(Barbados Nation) A backlog of about 15 000 unprocessed immigrant applications has returned to haunt Government and the country’s health care system, says Minister of Health Donville Inniss.
He told the SUNDAY SUN on Saturday his administration had inherited a situation where thousands of applications for varying kinds of immigrant status had not been processed.
He added the Immigration Department had been unable to process applications for both citizenship and permanent residence in a time-frame that would make most interested parties feel comfortable.
“In recent weeks we have been inundated with calls and complaints from people residing in Barbados for many years and who feel that they are entitled to free health care,” he said, explaining Government’s policy had always been that only Barbadian citizens and permanent residents were entitled to free treatment at public state-owned institutions.
According to the minister, Barbados had been very accommodating but the system had been abused. He noted people arrived in Barbados on the pretext of vacationing, incurred hefty health care costs, remained and never settled their bills.
