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Good practice Imported

BEATS — The Bahamas' Extended Access Travel Stay Programme

Bahamas · Nassau · See the Bahamas profile · See the Nassau profile

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 100% 24/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

A pandemic-era remote-work permit let foreigners live and work from the Bahamas for up to a year. By 2021 it had drawn roughly 100 applications and $41,825 in fees, but uptake stayed low and the government discontinued it in early 2022.

100+
Applications received (by late Jan 2021)
34
Applications approved (by late Jan 2021)
6
Applications denied (by late Jan 2021)
21
Applications on hold (by late Jan 2021)
$41,825
Revenue generated
61
Applicants (separate report) (as of March 2021)
US$1,000
Head-of-household permit fee
US$500
Dependant/study permit fee
BEATS — The Bahamas' Extended Access Travel Stay Programme

Details

Maturity
Discontinued
Promoter
Bahamas Ministry of Tourism & Aviation / Department of Immigration
Period
2020–2022
Keywords
Digital nomad visa, remote work, tourism diversification, talent retention

Context

Launched in October 2020 following a recommendation from the Bahamas' COVID-19 Economic Recovery Committee, the Bahamas Extended Access Travel Stay (BEATS) programme let foreign remote workers and students live in the Bahamas for up to one year without local work authorisation, aiming to diversify pandemic-hit tourism revenue.

Objectives

The programme aimed to attract foreign remote workers and students as a new, lower-friction revenue stream for the Bahamian economy during the COVID-19 tourism collapse.

Activities

Applicants paid a fee (US$1,000 per head-of-household permit, $500 per dependant/study permit) for a permit allowing up to a year of remote living and working in the Bahamas.

Results

Government figures reported by Eye Witness News showed just over 100 applications received by late January 2021, with 34 approved, 6 denied and 21 on hold; approved applicants came mainly from the US, Canada, the UK, Germany, Australia, China, South Africa and elsewhere. Fees generated $41,825 in revenue. The Nassau Guardian and Tribune242 separately reported the programme had attracted just 61 applicants as of March 2021.

Conclusions

Facing persistently low demand, the Bahamian government discontinued BEATS in early 2022, roughly 18 months after launch, though other remote-worker pathways remain available. The programme stands as a cautionary case: a well-publicised, low-friction remote-work visa that nonetheless failed to reach meaningful scale before being wound down.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Low (< €50k) — Fees: US$1,000 per head-of-household permit, $500 per dependant/study permit; total revenue $41,825
Time to results
Short (< 1 year) — Launched October 2020; discontinued early 2022 (~18 months)
Staffing & skills
Bahamas Ministry of Tourism & Aviation, Department of Immigration

Conditions for success

  • Low-friction design: no local work authorisation required, simple fee-based permit

Common failure modes

  • Persistently low demand relative to economic-diversification ambitions
  • Discontinued roughly 18 months after launch, in early 2022
  • Single-sector delivery limited to tourism/immigration agencies

Commonly funded by

National / regional programmes

Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

Attachments

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