Plans announced to make it easier for French citizens to get passports
French Consul General Philippe Létrilliart had a busy slate of meetings during a planned visit to the Cayman Islands last week.
Although he was on Grand Cayman only parts of two days, Mr. Létrilliart managed to have meetings with Deputy Premier Moses Kirkconnell, Finance Minister Marco Archer and Chamber of Commerce CEO Wil Pineau on Tuesday, as well as attending a reception that evening at Guy Harvey’s Restaurant & Bar to meet many of the French citizens residing there. On Wednesday, he met with Governor Helen Kilpatrick for about an hour.
“It is a short visit, unfortunately, but a productive, fruitful one,” he said.
Mr. Létrilliart, who is based in Miami, was appointed in September 2013 and is one of 10 French consuls general in the United States. In addition to the Cayman Islands, his jurisdiction includes the state of Florida, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, the American Virgin Islands and Turks and Caicos. “I also work a lot with the [French] overseas territories,” he said.
This visit was Mr. Létrilliart’s first to the Cayman Islands and so far the only other jurisdiction under his remit that he has visited outside of Florida is Puerto Rico.
“I have a very good impression,” he said of the Cayman Islands. “It’s nice, safe and really welcoming, for tourism in particular.”
Describing himself as a “classical diplomat,” Mr. Létrilliart said he has previously held diplomatic posts in Paris, Bangkok, Guatemala, Havana, Bolivia, as well as in the protocol office of the French president.
“I’ve tried to focus and specialize in Latin America and the Caribbean,” he said.
Mr. Létrilliart said that part of the consul general’s role is to facilitate the lives of the French citizens living abroad through efficient administration. One of the important administrative roles the consul provides is the issuance of passports. He said that in the past, French citizens living in Cayman had to make two trips overseas – usually to Miami – to get a passport renewed; one to apply for the passport and supply fingerprints and one to pick up the passport. Upon the appointment of Honorary Consul for France in the Cayman Islands Sebastien Guilbard, only the trip to apply is required because Mr. Guilbard is authorized to distribute the passports once they are issued. He said there are plans to eliminate the need to travel at all to get a passport with the use of technology: A portable computer that fits in a suitcase capable of issuing new, machine-readable, biometric passports will be brought to Cayman twice a year and passports will be renewed by appointment.
In addition, Mr. Létrilliart said his office can provide assistance to its citizens here in times of crisis like natural disasters. He encouraged all French citizen living in Cayman to a register with the consulate.
“It’s of great help when you register,” he said. “That way we know where you live and how many people are in your family.”
With that knowledge, the consul can better determine the level of assistance required in the event of a crisis.
There are about 12,000 French citizens registered throughout Mr. Létrilliart’s jurisdiction, most of them living in the Miami, Tampa and Orlando areas, plus about 1,000 in Puerto Rico. However, the he believes the real number of French citizens living in his jurisdiction is between 35,000 and 40,000, with between 120 and 130 of them living in the Cayman Islands.
Mr. Létrilliart said that part of the consul general’s role is to facilitate the lives of the French citizens living abroad through efficient administration.
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