Govt processed 2000 remigrant applications since 2020 – Todd

– over 400 applications for Guyanese remigrants approved in 2024

Since 2020, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPPC) Government has processed approximately 2,000 applications from Guyanese remigrants interested in returning home to their country of birth, with more than 400 of these remigrants gaining approval just last year.
This was revealed by Foreign Affairs Minister Hugh Todd, during his presentation on day one of the 2025 budget debates on Friday.
According to the Foreign Minister, most of these applications came from the ABC countries, as well as the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
“On migration, the Ministry has improved the efficiency in the processing, to allow for timely deliverables, in keeping with the Ministry mandate. In 2024, the Ministry processed 409 successful applications of Guyanese who remigrated, primarily from the United States (US), Canada, the United Kingdom (UK) and the Caribbean states,” Todd stated.

“Since taking office, the Government of Guyana has processed approximately 2,000 remigrant applications. This highlights the trust and confidence in the diaspora in the PPPC Government. The remigrant unit continues to process applications within seven working days. This represents 1/3 of the processing time under the APNU/AFC (A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance for Change) Government,” he added.
A major factor in attracting so much interest from the diaspora has been how visible the Government is to them in their foreign homes. According to Todd, the PPP/C Government carried out more than 15 engagements with the diaspora, to appraise them of the opportunities in their homeland, and urge them to return and invest.
“The Government of Guyana, under the leadership of his excellency, continues to aggressively pursue the involvement of the diaspora community in the national development. During the year 2024, we undertook more than 15 diaspora engagements, in approximately eight jurisdictions. We will continue to engage with the Guyanese living abroad to encourage their involvement in the national development process,” the Foreign Affairs Minister announced.
The PPP/C Government has already approved more than 1,000 applications from overseas-based Guyanese under the Remigrant Scheme initiative. This programme targets persons in the Guyanese diaspora, providing certain incentives for them to return and contribute to the development of their homeland.
Since assuming office in August 2020, the Dr Irfaan Ali-led Government has placed emphasis on involving the diaspora community in national development. Consequently, Government resuscitated the Diaspora Unit and re-established stakeholder engagement to improve the services provided to the diaspora.
With the PPPC Government’s efforts to improve the re-migrant scheme, and regularly disseminating information to the Diaspora population, there were more than 400 remigrant applications approved in 2023. This represented a 9.8 per cent increase over 2022.
In fact, the number of people who applied for remigrant status in 2023 was 68 per cent higher than the figure for 2019. Further, more than 15,000 passports were renewed for the Diaspora, with over 2,000 second-generation Guyanese registering for the first time for their Guyanese passport – a clear signal of a heightened level of interest and engagement.
Meanwhile, over the years, there have been several high-level engagements with the Guyanese diaspora across the world, including hosting a virtual diaspora conference in 2021; webinars on remigration and investment in 2023, and job fairs in New York, Trinidad and Suriname last year, to harness the skills of members of the diaspora.
During his address to the Virtual Diaspora Conference in May 2021, President Ali had charged the Diaspora to use their influence, finances and expertise to help develop the country and the lives of their fellow Guyanese.
Later, in September 2024, President Ali had a series of engagements with the Guyanese-American community in New York where he had outlined his administration’s vision of Guyana’s development and also updated them on the progress of major infrastructural works. Then last December, he also engaged overseas-based Guyanese in Miami, Florida.
With a majority of the Guyanese Diaspora based in the US and Canada, the Guyana Government has also embarked on extending certain local services to those communities.
As a result, the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) conducted outreaches in New York and Toronto, to address issues that overseas-based Guyanese have with their contributions, thus tackling the massive backlog of cases at the institution.
President Ali has also met with the Guyanese Diaspora in several countries across the Caribbean as well as in the UK, India and even in the Middle East.
The President had indicated his intention to tap into the massive talent pool and expertise that exists within the Guyanese Diaspora.
This is with the intention of filling the labour gaps in the country, as well as attracting investments in new areas.
During a May 2023 visit to Qatar, the Head of State also lobbied the small Guyanese Diaspora there to participate in their homeland’s transformation.