BarbadosCitizenship by descent

Citizenship by descent in Barbados

Children and descendants of a Barbados citizen obtain Barbadian citizenship by confirming their relationship to the citizen parent. The Immigration Department keeps this category separate from naturalisation by residence and registration by marriage: the basis of the application is documentation of the parent's citizenship. The package includes the applicant's birth certificate, the parent's documents and a medical certificate, the form of which depends on age. A citizen works on the island without a separate employment permit.

Source: Barbados Immigration Department — Barbadian Citizenship

How the application is arranged depending on age

What matters here is not the applicant but the parent's citizenship, yet the set of supporting documents differs according to the applicant's age.

Applicants under sixteen

A general medical certificate of health from a doctor is attached to the package, rather than the department's standard form
If the form is signed not by a parent but by another guardian, notarised parental consent is required
If a previous marriage of the parents ended in death or divorce, a death certificate or a decree of divorce is attached

Applicants aged sixteen and over

The medical examination is carried out on the department's standard form, completed by a doctor
The applicant files and signs the application personally
If the applicant attended school in Barbados, a letter from the institution is also attached

When this programme will not suit you

The Barbados citizen is a spouse rather than the applicant's parent

Registration by marriage is a separate category with its own form and a different set of documents

The parent was not a citizen of Barbados, but the applicant has lived on the island for a long time continuously

Naturalisation under section 4(3) — there the applicant's history of residence, schooling and work is assessed, not descent

You need to renounce Barbadian citizenship rather than obtain it

Renunciation of citizenship under section 7 is a separate procedure with its own set of documents and its own fee

What it costs

Application feePaid at the appointment together with the submission of documents	300 BBD
Final fee on approvalPaid after the department has approved the registration of citizenship	1 500 BBD
Total government feesThe sum of the mandatory rows in the table.	1 800 BBD

Documents to gather

The list covers both age variants of applicant — some items apply only in particular circumstances.

The applicant's birth certificate (original and copy)
Birth certificate of the citizen parent and a document confirming their Barbados citizenship
The parents' marriage certificate
A medical certificate from a doctor: a general certificate of health for applicants under sixteen, or the department's standard form for applicants aged sixteen and over
Three passport-format photographs, one of them certified by a justice of the peace or a notary
Letters from the schools the applicant attended in Barbados
Copy of the passport page with biometric data
Notarised parental consent, if the form is signed by another guardian
A death certificate or a decree of divorce, if a previous marriage of the parent was dissolved
An affidavit where there are discrepancies in the spelling of names between documents

How the process runs

The department does not publish a separate step-by-step guide — the sequence has been assembled from the appointment-booking page and the citizenship section.

1
Booking an appointment
Every applicant, including a minor, books an appointment separately through the department's online calendar; the system shows the free and the already booked dates straight away.
2
Assembling the document package
The applicant gathers originals and copies of their own birth certificate and that of the citizen parent, the document confirming the parent's citizenship, the parents' marriage certificate, a medical certificate on the appropriate form, photographs and the passport page with biometric data.
3
Submitting the documents and paying the application fee
At the appointment, originals and copies of the documents are submitted and the application fee is paid — all payments are made at the moment of filing, and without payment the application is not accepted.
4
Verification of the documents on the parent's citizenship
The department checks not the applicant's length of residence but the documents confirming the parent's citizenship: their birth certificate and proof of citizen status.
5
Approval and payment of the final fee
After the registration is approved, the applicant pays the final fee — only after this payment is citizenship by descent considered complete.
6
Requesting a certificate of citizenship by descent
Separately from the registration itself, the department offers a form for requesting a certificate confirming citizenship by descent; the document is useful when later arranging a passport and other papers.

Timelines and rights

Work

A citizen of Barbados works without a permit: permits under section 17 of the Immigration Act are arranged by employers for foreign workers.

Residence

On this ground the Immigration Department asks for documents on the parent's citizenship, not on the applicant's length of residence.

What comes next: permanent residence and citizenship

Route to permanent residence

Permanent residence is arranged separately on Form A1; it is not required in the descent package.

Route to citizenship

Citizenship of Barbados

Frequently asked questions about Citizenship by descent

Does a person granted citizenship by descent need a separate work permit?

No. A citizen of Barbados works without a permit — permits under section 17 of the Immigration Act are arranged by employers only for foreign workers, not for citizens of the country.

Does the department take into account how long the applicant has already lived in Barbados?

No. On this ground it considers the documents confirming the parent's citizenship — their birth certificate and proof of citizen status — rather than the applicant's own history of residence.

Does citizenship by descent confer permanent residence automatically?

No; permanent residence is «Immigrant Status», separate from citizenship: it is arranged on a different form and with its own set of documents, and those papers play no part in the citizenship-by-descent package.

How much does it cost to renounce Barbadian citizenship later, if it is no longer needed?

Renunciation of citizenship is a separate procedure under section 7 with its own fee of 500 Barbados dollars; it requires the original certificate of citizenship, the applicant's Barbados passport and a covering letter.

What should be done if the applicant's or the parent's name is spelled differently in different documents?

An affidavit explaining the discrepancy in the spelling of names across all the documents submitted must be attached to the package.

Other ways to move to Barbados

Every route in one list — migration programmes: Barbados.

The terms and the amounts are checked against official sources — the link sits under each section.Last checked on: 7 August 2026.