myTobago – your questions, review and comment about Tobago

Hi All,

First off, I'd like to say this is an awesome site! I was recently planning a trip to Tobago (which sadly didn't happen) and somehow I missed myTobago in my internet searches.

Even though the trip didn't work out, I quickly fell in love with Tobago just reading about it. Now my fiancee and I are considering taking a year off from our often crazy lives to come live and lime in Tobago. We plan on coming to visit sometime in December / January, but I'm trying to do some research before then to figure out if this idea is feasible. I have found some info on this site already, but I was hoping someone could help me get some more detailed info on the following:

--Entry Visas / Work permits (i.e., how to acquire, how much they cost, other requirements to obtain, etc...)

--Living Arrangements (i.e., how to go about finding a place to rent for a year, how much it would cost, etc...)

--Overall cost of living (obviously this varies based on your lifestyle but I'm just trying to get an overall idea of the financial requirements for this adventure)

Thanks in advance!

-Amit

Hi Amit

Welcome aboard!

This is a subject that others are better qualified to comment on/advise than me, so I will leave it to them. All I can tell you is that the authorities seem to be tightening up considerably on "long term" visitors.

Entry visas are straightforward enough and issued on arrival - but this will only cover you for a maximum of 3 months. You will then need to attend an interview at the Immigration office prior to your visa running out. Whether you get an extension or not is entirely in the lap of the God's. From what I've heard, some people have been able to extend trips by a couple of years without problems, whilst others have been kicked out after only six months.

Work Permits? Forget it, unless you have been appointed in a specialist role to an existing business on the island and no locals can be found to fulfill that role.

Finding long-term lets is major grief. For some strange reason, real estate agents are not interested - saying that their 'owners' are simply not interested in long term rents. Of course its much easier at the bottom end of the market, but I'm not sure this is the type/level of accommodation you would be looking for.

Good luck with your research though.

Hi Amit,

We moved here from the UK three years ago, and have been through most of the things that you're looking into. As Steve says, work permits can be a problem, and the information he's given you regarding specialising, is correct. They can take several months from application to the issuing, and the laws of the land state that you cannot work without one. Also, (again Steve's spot on), you can come into the country (although you need a return ticket!) for three months, during which time you can visit Immigration and MAY BE granted a stay for another three months. You can do this more than once, but it does get more difficult each time - as you need to prove to Immigration that you're supporting yourself without working. (This can't necessarily be done just by showing them a bank statement!). The cost of a work permit can vary depending on whether you do the work yourself, or you take on the services of a Solicitor. We did the latter, and he's good. You're looking at a cost of about TT$7,000 for a work permit for a year, including Solicitors Fees. As a first time applicant, I'd DEFINITELY advise using a solicitor!

Long term rentals are available, but mostly it's a case of being in the right place at the right time. I know of one, Four Kings Apartments, in Montgomery, that does long term rental. They have either one bedroom apartments that let for around TT$2,800 a month, or the 3 bedroom that rents for about TT$3,200 per month, based on long term. The price per month goes up if you don't sign for six months at a time, but it's clean, with a pool, gym and bar/restaurant on site, and everyone that I know that's stayed there has good things to say about it.

As far as cost of living... Tobago is cheap compared to UK prices, but when you're earning Tobago wages, it's not as attractive! My advice to you would be save like MAD while you're able, then lie back and live on it while you're here! If that's not feasible, spend the rest of your time there training like mad for something that's not readily available on the island!!!

If you need any other information, I'll provide it where I can!! Moving to Tobago IS a hassle... but it's been worth it! We absolutely love it here.

we second completely all of the above. immigration also tend to take a little more interest on your 2nd/3rd/etc trip within the same year, at least they do with us !!!!

also, on a point of info - the work permit needs to be applied for by the company you intend to work for. as in the uk, it will need to demonstrate that it has been active in trying to recruit local labour to the vacancy and it will be expected to demonstrate that it has tried to train a local employee to fulfill the role whilst you are working to it!!. my advice here would be to write a job description that is as tight as possible in respect of matching your skills/training/education rather than just applying for a permit as a chef/driver/mechanic/whatever. so, for eg, chef with languages, boat handler with business qualifications etc etc.

paul

Hi Lisa, Sorry to be really nosey, do you work in Tobago yourself, or run a business, or are you a lady of leisure? The reason for my question is that in the future we are hoping to buy and run a guest house in Tobgo and wondered how the work permit laws affected running your own business.

Thanks Linda

there is no equivalent of the investors permit that some islands have. therefore, even if you own the business outright, you WILL need work permits. also, as an employer, im reasonably sure that there are regulations concerning the percentage of your workforce who must be TnT nationals. dont however quote me on that, i just seem to remember reading it somewhere!!

paul

Hi Linda,

No problem! You can be as nosey as you like! I'll just ignore the questions that I don't want to answer!!! Personally, I'm a lady of leisure, but that's partly because I don't have a work permit myself, and partly by design as I've got one school age daughter, and a second daughter of 7 months. They keep me fairly busy anyway! I am semi-involved in running a business too, as my husband has two businesses. One is Scuba Diving, and the other is Web Design. As Paul says, even as a business owner, Mark requires a work permit covering both these, so I know the aggrovations first hand about getting WP's on the island! If we're fortunate enough to get residency (a VERY long application process!), I may re-think my working situation, but having left 17 years of working in London to come here, at the moment, I'm just very appreciative of the time to just 'chill!'.

If you need any other information that you don't feel comfortable asking me on this site, you can contact me on my e-mail address (click on my profile!), if you'd like to. That way, we don't put Steve in any compromising situations! I CAN tell you, however, that living and working in Tobago is absolutely nothing like coming to Tobago on holiday!! I love Tobago VERY much, but we've lost lots of friends on the island who came seeking paradise and were disappointed to find out that it's a very beautiful country which still has problems of its own!