Guide
Working in Bermuda on a permit: settling in, everyday life, and community
Just arrived or years on the island — the wheels, the flat, the everyday services, the boxes home, and where the community gathers. Who does each job, and where to find them.
This is a who-does-what, not immigration advice. Permit conditions, renewals, changing employers, and what you may drive or own are the Department of Immigration's rules on gov.bm — where a step touches them, it links you there instead of telling you.
Just arrived
Your employer usually arranges the permit and often the first accommodation. What's left is making the island workable: getting around, and making the flat yours.
Wheels, without buying anything yet
A week's rental costs less than the wrong scooter.
Most permit holders start on two wheels or in a rented electric minicar. Renting for the first weeks answers whether you want a scooter at all, and gives you time to read the Transport Control Department's rules on what you can ride or drive before committing.
A scooter of your own, and someone to keep it alive
When you do buy, secondhand mopeds are how the island moves. What matters is knowing a repair shop before you need one — cycle liveries sell, service and rescue, and a good mechanic keeps an ageing bike passing its TCD inspection.
Make the flat actually clean
A move-in deep clean is worth it even in a furnished place — you want your own baseline, not the last tenant's. Cleaning companies do end-of-tenancy and deep cleans as standard jobs; the same companies matter again when you leave and want the deposit back.
Internet, laptop, and calling home
IT shops handle home Wi-Fi setup, laptop repairs, and the tech that keeps you connected to family. Video calls across time zones are the heartbeat of permit life — make the connection solid early.
Everyday life on the island
Once the basics work, the island becomes routine: the AC in summer, the appliances, the haircut, the kids if they're with you.
When something in the flat breaks
Put anything you report to the landlord in writing — a message with a photo is enough.
Who: Plumber, electrician, appliance repair, handyman
In a rented place, repairs are usually the landlord's to arrange — but knowing who does what helps you push things along, and some small jobs you'll want handled yourself with the landlord's OK. Plumbers for leaks, electricians for anything electrical, appliance repairers for the fridge and washer, and a handyman for the small stuff.
Surviving summer: the AC
Bermuda's summer humidity is serious, and a dead AC in August is an emergency of its own. AC companies service, regas and replace units; a spring service beats an August breakdown.
Hair, beauty, and feeling like yourself
The island's salons and barbershops are many and good — including plenty run by and serving the international community. Find the chair where they cut your hair the way home does.
Children on the island
If your family is with you, Bermuda's nurseries, day cares and preschools are listed and searchable. Places fill up — ask early, visit in person.
Locked out, or new locks
It happens to everyone once. Locksmiths open doors, cut spares, and fit better locks — with the landlord's blessing on a rental.
Sending things home
Every permit community ships home — balikbayan boxes to the Philippines, parcels to Chennai and Colombo, barrels to the Caribbean. The island's freight and transport companies handle collection and shipping.
Boxes, barrels, and freight
Start asking in October if it must arrive for the holidays.
Freight companies and general trucking services collect, consolidate and ship. Ask what each actually covers — door-to-door versus port-to-port makes all the difference to the person receiving it — and compare a couple of quotes for anything big.
Finding your people
Bermuda's international community is organised, welcoming, and mostly a message away. This page lists what we could verify — if your association should be here, write to us from the About page and we'll add it.
The Filipino community
The Association of Filipinos in Bermuda (AFB) has been active since 1995 — events, mutual support, and the fastest answers to "how does this work here?". The community's Facebook groups are where day-to-day advice moves.
The Indian and Sri Lankan communities
South Asian communities on the island organise through cultural events, cricket, and active WhatsApp and Facebook circles rather than one public directory — ask colleagues, and you'll be two introductions from everyone. If your association wants to be listed here, we'd genuinely like to include it.
Search this site in your own words
The directory searches in English and Portuguese, and understands common Tagalog trade words too — try "tubero" or "elektrisyan" and the right trade comes back. If a word you'd naturally use finds nothing, tell us via the About page and we'll teach it.
Need something done and not sure who?
Describe the job once and it goes to listed businesses in the right trade and parish — they reply to you directly. Free, no account needed.