Humiliated. That's how one foreign wife told The Royal Gazette she felt when she and her husband discovered they needed a licence for the home they already owned together.

The couple bought the house well before the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Amendment Act was passed in 2007 — and had no idea it would ever apply to them.

When the legislation was first tabled in the House of Assembly, much of the debate around it focused on the fact that it prevented mixed-status couples — Bermudians married to those without Bermudian status — from having more than one property after June 22, 2007.

A citizens' protest group, now defunct, was formed and a flurry of headlines about discrimination appeared. But the brouhaha quickly died down and one important aspect of the Act — the need for many mixed-status couples to obtain a licence for first homes — seemed to get forgotten.

So did the severe penalties for those who failed to comply before June 22, 2010: a jail term of up to five years and/or a fine of up to $1 million.

Like many locals and their partners, the couple mentioned above only realised they needed a licence when they remortgaged their home to do some renovation and the bank pointed it out.

"We like to think of ourselves as informed members of society and we recognise that it is the responsibility of all residents to make themselves aware of the laws of Bermuda," the wife told The Royal Gazette.

"It is also acknowledged by us that the Government did make some outreach efforts. However, in the past two years, the implications of the amendments and our obligations as a result, did not come to our awareness. Undoubtedly, the outreach was limited and there was very little effort to dilute the legalese in any public information.

"Very soon after the amendment was passed, it became publicly obvious that there was a lot of confusion regarding the amendments to the law. Why was there not more effort made to clarify such matters, especially when the penalties for failing to comply with the law are so considerable?"

The couple's case was cut and dried. The wife — who does not possess Bermudian status — jointly owned the property, was named on the deeds and contributed towards the mortgage payments.

In other words, she was gaining an equitable interest in the home, so a land licence was needed. The idea behind the licence is to allow Government to keep track of all foreign interest in local land/property and limit the number of non-Bermudians with such an interest.

Former Immigration Minister Derrick Burgess, in a statement about the law in July 2007, explained: "The Government is motivated by the wish to preserve as much of Bermuda's land for Bermudians as possible."

He pointed out that a "staggeringly high 37 percent of residential land in Bermuda is already owned legally by non-Bermudians".

The wife told us: "It is demeaning to have to obtain a licence for a spouse for a home that they already part own. It is demeaning to have your partner 'licenced' full stop.

"We are told that the purpose of this law is to facilitate Bermudian home ownership. However, the Bermudian in this marriage could not hope to afford to own a home in Bermuda — given the exorbitant house prices — without the contribution of the non-Bermudian spouse, who actually is facilitating Bermudian home ownership."

The woman, in her 30s, said Government ought to declare how much of the foreign land ownership here was due to marriage, was legally purchased outright or was down to "fronting" i.e. where a non-Bermudian gains an unlawful interest in land by using a local "front".

"Our suspicion is that this law takes a sledgehammer to a problem where a scalpel would have sufficed and the average Bermudian is suffering and put at risk as a result," she said.

"To obtain the licence costs thousands of dollars in legal fees, in addition to the licence fee. Also, it required us both to obtain personal references from our bank, friends and co-workers, to presumably vouch that we and our marriage are legitimate.

"This was acutely embarrassing and humiliating. It felt as though we had to prove that our marriage and the promise we made in front of God, family, friends and each other was inadequate.

"Subsequent chatter in the media from officials regarding sham marriages, problem overseas nationals and greedy foreigners only increased our humiliation.

"In the country of origin of the non-Bermudian spouse in this relationship, the Bermudian already has free access to health care, the right to vote, the freedom to travel with protection across the globe, good earning potential, beautiful beaches, golf courses, stunning countryside, spas, history, culture, a good quality of life, and, finally, dignity and respect."

The couple now have a licence, as do many other mixed-status couples who have bought property or taken out a loan for work on their home since the law was passed. In those cases, the bank has made them aware of the need for a licence.

A Bermudian who bought a home in Paget in 2008 with her expatriate husband told us: "It probably took us about two months to actually get the licence, which, when you are dealing with real estate is quite a long time.

"You are expecting the current owner to hold out for you. It adds to the stress and the cost. It's just a lot of hassle."

The 30-year-old underwriter added: "I think it takes away my rights as a Bermudian, because I'm now discriminated against because I chose, in my opinion, to increase the gene pool on the Island. In marrying a foreigner, I lost some of my rights."

She said the fact that the law also prevents her and her husband from investing in more property here was "ridiculous". "How am I supposed to invest my income? I would buy abroad and then I would probably leave the Island just because we are less discriminated against in another country."

Another Bermudian, who lives with his foreign wife in Southampton, described the licence as "discriminatory and very unfair". "Take the case of a Bermudian family that raises two children and one marries an expat and the other a Bermudian," said the 33-year-old accountant.

"When they go to bid on houses with a similar bid a seller is incentivised to sell to the all-Bermudian couple in order to close more quickly. Furthermore, this law will affect future generations in that there is always a chance that a Bermudian family has a member that marries an expat."

He added: "Remember, you can't choose love; love chooses you."

Another man, married to a foreign woman, told us: "My wife got the licence two years ago. In my mind, it wasn't a big thing. We both own the property and we weren't really too bothered."

Lots of people who owned property before 2007 told us they had no idea they might need a licence until a story appeared in The Royal Gazette last Thursday reminding people of the June 22 deadline.

Reminders sent out by the Department of Immigration to homeowners with their land tax bills in 2008 seem to have gone largely unnoticed.

Our article prompted more than 100 phone calls and e-mails in two days to the Department, according to chief immigration officer Rozy Azhar.

And Immigration permanent secretary Derrick Binns told us: "Your coverage of the issue seems to have served us well, as many people are now more aware of the coming deadline and the need for them to act."

Readers contacted us to express their shock and dismay that they might need a licence, including one Bermudian living in the Dominican Republic.

"I think that is the most stupid thing I have ever heard in my life," said the 32-year-old man, who is married to a 25-year-old Dominican woman and owns a house here. "It could affect me and I don't see why it should affect me if I choose to marry outside Bermuda."

Another Bermudian married to a foreigner was quickly reassured that she didn't need a licence after she e-mailed Ms Azhar.

The woman owned her home in Hamilton Parish before she met her spouse and has paid off the mortgage. They've since renovated the kitchen together but didn't need to take a loan out to do so. His name does not appear on the deeds, hence no licence is required.

The wife said she and her husband wanted to buy another property here together but couldn't so invested in a flat in his home country instead, where no such restrictions were in place.

"There has to be some sort of 'Bermuda first' emphasis, otherwise you wouldn't be able to compete [as a local]," she said. "But it just seems to be too much."

She said that when she and her sister inherit their mother's property, she assumes her sister will have to buy her out. "Because I have married a non-Bermudian, I can't buy her out," she added.

"You can put it in a trust or things like that but it's not as straightforward any more and it's that much more expensive."

Another Bermudian woman, who lives in Paget with her English boyfriend of 11 years, was stunned to find out on Friday that they need a licence, even though he has a permanent residence certificate.

"It apparently doesn't count for diddly," said the 55-year-old. "It's absolutely ridiculous. It's Government's way of trying to get money off of us. This is so discriminatory against Bermudians who chose to be with or marry a non-Bermudian.

"His name is on the deeds but the property is being left to both my Bermudian children."

It is clear that some people are still confused by the law — three years after it was passed by MPs. One man, who was a member of the group which campaigned against the Act, told us he thought the Immigration Minister had given couples until June 2012 to get their licence.

The man was wrong. There has been no extension and June 22, 2010, remains the deadline. The confusion may have arisen because Government has given itself an extra two years to complete its register of foreign-owned land.

When advising the House of Assembly of that extension, Junior Immigration Minister Walter Roban mistakenly told MPs that foreigners who owned land licenced before June 2007 were also being granted a two-year extension to get those licences validated. He corrected his error the following week.

Ms Azhar said the Department of Immigration usually processes licence applications in a month but that will probably take longer if it now gets a flood of applications, as expected.

She said anyone in doubt about their situation should get in touch. "It really is a phone call or an e-mail exchange to assess whether they need a licence or not," Ms Azhar said.

She added that some fully Bermudian couples had been into the office since Thursday's article appeared.

"Please make it clear that if the husband and wife are both Bermudian, this is not their problem," she said. "The requirement for a licence does not apply to couples, both of whom possess Bermudian status or non-Bermudian spouses who have obtained Bermudian status after ten years of marriage to their Bermudian spouse."

Requests for an interview with Immigration Minister David Burch on the issue received no response.