Having been signed into law by the Governor General on Friday 8th May, the Immigration Amendment Act 2015 and attendant regulations came into force on Monday. In a statement released by the Minister of Immigration, Mitchell said that “this is a pleasing development and one which will strengthen the hand of the Department of Immigration as it seeks to stem the tide of unlawful migration in The Bahamas.”

The Act will amongst other things provide for stiffer penalties for illegal landing, for harbouring illegal migrants and for making attempts to leave this country to be smuggled into another country. The Act will also make it an offence to enter into a fraudulent marriage and will strengthen the powers of arrest of Immigration Officers.

It creates for the first time an Immigration Reserve, patterned after the Police Reserves. It will be established in the next fiscal year and in the first instance in islands that have, at present, no immigration presence. The statement said that an announcement will be made shortly on when recruitment can be expected for the reserve.

The Act also creates an immigration status known as a Belonger's Permit to be issued to those who are born in The Bahamas to non-Bahamian parents and who reside lawfully in The Bahamas. The fee for this permit is 125 dollars.