TORTOLA, (CMC):
A call has been made for the lifting of visa restrictions for more Caribbean nationals and not just those from Guyana.
In the wake of an announcement that the British Virgin Islands (BVI) will soon lift the visa restriction for Guyanese, Dameon Percival, the host of a local talk show, said citizens from the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Jamaica should also be allowed to travel to the territory visa-free.
“I don’t agree that people from the Philippines and that side of the world should have visas because we’re not familiar with that side of the world and we see a lot of things going on in those countries. But people from the Caribbean who have family here, who are closer to us, who we can relate to, we shouldn’t have visa restrictions for these people,” Percival stated in a discussion with co-host Cindy Rosan.
Rosan explained that the visa requirement is just an added layer of security for the BVI, adding that there were some viable reasons the BVI started requiring visas from some countries.
As an example, Rosan pointed out that Jamaicans were able to travel to the BVI without visas for many years until some Jamaicans started committing violent crimes in the territory.
“We don’t know why certain things are done but I know it’s for a layer of protection and maybe they are just to control how many people come into the territory from certain countries,” Rosan said.
However, Percival said he believes background checks and criminal records should be enough to verify the character of Caribbean nationals seeking to enter the BVI. He added that the visa requirement is particularly unfair for Caribbean nationals who have been living and working in the BVI for years, as they have to renew their travel document yearly.
“They have to have this visa renewed every year. How can it be for security purposes if the people are already living here?” he asked.
Visa requirements in the BVI have always been a hot topic, especially since expats make up such a large part of the territory’s workforce.