The Government is proposing to introduce visa requirements for Jamaican nationals visiting Cayman, starting next week.
But Honorary Jamaican Consul, Mr. Robert Hamaty, has asked for a two-week delay in implementing the system.
The measures are the leading strategy drawn up by the Cayman Islands Chamber of Commerce in its fight against crime.
The Chamber has suggested a visa system be introduced for all nationals from countries considered ‘high risk’.
Chamber of Commerce CEO, Will Pineau, told the Caymanian Compass yesterday that the proposals were still under consideration and the matter would not be taken further until after the forthcoming Business Expo from 13-15 October.
Mr. Hamaty, however, confirmed that he had received official notification from the Government intimating visas be introduced for Jamaicans as from next week.
He pointed out that the new requirements should not affect law-abiding Jamaican citizens visiting Cayman or those here on work permits.
Jamaican nationals who hold current US, UK or Canadian visas will be exempt from the requirements.
Mr. Hamaty said the new rules were partly a response to the high number of Jamaicans flying in to the island to look for work since Hurricane Ivan.
‘Since Hurricane Ivan a lot of people have been arriving from Jamaica in the hope of finding work and Cayman does not have the infrastructure to handle this,’ he pointed out.
‘This new system will, in fact, save Jamaicans a lot of money by not being turned back at the airport,’ said Mr Hamaty
Since January 2004, 384 Jamaican nationals have been refused entry to the country, usually because of insufficient funds to maintain themselves for the duration of their proposed visit.
Mr. Hamaty stressed that the new measures could not be attributed to Jamaicans being linked to the upsurge in crime in Cayman since Hurricane Ivan.
‘There is no evidence to support this, I do not think increase in crime has anything to do with Jamaicans,’ he said.
As of August 1, there were just 30 Jamaican nationals in prison in Cayman out of a total of 178 inmates.
The two islands have always enjoyed a close relationship, with Cayman remaining a protectorate of Jamaica until 1962 and considered part of the parish of Westmoreland.
‘Jamaicans have contributed a lot to society in Cayman and the majority are decent, hard-working, law-abiding citizens. Unfortunately the good suffer for the bad,’ said Mr. Hamaty.
He pointed out that it was mostly Jamaican domestic workers who raised Caymanian children and that it was, in the majority, Jamaican construction workers who had helped rebuild Cayman since Hurricane Ivan.
‘The present people who are in charge of immigrations, both at board level and as civil servants, employ Jamaicans and are sometimes married to them, so they should bear this in mind when making these decisions,’ he said.
‘Many of our successful business people and our politicians, including Mr. Kurt Tibbetts, were educated in Jamaica and we must remember to pay tribute to that country.’
He also pointed out that many senior government officials, including the Chief Justice and Attorney General, were Jamaican by birth.
He added, that as long as Jamaicans went though the correct screening processes, there was no reason they could not continue to contribute to Caymanian society.
The UK introduced a visa systems for Jamaican nationals in 2003 after rising concerns over violence linked to ‘Yardie’ drug gangs.
Jamaica also requires many nationalities to have visas before visiting the island.
The new visas for the Cayman Islands should be should be applied for in Jamaica and it is expected they will take around two weeks to process. No details of the costs involved or the office to apply have yet been made available.
Jamaicans now make up around 50 per cent of the ex-pat workforce in Cayman.
The Cayman Islands government recently issued guidelines urging employers to seek staff from a number of different nations rather than one particular geographical area.
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