We are now around four months into living in a global pandemic. The cold days of early spring have dissolved into a dry summer, and because you are working from home, your existence is confined to the four walls of your house or home. The novelty once felt from the newfound freedom of staying at home in comfortable clothes all day has long since disappeared, and your only escapism is derived from brief Zoom calls or internet live streams. You look for anything to save you from this dreary pandemic life.
However, it just so turns out that there is an opportunity to escape from this dreary pandemic life: The Barbados Welcome Stamp Scheme.
The Barbados Welcome Stamp scheme is a part of a new plan devised by the Caribbean government to encourage remote workers to live and work on the island and help boost its economy. In this scheme, visitors are invited to come and live in Barbados for a 12-month period to work remotely, free to enjoy the liberties of turquoise waters and golden sands. But it’s not a holiday.
Barbados’ Prime Minister Mia Mottley initiated the scheme because of the extensive damage which the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the island’s economy, one heavily reliant on tourism. On the Barbados Government Information Service website, Mottley said:
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.
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.
Unfortunately, if this all seems too good to be true; a holiday, change of scenery, and chance to continue working from home, all the while in a sun-drenched, sand-dusted location, it partially is. The Barbados Welcome Stamp Scheme has not been finalised, and Mottley has not yet disclosed when the work scheme will be ready to implement.
Barbados will be open to international visitors from July 12, with visitors required to wear a face-covering and provide a negative COVID-19 test result upon arrival.
If you’re looking for more pandemic getaways, click here to read about the “COVID-free” village in Italy which is selling homes for €1.
Featured image via: Pixabay.
