring work permit applications for tennis personnel to the Bermuda Lawn Tennis Association (BLTA),” the Minister said.
“This means that, going forward, employers must send a copy of the work permit application (with all supporting documentation) to the BLTA at the same time they submit the work permit application to the Department of Immigration.
“The BLTA must provide a written response to employers within 10 working days from the date the application is referred to them. Employers must submit the response to the Department of Immigration.
“If a response is not provided within this timeframe, then employers must provide formal written notification to the Department of Immigration to advise that no response was received, including all relevant details relating to the referral; i.e. name of prospective work permit holder, job title, and the date of referral to the BLTA.
“The Minister can exercise discretion over the response from the BLTA; i.e. he may or may not agree with the response. It should be noted that the referral process will cause the Department’s processing timelines to be extended.
“Contact details for the BLTA are – email addresses: mwolfe@blta.bm and info@blta.bm; and phone number: 296-0834.”
