Immigration amendment bill tabled

Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee on Thursday tabled the Immigration (Amendment) Bill 2007 that will allow Caricom nationals a permit to enter and remain in Guyana for a period of six-months.

According to a Government Information Agency (GINA) press release, like other Caribbean countries Guyana is seeking to implement the new system agreed by the Caricom Heads of Government (HoG) for nationals’ passports to be stamped for six months.

In July, President Bharrat Jagdeo had said that Guyanese travelling to other Caribbean countries will have their passports stamped for six months and that Guyana may be able to implement such a system once the law permits it.

According to GINA, at the 28th HoG summit held in Barbados, from July 1-4, the participants agreed to implement a Caricom travel card that will be issued to every Caricom national except those on the community’s watch list. The travel card will feature facial and finger printing biometrics and persons will have to purchase them. The funds acquired from the card will go towards the Caricom security architecture.