If you’ve ever dreamed of jetting off to a tropical island to spend all day in the sun, drinking cocktails and listening to the waves as they hit the shore, you’re in luck. Barbados, an island in the Caribbean, is inviting people to come and live and work remotely there for an entire year as part of the Barbados Welcome Stamp scheme.
- The Barbados Welcome Stamp scheme is incredibly important to the country’s economy. Since the coronavirus pandemic has kept visitors from heading to Barbados, the small country’s tourism industry has truly suffered. By opening up to visitors to come and go as they please for up to 12 months, they hope to make up for some of the time (and cash) they’ve lost.
- You don’t even have to stay there the whole time. The scheme’s rules state that you can basically come and go as you please. Maybe you stay for a few months before heading home and then coming back when you get fed up again. Maybe you stay the whole time without leaving. Maybe you only come for a couple of weeks at a time. Whatever your arrangement, Barbados wants to welcome you.
- What better way to work remotely? These days, more and more companies are realizing the benefits of having employees who work from home (or wherever else they might find themselves, so long as it has a working internet connection). Imagine doing your job back in the US, the UK, Australia, or wherever else you’re from… all the way in the beautiful country of Barbados? Sounds like heaven to me.
- Prime Minister Mia Mottley is still finalizing the plan. “You don’t need to work in Europe, or the US or Latin America if you can come here and work for a couple months at a time; go back and come back,” he explained in a statement. “The government is committed to working with you on the promotion of new concepts like the 12-month Barbados Welcome Stamp, being able to open our borders to persons traveling and making it as hospitable as ever for all of us, and making it available for Barbadians from every walk of life to believe that for special occasions, or just for so, that they can come out and be a part of this wonderful exercise.”
- I don’t know about you, but this sounds wonderful to me! I’d seriously consider going when the program is launched. Who wouldn’t want to live in Barbados for a year? It sounds like heaven!
