CARICOM Rights in Suriname: the Line Is Drawn at the Labour Market, Not at the Border
Answer
The general rule applies to you
No exception is recorded for citizens of Trinidad and Tobago on this topic. That is the answer, not a gap - everything below is the rule you get, unchanged.
81 exceptions recorded across 33 countries · none match Trinidad and Tobago to Suriname · Residency under a regional treaty
Suriname draws the skills certificate line in a place none of the other eight countries draws it. Its Wet Bekwame Burgers van de Caraibische Gemeenschap of 2006 says nothing at all about how long anyone may enter or stay. What it regulates is recognition of status and what recognition does to the labour market: a national of another member state whose status is recognised shall not, notwithstanding any other law, be subject to a restriction on the right to enter the labour market to which a Surinamese national is not subject. Recognition takes one of two forms depending on where the certificate came from - the Minister of Labour issues one where the applicant has none from another member state, and authenticates the applicant's existing certificate where he has. That is the issuer distinction, but it decides the paperwork rather than the period, and the holder of another state's certificate already has labour-market access during the short stay while recognition is pending. Entry, duration and settlement are left entirely to the ordinary aliens law, and the six-month short stay a CARICOM national actually receives at the border comes from the aliens department rather than from any instrument. There is no schedule of qualifying states: article 3 leaves it to the Minister to announce which member states count, and we did not find the announcement. On the right of establishment there is no implementing Act at all - and under articles 105 and 106 of the Constitution Suriname may not need one, because treaty provisions that can bind everyone have binding force once published and displace any inconsistent statute.
At a glance
- Where the line falls
- At labour-market access, with the issuer deciding only whether the Minister issues a certificate or authenticates yours
- Duration of entry conferred by the Act
- None; the Act confers no entry right at all
- Stay granted at the border in practice
- Six months
Stated by the aliens department for CARICOM nationals who are not recognised skilled nationals. The Vreemdelingenwet gives three months to a visitor who needs no visa; the six months is the department's, not the Act's.
- What recognition gives
- Labour-market access on the same footing as a Surinamese national
- Labour-market access before recognition
- Yes, during the short stay, for the holder of another member state's certificate
- Charge
- SRD 75as of 2006-02-06
Article 5(1) as enacted. Neither amending Act touched it, and it is the figure the 2004 redenomination produced from the old guilder scale.
- Qualifying occupations
- University graduates, media workers, sportspersons, musicians, artistes, nurses, carers and teachers
Article 6(2) as substituted by S.B. 2008 no. 29. The categories CARICOM added after 2008 - artisans and household domestics with a vocational qualification, associate-degree holders - are not in the Act, which leaves them to the Minister's designation power in article 6(1)(d).
- Schedule of qualifying states
- None in the Act
Article 3 requires the Minister to announce which member states count. We did not find the announcement.
- Haiti
- Not resolved by any instrument we read
There is no schedule to be in or out of. The aliens department's own page says the Community has fifteen member countries and then lists fourteen, without Haiti.
- Right of establishment
- No implementing Act
- Commencement
- Retroactive to 1 January 2006
Article 17(3). The Act was promulgated on 6 February 2006 and backdated; the Act approving the Chaguaramas protocol carries the same retroactive date.
- Penalty for a false declaration
- Up to six months' detention or a fourth-category fine, separately per person and per dayas of 2023-09-12
Requirements
- Nationality of a member state of the Caribbean Community, or residence in one so far as the rights in question accrue to residents of Suriname
- One of the qualifications in article 6: a degree from the University of Suriname, from the University of the West Indies or the University of Guyana, a degree the education minister designates as comparable, or any qualification the Minister designates
- Or recognition as a media worker, sportsperson, musician, artiste, nurse, carer or teacher, on a qualification, combination or degree of experience the Minister fixes
- An application to the Minister of Labour, with the charge, on the form he prescribes, and the advice of the statutory commission before any decision
In detail
A sixth way of drawing the line, and it is not a line about time
The eight countries covered before Suriname split the skills certificate five ways and all five are about how long you may stay. Saint Kitts and Saint Vincent split by who issued the certificate; Grenada and Saint Lucia by which form it takes; Barbados by whether its Accreditation Council has verified it; Guyana by issuer with a statutory verification bridge; Trinidad by verification producing a period the Chief Immigration Officer chooses. Suriname's Act answers a different question. It never says how long anyone may enter or remain. Articles 8(1) and 8(2) say what a recognised national and a short-stay certificate holder may not be subjected to, and the thing they may not be subjected to is a restriction on entering the labour market that a Surinamese national is not subject to. The issuer distinction in article 4(2) survives, but it governs the form of recognition - a new certificate or an authentication of an existing one - rather than the length of anything. Entry and stay are left to the Vreemdelingenwet, which knows nothing about the Community.
The bridge is in place before the crossing
In Guyana a holder of another member state's certificate gets six months and must make two applications to convert them into indefinite stay. In Barbados the same holder gets six months and the Accreditation Council's verification turns it into indefinite entry. In Suriname article 8(2) gives that holder labour-market access during the short stay itself, before recognition has been decided, and takes it away only on a refusal under article 11. Recognition is not a gate the applicant waits in front of; it is a decision taken while the person is already working. That is the most applicant-favourable arrangement in the set, and it is undercut by the fact that the Act gives no entry right to put the short stay on.
The category list stopped in 2008
The explanatory memorandum to the 2008 amending Act is unusually frank about where the categories come from: article 46(1) of the Revised Treaty names five, the Heads of Government added nurses and teachers at St Kitts in July 2006, and Suriname's own distinction between verpleegkundigen and ziekenverzorgers turned two into three. Since then nothing. The Community went on to add artisans and household domestics with a Caribbean vocational qualification and holders of associate degrees; Guyana wrote them into its Act in 2011, Saint Lucia by an instrument of 2019, Barbados in 2020. Suriname did not. The only route for an applicant in one of those categories is article 6(1)(d), the Minister's power to designate any qualification or combination, and we found no designation.
The right of establishment, and why the absence of an Act may not settle it
Guyana implemented the right of establishment by a self-executing Act of 2006 with a schedule of ten statutes, a statutory appeal and a criminal sanction. Trinidad gave the whole Revised Treaty the force of law with a supremacy clause. Saint Kitts has no implementing provision at all. Suriname has no Act either, and the reason is structural rather than a gap. Article 105 of the Constitution gives provisions of treaties that can bind everyone binding force once published, and article 106 disapplies any Surinamese statutory rule whose application would be incompatible with such a provision, whether the treaty came before or after the rule. Suriname does not legislate to give a treaty domestic effect; it does so to approve the treaty under article 103 and to build machinery around it. The Wet Bekwame Burgers is machinery - a commission, a certificate, a charge, a penalty - rather than a transposition. Whether article 45 of the Revised Treaty is self-executing in Suriname is a question for a Surinamese court and we have not read a decision on it.
Not a party to the 2026 full free movement arrangement
The four states in full free movement from 1 October 2025 are Belize, Barbados, Dominica and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Nothing in the Surinamese statute book answers to it. The National Assembly publishes four collections - texts in force to 2005, Acts after 2005, amendments after 2005, and treaties - and the only CARICOM instruments in any of them are the skilled citizens Act of 2006 with its two amending Acts, and the 2006 Act approving the protocol on the Caribbean Court of Justice's original jurisdiction. There is no Act of 2025 or 2026 on free movement, no amendment to the skilled citizens Act beyond the penalty change of August 2023, and no treaty approval. The aliens department continues to describe CARICOM nationals as receiving a six-month short stay and then having to apply for a residence permit like anyone else, which is not what full free movement looks like.
Country-level policy
The common-law countries covered here inherit the rule that a treaty does nothing domestically until Parliament enacts it, which is why Trinidad needed an Act giving the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas the force of law and Guyana needed one with a supremacy clause. Suriname inherits the Dutch rule instead. Article 103 of the Constitution requires the National Assembly to approve an agreement before it is ratified or enters into force; article 105 then gives provisions of such agreements that by their content can bind everyone binding force once published; and article 106 disapplies any Surinamese statutory rule whose application would be incompatible with such a provision, whether the agreement was entered into before or after the rule. The consequence runs through this whole country record. An absence of implementing legislation in Suriname is not the same fact that it is in Saint Kitts or Grenada, and it cannot be read as an absence of the right.
Suriname's laws are published by the National Assembly in four collections, and the boundary between them is a date. The first is Geldende teksten tot en met 2005, texts in force to 2005: the amendments were worked into the parent Acts in a project in 2005 to produce consolidated texts. The second and third are the Acts passed after 2005 and the amendments made after 2005, published as facsimiles of the Staatsblad, one instrument at a time. The index page states in terms that the new Acts and amendments have not since been incorporated into the consolidated text. That is a cut-off stated by the publisher rather than inferred from an edition's name, and it is unusually honest: most revised editions in this comparison say nothing about their own staleness. The practical consequence is that reading a consolidated Surinamese Act is only half the work. The other half is the list of post-2005 amendments, where the Income Tax Act alone has ten entries.
Full free movement for any national of a participating state, rather than for a certificated skilled citizen, opened on 1 October 2025 between Belize, Barbados, Dominica and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Suriname is not a party, and this is shown from its own statute book rather than asserted. The National Assembly publishes four collections of legislation. The collection of Acts passed after 2005 contains one CARICOM instrument, the skilled citizens Act of 2006. The collection of amendments after 2005 contains two, both to that Act, the later of which is of August 2023 and changes only the penalty provision. The treaty collection contains one, the 2006 Act approving the protocol on the Caribbean Court of Justice's original jurisdiction. There is no Act, amendment or treaty approval of 2025 or 2026 touching free movement. The administrative side says the same thing: the aliens department continues to describe a CARICOM national who is not a recognised skilled citizen as receiving a six-month short stay inside which a residence application must be lodged, which is the opposite of a right to enter and remain.
Suriname replaced the Surinamese guilder with the Surinamese dollar in 2004, and the consolidation of its statute book was done in 2005 without restating the amounts. Every money figure in a text from that collection is therefore printed in a currency that no longer exists: the naturalisation charge of Sf. 200,000, the work permit fee of Sf. 75,000, the income tax bands in millions of guilders, the fine of five hundred thousand guilders in the work permit Act. What the conversion did is stated in one place in the statute book, the explanatory memorandum to the Act of 1 December 2022 that replaced the work permit fee: the general rate was converted from Sf. 75,000 to SRD 75, a division by a thousand, and had since been thoroughly overtaken. Acts passed after 2005 are in Surinamese dollars from the start, which is why the skilled citizens Act of 2006 charges SRD 75 and the health insurance Act of 2014 prices cover in SRD. Nothing here converts a guilder figure on its own authority.
What applies to you
Nothing changes for a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago
We have no rule recorded that treats your citizenship differently here, so the general rule above is the one that applies to you. That is an answer, not a gap.
What the law says
«1. Een staatsburger van een andere lidstaat van de Caraibische Gemeenschap wiens status is erkend zal, niettegenstaande de bepalingen van een andere wet maar behoudens intrekking van het certificaat, als bedoeld in artikel 12, niet onderworpen zijn aan een beperking op het recht om tot de arbeidsmarkt toe te treden, waaraan een staatsburger van de Republiek Suriname ook niet is onderworpen.»Our translation - not official
A national of another member state of the Caribbean Community whose status has been recognised shall, notwithstanding the provisions of any other law but subject to withdrawal of the certificate as referred to in article 12, not be subject to a restriction on the right to enter the labour market to which a national of the Republic of Suriname is also not subject.
This instrument is published only as an image. The wording above was read off that picture and checked by eye, so it did not pass the machine verbatim check the other quotations passed. Treat it as accurate but re-read the scan before relying on it.
«2. Gedurende de periode van het kort verblijf verstrekt aan een staatsburger van een andere lidstaat van de Caraibische Gemeenschap, die beschikt over een certificaat verstrekt in een andere lidstaat van de Caraibische Gemeenschap, zal voornoemde persoon, niettegenstaande de bepalingen van een andere wet, maar behoudens weigering van de erkening van de status, als bedoeld in artikel 11, niet onderworpen zijn aan een beperking op het recht om tot de arbeidsmarkt toe te treden, waaraan een staatsburger van de Republiek Suriname ook niet is onderworpen.»Our translation - not official
During the period of the short stay granted to a national of another member state of the Caribbean Community who holds a certificate issued in another member state of the Caribbean Community, that person shall, notwithstanding the provisions of any other law but subject to refusal of recognition of the status as referred to in article 11, not be subject to a restriction on the right to enter the labour market to which a national of the Republic of Suriname is also not subject.
This is the bridge. The holder of another member state's certificate works from the start of the short stay, with recognition running in parallel and only a refusal stopping it. No other record here gives labour-market access before the receiving authority has passed on the certificate.
«1. Elke staatsburger van een lidstaat van de Caraibische Gemeenschap mag erkening van de status van Bekwame Burger van de Caraibische Gemeenschap aanvragen bij de Minister.
2. De erkening, als bedoeld in lid 1, geschiedt middels:
a. een certificaat verstrekt door de Minister, indien de aanvrager niet beschikt over een certificaat verstrekt in een andere lidstaat van de Caraibische Gemeenschap;
b. het door of namens de Minister authentiseren van een certificaat verstrekt in een andere lidstaat van de Caraibische Gemeenschap, indien de aanvrager reeds beschikt over voornoemd certificaat.
## Administratieve zaken Artikel 5
1. De heffing verbonden aan een aanvraag bedraagt ad SRD 75,- (vijfenzeventig Surinaamse Dollar)
2. Door de Minister wordt vastgesteld, welk formulier bij de aanvraag moet worden gebruikt, welke gegevens moeten worden verstrekt en welke bewijsstukken daarbij moeten worden overgelegd.
## Kwalificaties Artikel 6
1. Om inaanmerking te komen voor erkening van de status, dient een aanvrager te voldoen aan één van de volgende kwalificaties of combinaties van kwalificaties:
a. een graad van Doctorandus, Meester, Licentiatus, Doctor, Bachelor of Master aan de Universiteit van Suriname;
b. een graad van de University of the West Indies of van de University of Guyana aangeduid als een Bachelor’s, Master’s of Doctor’s graad;
c. elke Universitaire graad die in academische rang door of namens de Minister belast met onderwijs is aangewezen als tenminste vergelijkbaar met een kwalificatie genoemd onder a of b;
d. elke kwalificatie of combinatie van kwalificaties aangewezen door of namens de Minister;
2. In aanmerking voor erkening van de status komt ook een aanvrager die voldoet aan een door de Minister vastgestelde kwalificatie, combinatie van kwalificaties, mate van ervaring of combinatie van twee van de drie, welke aantoont dat de aanvrager kan worden aangemerkt als:
a. mediawerker;
b. sporter;
c. musicus;
d. artiest.
3. De Minister zal op verzoek van elke belanghebbende een actuelelijst van de kwalificaties, combinaties van kwalificaties, mate van ervaring en combinaties van twee van de drie, als bedoeld in de leden 1 en 2, beschikbaar stellen. De administratieve kosten verbonden aan het beschikbaar stellen van voornoemdelijst worden door de Minister vastgesteld.
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## Advies Commissie Artikel 7
1. Bij staatsbesluit wordt er een commissie ingesteld, die de Minister adviseert ten aanzien van de status van de aanvrager.
2. De Commissie kan naast het adviseren, als bedoeld in lid 1, ook andere taken worden toebedeeeld.
3. De Minister neemt geen besluit ten aanzien van de aanvraag dan nadat hij kennis heeft genomen van het advies van de Commissie.
4. Een besluit van de Minister ten aanzien van de status van de aanvrager, dat niet overeenstmt met het advies van de Commissie of welke inhoudt dat de status van de aanvrager niet wordt erkend, wordt met redenen omkleed.
## Rechten Bekwame Burger Artikel 8
1. Een staatsburger van een andere lidstaat van de Caraibische Gemeenschap wiens status is erkend zal, niettegenstaande de bepalingen van een andere wet maar behoudens intrekking van het certificaat, als bedoeld in artikel 12, niet onderworpen zijn aan een beperking op het recht om tot de arbeidsmarkt toe te treden, waaraan een staatsburger van de Republiek Suriname ook niet is onderworpen.
2. Gedurende de periode van het kort verblijf verstrekt aan een staatsburger van een andere lidstaat van de Caraibische Gemeenschap, die beschikt over een certificaat verstrekt in een andere lidstaat van de Caraibische Gemeenschap, zal voornoemde persoon, niettegenstaande de bepalingen van een andere wet, maar behoudens weigering van de erkening van de status, als bedoeld in artikel 11, niet onderworpen zijn aan een beperking op het recht om tot de arbeidsmarkt toe te treden, waaraan een staatsburger van de Republiek Suriname ook niet is onderworpen.
## Aantasting rechten en privileges Artikel 9
De rechten en privileges door deze wet verleend aan een staatsburger van een andere lidstaat van de Caraibische Gemeenschap zullen geen afbreuk doen aan rechten en privileges die betrokkene ontleent aan andere in de Republiek Suriname geldende wetten.
## Verboden Artikel 10
1. Het is verboden om een verklaring af te leggen waarvan men weet of redelijkerwijs kon weten dat deze geheel of gedeeltelijk vals is, met de bedoeling een certificaat verstrekt door de Minister, als bedoeld in artikel 4 lid 2 onder a, te verkrijgen;
2. Het is verboden gebruik te maken van een certificaat verstrekt in een lidstaat van de Caraibische Gemeenschap, indien men weet of redelijkerwijs kon weten dat het is ingetrokken
---
## Weigeringsgronden Artikel 11
1. Erkenning van de status wordt geweigerd:
a. indien het een persoon betreft die illegaal verblijft in de Republiek Suriname behoudens het geval dat het illegaal verblijf van voornoemde persoon, ten tijd dat er een besluit wordt genomen, kan worden toegeschreven aan een handelen van een der overheidsinstanties of –functionarissen betrokken bij de behandeling van de aanvraag;
b. indien het een persoon betreft tegen wie een bevel tot enige vorm van uitwijzing is uitgesproken door de hiertoe bevoegde autoriteit.
2. Erkenning van de status kan worden geweigerd:
a. indien het een persoon betreft die één der verboden, genoemd in artikel 10, heeft geschonden;
b. indien het een persoon betreft die een verbod opgenomen in wetgeving geldend in een andere lidstaat van de Caraibische Gemeenschap, vergelijkbaar met één der verboden, bedoeld onder a, heeft geschonden.
## Intrekkingsgronden Artikel 12
1. Het certificaat verstrekt door de Minister wordt ingetrokken indien tegen degene aan wie het is verstrekt, een bevel tot enige vorm van uitwijzing is uitgesproken door de hiertoe bevoegde autoriteit.
2. Het certificaat verstrekt door de Minister kan worden ingetrokken indien de bij de aanvraag verstrekte gegevens zodanig onjuist of onvolledig blijken te zijn geweest, dat op de aanvraag een andere beslissing zou zijn genomen, als bij de
beoordeling daarvan de juiste omstandigheden volledig bekend waren geweest.
## HOOFDSTUK III Toezicht en opsporing
Toezicht
Artikel 13
Met het toezicht op de naleving van het bij deze wet bepaalde, worden belast:
a. de controllerende ambtenaren werkzaam bij de Arbeidsinspectie;
b. de ambtenaren van politie, genoemd in artikel 23 van het Politiehandvest, die daartoe uitdrukkelijk zijn aangewezen door de Minister belast met de zorg voor de toelating, vestiging en de uitzetting van vreemdelingen;
c. de buitengewone agenten van politie, voor zover zij daartoe door de Minister, als bedoeld onder b, zijn aangewezen.
## Strafbepaling Artikel 14
1. Met een hechtenis van ten hoogstezes maanden of geldboete van de vierde categorie, in de zin van de Algemene Geldboetewet (S.B. 2002 no. 73), wordt gestraft:
a. hij die één der verboden, genoemd in artikel 10, overtreedt;
b. hij die de commissie, als bedoeld in artikel 7, opzettelijk in haarwerkzaamheden hindert, op enigerlei wijze belemmert in de uitvoering van haar taak of opzettelijk onjuite inlichtingen verstrekt;
c. hij die het bepaalde in een staatsbesluit ter uitvoering van deze wet overtreedt.
2. De feiten bij deze wet strafbaar gesteld, worden beschouwd als overtredingen.
---
## Opsporing Artikel 15
Met het opsporen van de in artikel 14 strafbaar gestelde feiten zijn belast, de bij artikel 134 van het Wetboek van Strafvordering aangewezen personen.
HOOFDSTUK IV
## Slotbepalingen
## Nadere regels Artikel 16
Bij staatsbesluit kunnen nadere regels worden vastgesteld ter bevordering van een goede uitvoering van deze wet.
## Artikel 17
1. Deze wet wordt aangehaald als: Wet Bekwame Burgers van de Caraibische Gemeenschap.
2. Zij wordt in het Staatsblad van de Republiek Suriname afgekondigd.
3. Zij treedt in werking op de dag volgende op die van haar afkondiging en werkt terug tot en met 1 januari 2006.
4. De Minister verantwoordelijk voor arbeidsaangelegenheden, is belast met de uitvoering van deze wet.
Gegeven te Paramaribo, de 6e februari 2006
## R. R. VENETIAAN
Uitgegeven te Paramaribo, de 6e februari 2006
De Minister van Binnenlandse Zaken,
M.S.H. HASSANKHAN
---
WET van 6 februari 2006, houdende bepalingen met betrekking tot de erkening van de status van bekwame burger van de Caraibische Gemeenschap (Wet Bekwame Burgers van de Caraibische Gemeenschap)
## MEMORIE VAN TOELICHTING
## Algemeen
De Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) werd opgericht in 1973 met de ondertekening van het Verdrag van Chaguaramas. De Vergadering van Staatshoofden is het hoogste besluitvormingsorgaan binnen de CARICOM. In 1997 werd door de Staatshoofden overeenstemming bereikt over negen protocollen ter wijziging van het Verdrag om te geraken tot de oprichting van de CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME). De CSME heeft als doel het bereiken van duurzame economische ontwikkeling over de hele CARICOM regio, middels versterking van het concurrentievermogen van regionale industrieën, gecoördineerde economische gedragslijnen en verhoogde samenwerking, handel en economische betrekkingen met andere staten in en buiten het Caraibisch gebied. De negen protocollen die thans integraal deel uitmaken van het Herziene Verdrag van Chaguaramas hadden betrekking op: instituten en structuren; vestiging, diensten en kapitaal; industriel beleid; handelsbeileid; agrarisch beileid; transportbeileid; achtergestelde landen, regio’s en sectoren; concurrentiebeileid en consumentenbescherming.
In 2001 werd overgegaan tot de ondertekening van het Herziene Verdrag van Chaguaramas ter oprichting van de Caraibische Gemeenschap met inbegrip van de CSME. Eén der pilaren van de CSME m.n. de Gemeenschappelijk Markt is het Vrij Verkeer van Personen. Volgens artikel 45 van het Herziene Verdrag van Chaguaramas commiteren lidstaten van de Caraibische Gemeenschap zich aan het vrije verkeer van hun staatsburgers in de Gemeenschap.
De Staatshoofden hebben besloten eerder genoemd vrij verkeer gefaseerd te doen invoeren en hebben reeds verscheidene groepen geïidenticeerd die zich vrij mogen bewegen. Deze wet heeft betrekking op de zogeheten bekwame burgers. Deze groep bestaat uit de categorieën genoemd in artikel 46 lid 1 van het Herziene Verdrag van Chaguaramas. Volgens eerder genoemd lid heeft elke lidstaat van de Caraibische Gemeenschap het recht na te gaan of iemand die beweert te vallen onder een van eerder genoemde categorieën en dus het recht heeft om zich vrij te bewegen ook daadwerkelijk valt onder bedoelde categorie.
De plicht van de Surinaamse overheid tot de implementatie van de CSME m.n. voornoemd personenverkeer heeft geleid tot dit wetsproduct. Dit wetsproduct is gebaseerd op een modelwet voorbereid ten behoeve van het CARICOM Secretariaat.
## Artikelsgewijze Toelichting
## Artikel 1
De Minister belast met arbeidsaangelegenheden is belast met de implementatie van het Vrij Verkeer van Personen, in de zin van artikel 45 juncto artikel 46 van het Herziene Verdrag van Chaguaramas, in de Republiek Suriname. Onder a wordt dan ook een definitie gegeven van de term minister om een makkelijk, in de Wet, te hanteren term te hebben.
---
De termen onder b, c, d en e zijn gedefinieerd om zodoende datgene waarvoor zij staan, de langere term, niet steeds te hoeven gebruiken in de Wet. Onder b wordt de term Bekwame Burger gebezigd. Volgens artikel 4 lid 1 juncto artikel 6 lid 1 en lid 2 is een bekwame burger, iemand:
1. die een staatsburger van een lidstaat van de Caraibische Gemeenschap is en
2. die voldoet aan een kwalificatie, combinatie van kwalificaties, mate van ervaring of combinatie van twee van de drie als genoemd en bedoeld in artikel 6 lid 1 en lid 2.
## Artikel 2
In dit artikel wordt aangegeven wie voor de toepassing van de Wet als staatsburger van een lidstaat van de Caraibische Gemeenschap moet worden aangemerkt. De in deze wet gehanteerde definitie wijkt af van de term staatsburger in het staatsrecht. Zo kan, volgens het bepaalde onder b, onder eerder genoemde term ook worden verstaan iemand die de nationaliteit van geen der lidstaten van de Caraibische Gemeenschap bezit maar wel ingezetene van één van voornoemde lidstaten is. Eerder genoemde ingezetene zal echter alleen als staatsburger van een lidstaat van de Caraibische Gemeenschap worden beschouwd en alsgevol hiervan aanspraak kunnen maken op de in deze wet vastgelegde rechten, indien Surinaamse ingezetenen voornoemde rechten ook genieten volgens de Surinaamse wetgeving met uitzondering van deze wet. De in deze wet gehanteerde definitie kan echter worden aangepast als de omstandigheden veranderen, bijvoorbeeld als Montserrat gaat deelnemen aan het Vrije Verkeer van Personen. Montserrat is namelijk een kolonie van het Verenigd Koninkrijk en heeft op grond hiervan geen eigen staatsburgers. Naar aanleiding hiervan zal het nodig zijn eerder genoemde definitie aan te passen om Montserrat in staat te stellen deel te nemen aan het Vrije Verkeer van Personen.
## Artikel 3
Krachtens dit artikel geeft de Minister uitdrukkelijke aan welke lidstaten van de Caraibische Gemeenschap vallen onder de strekking van deze wet. Afhankelijk van de door de Vergadering van Staatshoofden genomen besluiten kan de Minister door lidstaten van de Caraibische Gemeenschap niet te noemen, deze niet laten vallen onder de strekking van de Wet. Afhankelijk van toekomstige besluiten van de Vergadering van Staatshoofden kan de Minister door de lidstaat wel te noemen, het alsnog onder de strekking van de Wet laten vallen.
## Artikel 4
Zij die vallen onder de groep Bekwame Burgers van de Caraibische Gemeenschap mogen zich niet zomaar vrij bewegen binnen de voornoemde gemeenschap. Volgens artikel 46 lid 1 van het Herziene Verdrag van Chaguaramas hebben de lidstaten van de Caraibische Gemeenschap namelijk het recht na te gaan of zij die beweren te vallen onder eerder genoemde groep, daadwerkelijk vallen onder bedoelde groep. Naar aanleiding hiervan worden staatsburgers van lidstaten van de Caraibische Gemeenschap krachtens lid 1 in de gelegenheid gesteld erkening van de status van Bekwame Burger aan te vragen. Staatsburgers van andere lidstaten van de Caraibische Gemeenschap zullen eerder genoemde erkening echter niet kunnen aanvragen en op grond hiervan ook geen gebruik kunnen maken van de in deze wet vastgelegde rechten, indien de wetten in de andere lidstaat minder rechten, zoals vastgelegde in deze wet, geven aan staatsburgers van de Republiek Suriname.
Elke lidstaat van de Caraibische Gemeenschap mag nagaan of iemand die zich beroept op zijn status van Bekwame Burger, die status daadwerkelijk bezit.
---
Elke lidstaat zou dus een certificaat ter erkening van voornoemde status kunnen uitgeven, het geen echter moet worden voorkomen aangezien aan één persoon in elke lidstaat van de Caraibische Gemeenschap steeds één certificaat zou worden verstrekt en voornoemde persoon met meerdere certificaten zou moeten reizen. Naar aanleiding hiervan wordt in lid 2 onder a er aangegeven dat een certificaat alleen wordt verstrekt als de aanvrager niet reeds beschikt over een soortgelijk certificaat verstrekt in een-andere lidstaat van de Caraibische Gemeenschap.»Our translation - not official
1. Every national of a member state of the Caribbean Community may apply to the Minister for recognition of the status of Skilled Citizen of the Caribbean Community. 2. The recognition referred to in sub-section 1 takes place by means of: (a) a certificate issued by the Minister, if the applicant does not hold a certificate issued in another member state of the Caribbean Community; (b) the authentication by or on behalf of the Minister of a certificate issued in another member state of the Caribbean Community, if the applicant already holds the aforesaid certificate.
The Minister is the Minister responsible for labour matters, by article 1(a). Both limbs end in the same status; what differs is whether the Minister writes a certificate or authenticates one.
«De Minister maakt bekend welke lidstaten van de Caraibische Gemeenschap voor de toepassing van het bij of krachtens deze wet bepaalde, als zodanig worden aangemerkt.»Our translation - not official
The Minister announces which member states of the Caribbean Community are regarded as such for the application of what is laid down by or under this Act.
There is no schedule of qualifying states in this Act. Whether a given member state counts is a ministerial announcement, and we did not find it published.
«Een persoon zal voor de toepassing van het bij of krachtens deze wet bepaalde worden beschouwd een staatsburger van een lidstaat van de Caraibische Gemeenschap te zijn, indien die persoon:
a. de nationaliteit bezit van die lidstaat;
b. een ingezetene is van die lidstaat, voor zover de beoogde rechten toevallen aan ingezetenen van de Republiek Suriname.»Our translation - not official
A person shall for the application of what is laid down by or under this Act be regarded as a national of a member state of the Caribbean Community if that person: (a) holds the nationality of that member state; (b) is a resident of that member state, so far as the intended rights accrue to residents of the Republic of Suriname.
The residence limb is reciprocal rather than absolute: a resident of another member state qualifies only to the extent that the right in question is one Suriname gives its own residents.
«1. Om inaanmerking te komen voor erkening van de status, dient een aanvrager te voldoen aan één van de volgende kwalificaties of combinaties van kwalificaties:
a. een graad van Doctorandus, Meester, Licentiatus, Doctor, Bachelor of Master aan de Universiteit van Suriname;
b. een graad van de University of the West Indies of van de University of Guyana aangeduid als een Bachelor’s, Master’s of Doctor’s graad;
c. elke Universitaire graad die in academische rang door of namens de Minister belast met onderwijs is aangewezen als tenminste vergelijkbaar met een kwalificatie genoemd onder a of b;
d. elke kwalificatie of combinatie van kwalificaties aangewezen door of namens de Minister;»Our translation - not official
To be eligible for recognition of the status an applicant must satisfy one of the following qualifications or combinations of qualifications: (a) a degree of Doctorandus, Meester, Licentiatus, Doctor, Bachelor or Master at the University of Suriname; (b) a degree of the University of the West Indies or of the University of Guyana designated as a Bachelor's, Master's or Doctor's degree; (c) any university degree designated in academic rank by or on behalf of the Minister responsible for education as at least comparable with a qualification named under (a) or (b); (d) any qualification or combination of qualifications designated by or on behalf of the Minister;
This instrument is published only as an image. The wording above was read off that picture and checked by eye, so it did not pass the machine verbatim check the other quotations passed. Treat it as accurate but re-read the scan before relying on it.
«A. In artikel 6 lid 2 wordt na de aanhef de opsomming als volgt vervangen:
a. mediawerker;
b. sporter;
c. musicus;
d. artiest;
e. verpleegkundige;
f. ziekenverzorger;
g. leerkracht.»Our translation - not official
In article 6(2) the enumeration after the opening words is replaced as follows: (a) media worker; (b) sportsperson; (c) musician; (d) artiste; (e) nurse; (f) carer; (g) teacher.
This instrument is published only as an image. The wording above was read off that picture and checked by eye, so it did not pass the machine verbatim check the other quotations passed. Treat it as accurate but re-read the scan before relying on it.
«In artikel 46 lid 1 van het Herziene Verdrag van Chaguaramas worden vijf categorieën van de groep Bekwame Burgers van de Caraïbische Gemeenschap genoemd, namelijke afgestudeerden van de universiteit, mediawerkers, sporters, musici en artiesten.»Our translation - not official
Article 46(1) of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas names five categories of the group of Skilled Citizens of the Caribbean Community, namely university graduates, media workers, sportspersons, musicians and artistes.
The memorandum then records that the Heads of Government added nurses and teachers at their 27th meeting in St Kitts and Nevis in July 2006, and that Suriname split nurses into verpleegkundigen and ziekenverzorgers, producing three new categories rather than two. Nothing after 2008 has been added: the artisans, household domestics and associate-degree holders that Guyana, Barbados and Saint Lucia brought in between 2011 and 2020 are absent.
«1. De heffing verbonden aan een aanvraag bedraagt ad SRD 75,- (vijfenzeventig Surinaamse Dollar)»Our translation - not official
The charge attached to an application amounts to SRD 75 (seventy-five Surinamese Dollars)
This instrument is published only as an image. The wording above was read off that picture and checked by eye, so it did not pass the machine verbatim check the other quotations passed. Treat it as accurate but re-read the scan before relying on it.
«3. De Minister neemt geen besluit ten aanzien van de aanvraag dan nadat hij kennis heeft genomen van het advies van de Commissie.»Our translation - not official
The Minister shall take no decision on the application until he has taken note of the advice of the Commission.
Sub-section (4) requires reasons where the decision departs from the advice or refuses recognition. The aliens department names the body the Commissie VVP at the Ministry of Labour, Technological Development and Environment.
«1. Erkenning van de status wordt geweigerd:
a. indien het een persoon betreft die illegaal verblijft in de Republiek Suriname behoudens het geval dat het illegaal verblijf van voornoemde persoon, ten tijd dat er een besluit wordt genomen, kan worden toegeschreven aan een handelen van een der overheidsinstanties of –functionarissen betrokken bij de behandeling van de aanvraag;
b. indien het een persoon betreft tegen wie een bevel tot enige vorm van uitwijzing is uitgesproken door de hiertoe bevoegde autoriteit.»Our translation - not official
Recognition of the status is refused: (a) where it concerns a person staying illegally in the Republic of Suriname, save where that person's illegal stay at the time a decision is taken can be attributed to an act of one of the government bodies or officials involved in handling the application; (b) where it concerns a person against whom an order for any form of expulsion has been made by the competent authority.
This instrument is published only as an image. The wording above was read off that picture and checked by eye, so it did not pass the machine verbatim check the other quotations passed. Treat it as accurate but re-read the scan before relying on it.
«3. Zij treedt in werking op de dag volgende op die van haar afkondiging en werkt terug tot en met 1 januari 2006.»Our translation - not official
It enters into force on the day following that of its promulgation and has retroactive effect to and including 1 January 2006.
This instrument is published only as an image. The wording above was read off that picture and checked by eye, so it did not pass the machine verbatim check the other quotations passed. Treat it as accurate but re-read the scan before relying on it.
«Met een hechtenis van ten hoogste zes (6) maanden of een geldboete van de vierde categorie van het Wetboek van Strafrecht wordt gestraft:»Our translation - not official
Punishable by detention of at most six (6) months or a fine of the fourth category of the Criminal Code is:
The same Act adds article 14(3): a separate penalty is imposed in respect of each person with or in respect of whom the breach was committed and for each day in the course of which it was committed.
«Bepalingen van de in artikel 103 bedoelde overeenkomsten, welke naar de inhoud een ieder
kunnen binden, hebben verbindende kracht nadat zij zijn bekendgemaakt.»Our translation - not official
Provisions of the agreements referred to in article 103 which by their content can bind everyone have binding force after they have been published.
About this source
The National Assembly's legislation portal, and the only public collection of Surinamese law we found. Four collections, divided by one date. `Geldende teksten t/m 2005` holds consolidated texts: amendments were worked into the parent Acts in a project in 2005. `Wetten na 2005`, `Wijzigingen na 2005` and `Overeenkomsten/verdragen` hold the Acts, amending Acts and treaty-approval Acts published since, each as a facsimile of the page of the Staatsblad van de Republiek Suriname in which it was promulgated. Together about five hundred instruments. It also publishes `Naturalisatie wetten`, because in Suriname naturalisation is granted by an Act of Parliament.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The consolidation stops in 2005 and the portal says so on its own index page: "De nieuwe wetten en wetswijzigingen zijn daarna niet opgenomen in de geldende tekst." So a text from the first collection shows the law as the 2005 project left it and nothing more - the Income Tax Act's consolidated text carries amendments only to S.B. 2003 no. 30, prints its rate table in a currency withdrawn in 2004, and has ten later amending entries in the portal's own list. Every money figure in that collection is in Surinamese guilders. Instruments in the other three collections are as enacted and carry no cut-off, but they are scans with no text layer, so they are readings of a picture. The collection carries Acts, amendments, treaties, naturalisation Acts and budgets, and does NOT carry staatsbesluiten, ministeriële beschikkingen or resoluties - which is where much of Surinamese immigration practice lives, so the absence of a measure here is never evidence that it was not made. It also does not always carry the parent Act: the Rijwet 1971 and the Wet Tarief van Invoerrechten 1996 appear only through instruments amending them, and the 1989 Act amending the Rijwet has a page with no document attached.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
«Binnen de Republiek Suriname geldende wettelijke voorschriften vinden geen toepassing,
wanneer deze toepassing niet verenigbaar zou zijn met een ieder verbindende bepalingen van
overeenkomsten, die hetzij voor, hetzij na de totstandkoming van de voorschriften zijn»Our translation - not official
Statutory rules in force within the Republic of Suriname shall not be applied where that application would be incompatible with provisions binding on everyone of agreements which were entered into either before or after the enactment of the rules.
The quotation stops where the page breaks. The sentence completes with the words that the agreements were entered into before or after the coming into being of the rules.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The National Assembly's legislation portal, and the only public collection of Surinamese law we found. Four collections, divided by one date. `Geldende teksten t/m 2005` holds consolidated texts: amendments were worked into the parent Acts in a project in 2005. `Wetten na 2005`, `Wijzigingen na 2005` and `Overeenkomsten/verdragen` hold the Acts, amending Acts and treaty-approval Acts published since, each as a facsimile of the page of the Staatsblad van de Republiek Suriname in which it was promulgated. Together about five hundred instruments. It also publishes `Naturalisatie wetten`, because in Suriname naturalisation is granted by an Act of Parliament.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The consolidation stops in 2005 and the portal says so on its own index page: "De nieuwe wetten en wetswijzigingen zijn daarna niet opgenomen in de geldende tekst." So a text from the first collection shows the law as the 2005 project left it and nothing more - the Income Tax Act's consolidated text carries amendments only to S.B. 2003 no. 30, prints its rate table in a currency withdrawn in 2004, and has ten later amending entries in the portal's own list. Every money figure in that collection is in Surinamese guilders. Instruments in the other three collections are as enacted and carry no cut-off, but they are scans with no text layer, so they are readings of a picture. The collection carries Acts, amendments, treaties, naturalisation Acts and budgets, and does NOT carry staatsbesluiten, ministeriële beschikkingen or resoluties - which is where much of Surinamese immigration practice lives, so the absence of a measure here is never evidence that it was not made. It also does not always carry the parent Act: the Rijwet 1971 and the Wet Tarief van Invoerrechten 1996 appear only through instruments amending them, and the 1989 Act amending the Rijwet has a page with no document attached.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
«Overeenkomsten met andere mogendheden en met volkenrechtelijke organisaties worden door of
met machtiging van de President gesloten en voor zover de overeenkomst dat eist, door de
President bekrachtigd. Deze overeenkomsten worden zo spoedig mogelijk aan De Nationale
Assemblée medegedeeld; zij worden niet bekrachtigd en treden niet in werking dan nadat zij door
De Nationale Assemblée zijn goedgekeurd.»Our translation - not official
Agreements with other powers and with international organisations are concluded by or with authorisation of the President and, so far as the agreement requires it, ratified by the President. These agreements are communicated to the National Assembly as soon as possible; they are not ratified and do not enter into force until they have been approved by the National Assembly.
About this source
The National Assembly's legislation portal, and the only public collection of Surinamese law we found. Four collections, divided by one date. `Geldende teksten t/m 2005` holds consolidated texts: amendments were worked into the parent Acts in a project in 2005. `Wetten na 2005`, `Wijzigingen na 2005` and `Overeenkomsten/verdragen` hold the Acts, amending Acts and treaty-approval Acts published since, each as a facsimile of the page of the Staatsblad van de Republiek Suriname in which it was promulgated. Together about five hundred instruments. It also publishes `Naturalisatie wetten`, because in Suriname naturalisation is granted by an Act of Parliament.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The consolidation stops in 2005 and the portal says so on its own index page: "De nieuwe wetten en wetswijzigingen zijn daarna niet opgenomen in de geldende tekst." So a text from the first collection shows the law as the 2005 project left it and nothing more - the Income Tax Act's consolidated text carries amendments only to S.B. 2003 no. 30, prints its rate table in a currency withdrawn in 2004, and has ten later amending entries in the portal's own list. Every money figure in that collection is in Surinamese guilders. Instruments in the other three collections are as enacted and carry no cut-off, but they are scans with no text layer, so they are readings of a picture. The collection carries Acts, amendments, treaties, naturalisation Acts and budgets, and does NOT carry staatsbesluiten, ministeriële beschikkingen or resoluties - which is where much of Surinamese immigration practice lives, so the absence of a measure here is never evidence that it was not made. It also does not always carry the parent Act: the Rijwet 1971 and the Wet Tarief van Invoerrechten 1996 appear only through instruments amending them, and the 1989 Act amending the Rijwet has a page with no document attached.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
«2. Zij treedt in werking met ingang van de dag volgende op die van haar afkondiging en werkt terug tot en met 1 januari 2006.»Our translation - not official
It enters into force on the day following that of its promulgation and has retroactive effect to and including 1 January 2006.
The Act approves the Protocol to the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas on the relationship between the original jurisdiction of the Caribbean Court of Justice and the constitutions of the member states, signed at Paramaribo on 17 February 2005. It takes effect from the same day as the skilled citizens Act.
«Bij binnenkomst zal aan de CARICOM staatsburgers een kortverblijf van 6 maanden door de Immigratiedienst worden verleend.»Our translation - not official
On entry a short stay of 6 months will be granted to CARICOM nationals by the Immigration Service.
About this source
The sub-directorate that decides residence, extension, settlement and naturalisation applications under the Vreemdelingenwet 1991, the Vreemdelingenbesluit 1995 and the Wet op de Nationaliteit en het Ingezetenschap. Its site publishes the categorisation of aliens it works to (Surinaamse origine, CARICOM staatsburgers, overige vreemdelingen), the application types it accepts, the authorisation-for-short-stay procedure, document lists, announcements and a register of granted residence permits.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: It states practice, not law, and the two diverge in both directions. It gives CARICOM nationals a six-month short stay where the Vreemdelingenwet gives a visa-free visitor three months, and it gives a recognised skilled citizen an indefinite stay the Wet Bekwame Burgers does not confer at all. It describes the marriage option right as open to any alien married to a Surinamese national for two years, where article 12 of the nationality law covers only a wife and states no duration. It attributes the Presidential naturalisation power to article 16 of that law when the power is in article 16a. Its page on categories of aliens announces that the Caribbean Community has fifteen member countries and then lists fourteen, omitting Haiti. It cites instruments it does not publish - the beschikking S.B. 2016 no. 17 on aliens of Surinamese origin and the resolution S.B. 2004 no. 120 on charges - so a figure or a condition found only here has no readable source behind it. Its own announcements page is stale: the latest dated notice is 15 November 2021. It serves a self-signed certificate on https, so a plain client rejects it; it reads over http and through the extraction service.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
«- Op het Ministerie van Arbeid Technologische Ontwikkeling en Milieu (ATM) bij de Commissie VVP voor de verificatie van het certificaat van bekwame burger.
- De Vreemdelingendienst (KPS) voor het verkrijgen van een verblijf van onbepaalde tijd. Hiermede is de bekwame burger in staat zich vrijelijk in Suriname te bewegen.»Our translation - not official
At the Ministry of Labour, Technological Development and Environment at the Commissie VVP for verification of the skilled citizen's certificate. The Aliens Department (KPS) for obtaining a stay of indefinite duration. With this the skilled citizen is able to move freely in Suriname.
The indefinite stay is the department's practice, not a provision of the skilled citizens Act, which confers no entry right at all.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The sub-directorate that decides residence, extension, settlement and naturalisation applications under the Vreemdelingenwet 1991, the Vreemdelingenbesluit 1995 and the Wet op de Nationaliteit en het Ingezetenschap. Its site publishes the categorisation of aliens it works to (Surinaamse origine, CARICOM staatsburgers, overige vreemdelingen), the application types it accepts, the authorisation-for-short-stay procedure, document lists, announcements and a register of granted residence permits.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: It states practice, not law, and the two diverge in both directions. It gives CARICOM nationals a six-month short stay where the Vreemdelingenwet gives a visa-free visitor three months, and it gives a recognised skilled citizen an indefinite stay the Wet Bekwame Burgers does not confer at all. It describes the marriage option right as open to any alien married to a Surinamese national for two years, where article 12 of the nationality law covers only a wife and states no duration. It attributes the Presidential naturalisation power to article 16 of that law when the power is in article 16a. Its page on categories of aliens announces that the Caribbean Community has fifteen member countries and then lists fourteen, omitting Haiti. It cites instruments it does not publish - the beschikking S.B. 2016 no. 17 on aliens of Surinamese origin and the resolution S.B. 2004 no. 120 on charges - so a figure or a condition found only here has no readable source behind it. Its own announcements page is stale: the latest dated notice is 15 November 2021. It serves a self-signed certificate on https, so a plain client rejects it; it reads over http and through the extraction service.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
«Door het verkrijgen van het verblijf voor onbepaalde tijd is de bekwame burger geen ingezetene van Suriname, doch is het hem toegestaan om zich vrijelijk in Suriname te bewegen.»Our translation - not official
By obtaining the stay for an indefinite period the skilled citizen is not a resident of Suriname, but is permitted to move freely in Suriname.
This matters beyond immigration. Article 2(b) of the skilled citizens Act makes residence in another member state a qualifying link only so far as the rights concerned accrue to residents of Suriname, and the basic health insurance Act attaches its compulsory insurance to residence.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The sub-directorate that decides residence, extension, settlement and naturalisation applications under the Vreemdelingenwet 1991, the Vreemdelingenbesluit 1995 and the Wet op de Nationaliteit en het Ingezetenschap. Its site publishes the categorisation of aliens it works to (Surinaamse origine, CARICOM staatsburgers, overige vreemdelingen), the application types it accepts, the authorisation-for-short-stay procedure, document lists, announcements and a register of granted residence permits.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: It states practice, not law, and the two diverge in both directions. It gives CARICOM nationals a six-month short stay where the Vreemdelingenwet gives a visa-free visitor three months, and it gives a recognised skilled citizen an indefinite stay the Wet Bekwame Burgers does not confer at all. It describes the marriage option right as open to any alien married to a Surinamese national for two years, where article 12 of the nationality law covers only a wife and states no duration. It attributes the Presidential naturalisation power to article 16 of that law when the power is in article 16a. Its page on categories of aliens announces that the Caribbean Community has fifteen member countries and then lists fourteen, omitting Haiti. It cites instruments it does not publish - the beschikking S.B. 2016 no. 17 on aliens of Surinamese origin and the resolution S.B. 2004 no. 120 on charges - so a figure or a condition found only here has no readable source behind it. Its own announcements page is stale: the latest dated notice is 15 November 2021. It serves a self-signed certificate on https, so a plain client rejects it; it reads over http and through the extraction service.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
«- Caricom Burgers zijn vrijgesteld van Machtiging tot Kortverblijf (MKV).
- De categorie CARICOM burgers zijn vrijgesteld van het betalen van verblijfs- en vestigingskosten dit conform de resolutie van 18 augustus 2004 houdende de vaststelling van kosten die door de aanvrager moeten worden betaald bij de aanvraag van toelating, verlenging toelating, vestiging en afgifte van duplicaten en verklaringen S.B. 2004 no. 120»Our translation - not official
CARICOM nationals are exempt from the Authorisation for Short Stay (MKV). The category CARICOM nationals is exempt from paying residence and settlement costs, in accordance with the resolution of 18 August 2004 fixing the costs payable by the applicant on application for admission, extension of admission, settlement and issue of duplicates and declarations, S.B. 2004 no. 120.
About this source
The sub-directorate that decides residence, extension, settlement and naturalisation applications under the Vreemdelingenwet 1991, the Vreemdelingenbesluit 1995 and the Wet op de Nationaliteit en het Ingezetenschap. Its site publishes the categorisation of aliens it works to (Surinaamse origine, CARICOM staatsburgers, overige vreemdelingen), the application types it accepts, the authorisation-for-short-stay procedure, document lists, announcements and a register of granted residence permits.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: It states practice, not law, and the two diverge in both directions. It gives CARICOM nationals a six-month short stay where the Vreemdelingenwet gives a visa-free visitor three months, and it gives a recognised skilled citizen an indefinite stay the Wet Bekwame Burgers does not confer at all. It describes the marriage option right as open to any alien married to a Surinamese national for two years, where article 12 of the nationality law covers only a wife and states no duration. It attributes the Presidential naturalisation power to article 16 of that law when the power is in article 16a. Its page on categories of aliens announces that the Caribbean Community has fifteen member countries and then lists fourteen, omitting Haiti. It cites instruments it does not publish - the beschikking S.B. 2016 no. 17 on aliens of Surinamese origin and the resolution S.B. 2004 no. 120 on charges - so a figure or a condition found only here has no readable source behind it. Its own announcements page is stale: the latest dated notice is 15 November 2021. It serves a self-signed certificate on https, so a plain client rejects it; it reads over http and through the extraction service.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
«**De Caricom bestaat uit 15 lidlanden:**
- Antigua and Barbuda
- The Commonwealth of The Bahamas
- Barbados
- Belize
- The Commonwealth of Dominica
- Grenada
- The Republic of Guyana
- Jamaica
- Montserrat
- The Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- St. Vincent and the Grenadines
- The Republic of Suriname
- The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago»Our translation - not official
The Caricom consists of 15 member countries: Antigua and Barbuda, The Commonwealth of The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, The Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, The Republic of Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, The Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, The Republic of Suriname, The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
Fourteen entries under a heading that says fifteen. Haiti is the one missing. This is the department's page rather than an instrument, and it is the only list of qualifying states we found anywhere in the Surinamese material.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The sub-directorate that decides residence, extension, settlement and naturalisation applications under the Vreemdelingenwet 1991, the Vreemdelingenbesluit 1995 and the Wet op de Nationaliteit en het Ingezetenschap. Its site publishes the categorisation of aliens it works to (Surinaamse origine, CARICOM staatsburgers, overige vreemdelingen), the application types it accepts, the authorisation-for-short-stay procedure, document lists, announcements and a register of granted residence permits.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: It states practice, not law, and the two diverge in both directions. It gives CARICOM nationals a six-month short stay where the Vreemdelingenwet gives a visa-free visitor three months, and it gives a recognised skilled citizen an indefinite stay the Wet Bekwame Burgers does not confer at all. It describes the marriage option right as open to any alien married to a Surinamese national for two years, where article 12 of the nationality law covers only a wife and states no duration. It attributes the Presidential naturalisation power to article 16 of that law when the power is in article 16a. Its page on categories of aliens announces that the Caribbean Community has fifteen member countries and then lists fourteen, omitting Haiti. It cites instruments it does not publish - the beschikking S.B. 2016 no. 17 on aliens of Surinamese origin and the resolution S.B. 2004 no. 120 on charges - so a figure or a condition found only here has no readable source behind it. Its own announcements page is stale: the latest dated notice is 15 November 2021. It serves a self-signed certificate on https, so a plain client rejects it; it reads over http and through the extraction service.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
Practical notes
The skilled citizens Act names a charge of SRD 75 and the work permit now costs USD 100. A CARICOM national who is recognised under the Act needs neither: article 2 of the work permit Act excludes persons from whom a permit may not be required under a treaty or a binding decision of an international organisation.
We did not find the ministerial announcement article 3 requires, naming which member states count. Its absence is a gap in our reading, not a finding that no member state qualifies: the Act has operated since 2006 and the aliens department administers it.
The question of Haiti cannot be answered from the Surinamese statute book, because unlike Guyana's there is no schedule to be absent from. What can be recorded is that the only list we found, on the aliens department's own page, announces fifteen member countries and prints fourteen, omitting Haiti.
The indefinite stay a recognised skilled citizen receives is the aliens department's practice. The Act confers no stay, the Vreemdelingenwet's indefinite stay under article 10 is tied to a settlement permit or refugee admission, and article 10(2) allows other categories to be admitted indefinitely by State decree. We did not find the decree.
This record rests on the whole of the Wet Bekwame Burgers van de Caraibische Gemeenschap, the whole of both amending Acts, the whole of the Act approving the Chaguaramas protocol, articles 103 to 106 of the Constitution, the whole of the Vreemdelingenwet 1991, article 2 of the work permit Act, and the aliens department's page on categories of aliens.
- consolidatesWet Bekwame Burgers van de Caraibische Gemeenschap (S.B. 2006 no. 19)
De Nationale Assemblee van de Republiek Suriname
About this source
The National Assembly's legislation portal, and the only public collection of Surinamese law we found. Four collections, divided by one date. `Geldende teksten t/m 2005` holds consolidated texts: amendments were worked into the parent Acts in a project in 2005. `Wetten na 2005`, `Wijzigingen na 2005` and `Overeenkomsten/verdragen` hold the Acts, amending Acts and treaty-approval Acts published since, each as a facsimile of the page of the Staatsblad van de Republiek Suriname in which it was promulgated. Together about five hundred instruments. It also publishes `Naturalisatie wetten`, because in Suriname naturalisation is granted by an Act of Parliament.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The consolidation stops in 2005 and the portal says so on its own index page: "De nieuwe wetten en wetswijzigingen zijn daarna niet opgenomen in de geldende tekst." So a text from the first collection shows the law as the 2005 project left it and nothing more - the Income Tax Act's consolidated text carries amendments only to S.B. 2003 no. 30, prints its rate table in a currency withdrawn in 2004, and has ten later amending entries in the portal's own list. Every money figure in that collection is in Surinamese guilders. Instruments in the other three collections are as enacted and carry no cut-off, but they are scans with no text layer, so they are readings of a picture. The collection carries Acts, amendments, treaties, naturalisation Acts and budgets, and does NOT carry staatsbesluiten, ministeriële beschikkingen or resoluties - which is where much of Surinamese immigration practice lives, so the absence of a measure here is never evidence that it was not made. It also does not always carry the parent Act: the Rijwet 1971 and the Wet Tarief van Invoerrechten 1996 appear only through instruments amending them, and the 1989 Act amending the Rijwet has a page with no document attached.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
- consolidatesWet van 5 maart 2008 tot wijziging van de Wet Bekwame Burgers (S.B. 2008 no. 29)
De Nationale Assemblee van de Republiek Suriname
About this source
The National Assembly's legislation portal, and the only public collection of Surinamese law we found. Four collections, divided by one date. `Geldende teksten t/m 2005` holds consolidated texts: amendments were worked into the parent Acts in a project in 2005. `Wetten na 2005`, `Wijzigingen na 2005` and `Overeenkomsten/verdragen` hold the Acts, amending Acts and treaty-approval Acts published since, each as a facsimile of the page of the Staatsblad van de Republiek Suriname in which it was promulgated. Together about five hundred instruments. It also publishes `Naturalisatie wetten`, because in Suriname naturalisation is granted by an Act of Parliament.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The consolidation stops in 2005 and the portal says so on its own index page: "De nieuwe wetten en wetswijzigingen zijn daarna niet opgenomen in de geldende tekst." So a text from the first collection shows the law as the 2005 project left it and nothing more - the Income Tax Act's consolidated text carries amendments only to S.B. 2003 no. 30, prints its rate table in a currency withdrawn in 2004, and has ten later amending entries in the portal's own list. Every money figure in that collection is in Surinamese guilders. Instruments in the other three collections are as enacted and carry no cut-off, but they are scans with no text layer, so they are readings of a picture. The collection carries Acts, amendments, treaties, naturalisation Acts and budgets, and does NOT carry staatsbesluiten, ministeriële beschikkingen or resoluties - which is where much of Surinamese immigration practice lives, so the absence of a measure here is never evidence that it was not made. It also does not always carry the parent Act: the Rijwet 1971 and the Wet Tarief van Invoerrechten 1996 appear only through instruments amending them, and the 1989 Act amending the Rijwet has a page with no document attached.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
- consolidatesWet van 30 augustus 2023 tot nadere wijziging van de Wet Bekwame Burgers (S.B. 2023 no. 132)
De Nationale Assemblee van de Republiek Suriname
About this source
The National Assembly's legislation portal, and the only public collection of Surinamese law we found. Four collections, divided by one date. `Geldende teksten t/m 2005` holds consolidated texts: amendments were worked into the parent Acts in a project in 2005. `Wetten na 2005`, `Wijzigingen na 2005` and `Overeenkomsten/verdragen` hold the Acts, amending Acts and treaty-approval Acts published since, each as a facsimile of the page of the Staatsblad van de Republiek Suriname in which it was promulgated. Together about five hundred instruments. It also publishes `Naturalisatie wetten`, because in Suriname naturalisation is granted by an Act of Parliament.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The consolidation stops in 2005 and the portal says so on its own index page: "De nieuwe wetten en wetswijzigingen zijn daarna niet opgenomen in de geldende tekst." So a text from the first collection shows the law as the 2005 project left it and nothing more - the Income Tax Act's consolidated text carries amendments only to S.B. 2003 no. 30, prints its rate table in a currency withdrawn in 2004, and has ten later amending entries in the portal's own list. Every money figure in that collection is in Surinamese guilders. Instruments in the other three collections are as enacted and carry no cut-off, but they are scans with no text layer, so they are readings of a picture. The collection carries Acts, amendments, treaties, naturalisation Acts and budgets, and does NOT carry staatsbesluiten, ministeriële beschikkingen or resoluties - which is where much of Surinamese immigration practice lives, so the absence of a measure here is never evidence that it was not made. It also does not always carry the parent Act: the Rijwet 1971 and the Wet Tarief van Invoerrechten 1996 appear only through instruments amending them, and the 1989 Act amending the Rijwet has a page with no document attached.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
- consolidatesWet van 28 januari 2006 houdende goedkeuring van het Protocol bij het Herziene Verdrag van Chaguaramas (S.B. 2006 no. 7)
De Nationale Assemblee van de Republiek Suriname
About this source
The National Assembly's legislation portal, and the only public collection of Surinamese law we found. Four collections, divided by one date. `Geldende teksten t/m 2005` holds consolidated texts: amendments were worked into the parent Acts in a project in 2005. `Wetten na 2005`, `Wijzigingen na 2005` and `Overeenkomsten/verdragen` hold the Acts, amending Acts and treaty-approval Acts published since, each as a facsimile of the page of the Staatsblad van de Republiek Suriname in which it was promulgated. Together about five hundred instruments. It also publishes `Naturalisatie wetten`, because in Suriname naturalisation is granted by an Act of Parliament.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The consolidation stops in 2005 and the portal says so on its own index page: "De nieuwe wetten en wetswijzigingen zijn daarna niet opgenomen in de geldende tekst." So a text from the first collection shows the law as the 2005 project left it and nothing more - the Income Tax Act's consolidated text carries amendments only to S.B. 2003 no. 30, prints its rate table in a currency withdrawn in 2004, and has ten later amending entries in the portal's own list. Every money figure in that collection is in Surinamese guilders. Instruments in the other three collections are as enacted and carry no cut-off, but they are scans with no text layer, so they are readings of a picture. The collection carries Acts, amendments, treaties, naturalisation Acts and budgets, and does NOT carry staatsbesluiten, ministeriële beschikkingen or resoluties - which is where much of Surinamese immigration practice lives, so the absence of a measure here is never evidence that it was not made. It also does not always carry the parent Act: the Rijwet 1971 and the Wet Tarief van Invoerrechten 1996 appear only through instruments amending them, and the 1989 Act amending the Rijwet has a page with no document attached.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
- consolidatesGrondwet van de Republiek Suriname (S.B. 1987 no. 116)
De Nationale Assemblee van de Republiek Suriname · consolidated to 2005
About this source
The National Assembly's legislation portal, and the only public collection of Surinamese law we found. Four collections, divided by one date. `Geldende teksten t/m 2005` holds consolidated texts: amendments were worked into the parent Acts in a project in 2005. `Wetten na 2005`, `Wijzigingen na 2005` and `Overeenkomsten/verdragen` hold the Acts, amending Acts and treaty-approval Acts published since, each as a facsimile of the page of the Staatsblad van de Republiek Suriname in which it was promulgated. Together about five hundred instruments. It also publishes `Naturalisatie wetten`, because in Suriname naturalisation is granted by an Act of Parliament.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The consolidation stops in 2005 and the portal says so on its own index page: "De nieuwe wetten en wetswijzigingen zijn daarna niet opgenomen in de geldende tekst." So a text from the first collection shows the law as the 2005 project left it and nothing more - the Income Tax Act's consolidated text carries amendments only to S.B. 2003 no. 30, prints its rate table in a currency withdrawn in 2004, and has ten later amending entries in the portal's own list. Every money figure in that collection is in Surinamese guilders. Instruments in the other three collections are as enacted and carry no cut-off, but they are scans with no text layer, so they are readings of a picture. The collection carries Acts, amendments, treaties, naturalisation Acts and budgets, and does NOT carry staatsbesluiten, ministeriële beschikkingen or resoluties - which is where much of Surinamese immigration practice lives, so the absence of a measure here is never evidence that it was not made. It also does not always carry the parent Act: the Rijwet 1971 and the Wet Tarief van Invoerrechten 1996 appear only through instruments amending them, and the 1989 Act amending the Rijwet has a page with no document attached.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
- administersCategorisatie van vreemdelingen
Onderdirectoraat Vreemdelingenzaken, Ministerie van Justitie en Politie (Suriname)
About this source
The sub-directorate that decides residence, extension, settlement and naturalisation applications under the Vreemdelingenwet 1991, the Vreemdelingenbesluit 1995 and the Wet op de Nationaliteit en het Ingezetenschap. Its site publishes the categorisation of aliens it works to (Surinaamse origine, CARICOM staatsburgers, overige vreemdelingen), the application types it accepts, the authorisation-for-short-stay procedure, document lists, announcements and a register of granted residence permits.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: It states practice, not law, and the two diverge in both directions. It gives CARICOM nationals a six-month short stay where the Vreemdelingenwet gives a visa-free visitor three months, and it gives a recognised skilled citizen an indefinite stay the Wet Bekwame Burgers does not confer at all. It describes the marriage option right as open to any alien married to a Surinamese national for two years, where article 12 of the nationality law covers only a wife and states no duration. It attributes the Presidential naturalisation power to article 16 of that law when the power is in article 16a. Its page on categories of aliens announces that the Caribbean Community has fifteen member countries and then lists fourteen, omitting Haiti. It cites instruments it does not publish - the beschikking S.B. 2016 no. 17 on aliens of Surinamese origin and the resolution S.B. 2004 no. 120 on charges - so a figure or a condition found only here has no readable source behind it. Its own announcements page is stale: the latest dated notice is 15 November 2021. It serves a self-signed certificate on https, so a plain client rejects it; it reads over http and through the extraction service.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
- consolidatesSurinaamse Wetten: how the collection is organised
De Nationale Assemblee van de Republiek Suriname
About this source
The National Assembly's legislation portal, and the only public collection of Surinamese law we found. Four collections, divided by one date. `Geldende teksten t/m 2005` holds consolidated texts: amendments were worked into the parent Acts in a project in 2005. `Wetten na 2005`, `Wijzigingen na 2005` and `Overeenkomsten/verdragen` hold the Acts, amending Acts and treaty-approval Acts published since, each as a facsimile of the page of the Staatsblad van de Republiek Suriname in which it was promulgated. Together about five hundred instruments. It also publishes `Naturalisatie wetten`, because in Suriname naturalisation is granted by an Act of Parliament.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The consolidation stops in 2005 and the portal says so on its own index page: "De nieuwe wetten en wetswijzigingen zijn daarna niet opgenomen in de geldende tekst." So a text from the first collection shows the law as the 2005 project left it and nothing more - the Income Tax Act's consolidated text carries amendments only to S.B. 2003 no. 30, prints its rate table in a currency withdrawn in 2004, and has ten later amending entries in the portal's own list. Every money figure in that collection is in Surinamese guilders. Instruments in the other three collections are as enacted and carry no cut-off, but they are scans with no text layer, so they are readings of a picture. The collection carries Acts, amendments, treaties, naturalisation Acts and budgets, and does NOT carry staatsbesluiten, ministeriële beschikkingen or resoluties - which is where much of Surinamese immigration practice lives, so the absence of a measure here is never evidence that it was not made. It also does not always carry the parent Act: the Rijwet 1971 and the Wet Tarief van Invoerrechten 1996 appear only through instruments amending them, and the 1989 Act amending the Rijwet has a page with no document attached.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source