SINT MAARTEN (SAUNDERS) - After months of delay, citizens of Guyana living outside their homeland will soon be able to receive their new passports, and the Sint Maarten Consulate is among 10 of 29 in the diaspora to receive the first set of biometric kits.
This announcement was made on Wednesday during a virtual meeting of Heads of Missions and Permanent Secretary within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Corporation, Ambassador Elisabeth Harper; and Deputy Chief Immigration Officer, Senior Superintendent Stephen Telford.
The delay stemmed from a change of systems at the Central Passport and Immigration Office in Georgetown, which now requires all applicants to submit their biometrics before the travel document can be processed.
Unfortunately, the system was implemented before Guyana Embassies and Consulates around the world were equipped with the necessary equipment. This caused a four-to-five-month delay if persons were unable to travel to Guyana.
As a result, close to 100 persons residing on Sint Maarten are currently affected by the delay and have been unable to move forward with processing immigration and other documents, or travelling.
“We all are facing the brunt of it. No one, in my humble view, is responsible for what is happening…I think our service provider would have put us in this situation,” stated Telford. He assured all Heads of Mission that he has in excess of 200,000 passport books, but the issue is having the equipment at the various consulates to do the interface needed, after which the passports can be printed.
Telford said at the moment there are only 10 kits, which comprise a computer monitor and CPU, a camera and tripod, a biometric reader system, a fingerprint/signature pad, and passport scanner. As of Tuesday, the complete kits arrived in Guyana and were programmed to link the Consulates in the diaspora with the system in Guyana. That programming was expected to be completed by the end of last Wednesday.
Each Head of Mission will be required to coordinate the intake of applicants and will be responsible for the accuracy of the information. The system will have three roles - acceptance, biometrics and issuance. All applicants will be required to submit fingerprints and have their photographs taken. No longer will forms be required, as once the information goes into the system, the passport can be printed in Guyana. Thereafter, the travel document will be posted out. All applicants are required to use their fingerprint to uplift their document.
“The reality is that nobody can collect anybody’s passport…If anybody comes and puts their fingerprint for somebody else’s passport, the system will not accept it,” the DCIO stated. This raised a number of concerns in the meeting, as several consuls indicated that it may be cost-prohibitive for persons to travel to the nearest Consulate (for example, persons who live in Curacao, but may have to travel to Sint Maarten or St. Kitts). Both Ambassador Harper and DCIO Telford said they will revisit this requirement, as from an operational standpoint they will try to see how best to serve the citizens of Guyana.
In the meantime, however, persons must uplift their new passports at the same office where the application was made.
Telford said he appreciates the quality of the new passport as there is a high level of security features. “If any person makes any attempt to tamper with the passport, the passport will become ineffective because of the computerised system and the connectivity with everything,” he stated.
According to the Immigration Chief, the locations to receive the initial kits are Antigua and Barbuda, Brussels (Belgium), Barbados, Toronto (Canada), London (England), New York and Washington DC (USA), Sint Maarten, Paramaribo (Suriname), and Trinidad and Tobago,
In order to ensure a smooth transition, Telford said efforts are being made to send immigration officers to the above-listed locations to guide the process for the first few days. Telford said he and his staff are prepared to work beyond the call of duty to alleviate the backlog of applications, as there are currently more than 4,000 passport applications pending from around the world.
He said starting last Wednesday, they have begun the input of all passport application forms currently at the Passport Office in Georgetown. This is the first phase. Once the immigration officer lands with the kit, he/she will commence the second phase, which is to go through the biometric process of the applicants. “Once that is done, I will print the passport immediately. My staff is prepared to work into the evenings, both at your end and in Georgetown here to push the backlog of passports out in the shortest possible time…so that it can be sent to your end for issuing,” Telford told the consuls.
Moving forward, children under the age of ten will not sign for passports. Previously, children aged eight and up were required to sign. A new feature will see the photograph and name of one parent printed opposite the child’s biodata page. It does not matter whether or not that parent holds Guyanese nationality.
Guyanese nationals landing at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri or at the Eugene F. Corriea International Airport at Ogle will have an ease of entry at the E-gates using the new passport. Those using the old passports, which will phase out by 2027, will not be able to use the E-gates and must be processed by an immigration officer.
“The system is such that…we have tested it and it took 11 seconds for someone to clear that process,” Telford stated.
Guyana’s Honorary Consul, Kim Lucas-Felix said once the system has been installed, she will begin scheduling pending applicants to visit the Consulate in Saunders to take their biometrics, so that all outstanding passports can be printed.
