Bermuda - Right to Private Ownership and EstablishmentBermuda - Ownership

The GOB has not implemented its plans, announced in February 2014, to privatize, mutualize (a form of privatization in which employees are shareholders), and/or outsource non-core government functions. However, it has increasingly turned to public-private partnerships, most recently signing an exclusive agreement with the semi-public Canadian Commercial Corporation in November 2014 to seek a contractor to build a new airport terminal building to be financed from future airport revenues.  Other examples of public-private partnerships are the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital Redevelopment Project and the Bermuda Tourism Authority. In awarding contracts, the GOB does not always follow established bidding processes if the Accountant General agrees that not doing so is in the public interest. 
 

The Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) is the entity that screens foreign direct investment. The screening process entails looking for proof of criminal activity and/ or money laundering.  The Registry for Companies makes the final decision regarding the inscription of companies both domestic and international.  If an application is denied, the client has the option to re-apply after addressing the reasons for the denial.  
 

In order to incorporate, the BMA requires a copy of the most recent financial statements, a business plan, the articles of incorporation, copies of client agreements used in the course of business, any required licenses, and a check for the application fee. 
 

In October 2009, the BMA launched an online filing system to facilitate the registration of companies. The online system improved the processing of applications, while maintaining the integrity of the review process.  Under the new system incorporation can take as little as four weeks.  The Bermuda Business Development Agency also offers a concierge service to facilitate and expedite the incorporation of international companies. 
 

The BMA holds the authority to restrict or revoke a company’s license and, under the Investment.
 

Business Act, can censor, issue warnings or require dissolution.  An investment provider may appeal the BMA’s decision to a tribunal constituted on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the Investment Business Act. 
 

See www.bma.bm 
 

The Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS), a Registered Bermuda Charity and a U.S. 501(c) (3) not-for-profit research and educational organization, is a world-class ocean science research and education facility.  BIOS performs research in many fields, including oceanography, marine biology, genetics and molecular biology, chemistry, air/environmental quality, optics, biogeochemistry, and climate change. 
 

The Sargasso Sea Alliance, a partnership led by the GOB in collaboration with scientists (including BIOS), international marine conservation groups, and private donors, works to protect the unique and vulnerable ocean ecosystem of the Sargasso Sea, which surrounds Bermuda.  In March 2014, representatives from the governments of five countries and territories from around the Sargasso Sea, including the U.S., signed the Hamilton Declaration on Collaboration for the Conservation of the Sargasso Sea, a non-binding political statement that indicates signatories’ interest in voluntarily collaborating on efforts to conserve the Sargasso Sea. 
 

Although the GOB and many Bermudians recognize the importance of third country nationals (TCNs) to the island, the GOB generally imposes a 'Bermudianization policy that entails giving preferential job employment to locals.  
 

In recognition of the key role IB and foreign investment play in the economy, particularly in terms of job creation for Bermudians, the GOB enacted a new work permit policy, effective March 1, 2015. The global entrepreneur work permit gives TCNs who plan to incorporate an exempt company in Bermuda permission to live and work on the island for a maximum of 12 months while in the planning stages.  New business work permits allow exempt companies that are new to Bermuda to expedite up to ten work permits within the first six months of their moving to Bermuda.  The new policy also requires employers to advertise all positions for at least eight consecutive days and to confer directly with the Department of Workforce Development about whether there are qualified Bermudians to fill posts in certain job categories.  Spouses of work permit holders, but not their children, may seek employment. 
 

Earlier, in January 2013, the GOB eliminated the controversial term limits policy, under which TCNs were allowed to work in Bermuda for no more than six years, or up to ten years if their employers could demonstrate they were “key employees.”  To reward and retain companies already in Bermuda, and to encourage new companies to establish themselves on the island, in December 2013 the GOB amended the Incentives for Job Makers Act (IJMA) 2011 to change from recruiting and retaining TCNs whose residence in Bermuda was critical to a company’s remaining in Bermuda to those who were critical to jobs in general remaining on the island. 
 

While the GOB does not require foreign investors to follow the “forced localization” of goods or technology, it encourages IB to support the economy by purchasing from local companies, such as those providing accounting, banking, legal, management, and office supply services.  Since the world economic downturn of 2008, however, a number of IBs have consolidated, restructured and moved, in some cases shifting IT, HR, and other administrative services to lower-cost jurisdictions, including Canada and the U.S. 
 

The Bermuda Police Service works with law enforcement worldwide and uses Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties to obtain information from foreign IT providers. The Regulatory Authority enforces rules on maintaining certain amount of data storage within the Bermuda economy.