Visas will be required for nationals travelling to the Cayman Islands from Jamaica, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Guatemala as from Tuesday, 1 November.
The announcement was made by the Government yesterday afternoon, ending speculation over the new rules which were known to be pending.
Nationals from these countries, who already have UK, US or Canadian visas will be exempt from system.
And persons who are travelling on valid work permits will not require visas for entering or re-entering the Cayman Islands.
Announcing the introduction of visas, Chief Secretary George McCarthy said the requirements would not stop genuine visitors coming to Cayman.
And, he added that it would benefit legitimate travellers who would no longer have to spend hours at Immigration Control upon arriving at Owen Roberts International Airport.
‘For those nationals who live, work and conduct themselves properly in the Cayman Islands, the exclusion of undesirable persons through a visa regime can only serve to protect the good reputation they deserve,’ he said.
Chief Immigration Officer Franz Manderson said that, since January of this year, 354 Jamaican nationals had been refused entry into Cayman, compared to 77 from all other countries, and that there were currently 1,500 who are have overstayed.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Anthony Ennis welcomed the move and said that everything must be done to ensure Cayman’s borders were properly protected and that people were here for bone fide reasons.
Deputy Chief Secretary Donovan Ebanks said the government had been disappointed that news of the visas system had been carried in the press before the government could make an announcement.
He stressed that there had been nothing underhanded about the government not commenting on the visas issue and pointed out that countries, world-wide, normally made such an announcement at the same time as implementing this type of regulation.
The issues surrounding visas for Jamaicans sparked a heated debate this week after Prime Minister PJ Patterson spoke out on the issue at the Chamber of Commerce’s 40th anniversary dinner on Saturday night.
He said every country had the right to protect its borders but inferred that Jamaica could invoke a reciprocal arrangement.
The Cayman Islands Government is opening a visa office in Kingston. The non-refundable fee will be CI$84.
Nationals in Guatemala and El Salvador must apply to the British Embassy in Guatemala and those in Costa Rica should apply to British Embassy in that country.
The application form is available on the Department of Immigration website www.gov.ky/immigration.
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