Work From Bermuda One-Year Residency Certificate

Bermuda's Work From Bermuda One-Year Residency Certificate, launched 1 August 2020 by the Ministry of Labour with the Bermuda Business Development Agency and Bermuda Tourism Authority, let people employed by (or owning) a company outside Bermuda live on the island for one year while working remotely. Applicants paid a $263 fee, proved sufficient income and valid health insurance, could not enter the local labour market, and the government targeted a five-working-day processing turnaround.

Uptake was tracked publicly: 73 approvals within three weeks of launch, 354 approvals (about 78% of applications) by mid-October 2020, and more than 900 residents admitted and over $23 million generated in the local economy by the Ministry's 2021 year-end review, with 206 certificate holders still resident as of November 2021. Appleby, an international law firm, put cumulative participation at roughly 1,800 people over the scheme's life.

The government closed the scheme on 28 February 2025, stating explicitly that ending it would free up rental housing for Bermudian residents, after years of concern that certificate holders were competing with locals for a constrained housing stock.