Population figures
Total country population
282,309
Forcibly displaced population
Refugees (under UNHCR's mandate):
5
Asylum-seekers:
5
IDPs (of concern to UNHCR):
0
Other people in need of international protection:
0
Other
Statelessness persons
0
Host community
0
Others of concern to UNHCR
0
Country context
Barbados lies in the eastern Caribbean Sea, southeast of Saint Lucia and northwest of Trinidad and Tobago, forming part of the Lesser Antilles island chain. Those in need of protection in Barbados originate from neighboring Caribbean and Latin American States, notably Haiti and Venezuela, as well as occasional arrivals from African countries. Asylum-seekers and refugees reside predominantly in urban and peri-urban areas, integrating within host communities and accessing housing, education and health services alongside nationals. Work authorization is regulated under general immigration provisions.
Barbados has not acceded to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967 Protocol, nor has it enacted domestic legislation specifically establishing refugee status determination procedures. Instead, individuals seeking international protection may submit asylum claims through UNHCR upon government request, with processing administered by UNHCR’s regional offices rather than under a national Refugees Act. The principal domestic instrument for entry, stay and removal of non-nationals is the Immigration Act (February 1976), which does not provide a specialized asylum framework.
...Barbados succeeded to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons on 6 March 1972, thereby recognizing the need to protect individuals lacking nationality. However, it has not become a party to the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, and the domestic statute governing nationality—being the Constitution of 1966 together with the Barbados Citizenship Act (CAP 186)—contains general provisions for acquisition, deprivation and renunciation of citizenship.
Statelessness concerns in Barbados often involve children born abroad to Barbadian women who, under current law, may face barriers to acquiring citizenship at birth. Persons deprived of citizenship are safeguarded against becoming stateless by a prohibition on deprivation that would lead to statelessness, though procedural clarity and registration practices in remote areas can leave some individuals undocumented.
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