Deputy Premier Samuel Joseph has said that Montserrat’s intermittent power outages have “negatively” affected the island’s digital nomad programme.
Joseph, who is also minister of communications, works, labour and energy, made the admission in Montserrat Legislative Assembly on 25 June.
He was responding to a question from Opposition member Donaldson Romeo who asked “how the failure in power generation has affected the nomad programme”.
Romeo also asked how well the programme has been working and what the challenges are.
Joseph responded that the Labour Department manages the remote workers programme.
“To enhance its reach and attract more participants, the government recently approved the establishment of a new Tourism Board,” he said.
This will be responsible for marketing and promoting the programme, he added.
The deputy premier did not divulge any information as to the success or challenges of the programme.
Work for a year
The Montserrat Remote Workers Stamp allows foreign residents to work remotely in Montserrat for one year.
Applicants must work for an employer that is registered in a foreign country and have a contract of work with that employer.
Or they must conduct business activity for a company that is registered in a foreign country and of which they are a partner/shareholder.
Or they must offer freelance or consulting services mostly to clients whose permanent establishments are in a foreign country and with whom they have contracts.
They must also earn an annual income of US$70,000, and have health insurance with Montserrat and Covid-19 coverage.
Further information on the stamp is available at montserratremoteworker.com
