BEATS — The Bahamas' Extended Access Travel Stay Programme

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.
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 (US$1,000 per head-of-household permit, $500 per dependant/study permit) generated $41,825 in revenue. The Nassau Guardian and Tribune242 separately reported the programme had attracted just 61 applicants as of March 2021 — a similarly modest count reflecting slow uptake relative to the government's economic ambitions.
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.

Read the full analysis: https://ewnews.com/34-approvals-under-beats-program-to-date/