Caribbean passport
Encyclopedia
The CARICOM passport is a passport
document issued by the 15 member states of the Caribbean Community
(CARICOM) for their citizens. It can be used both for intra-regional and international travel
. The passport was created to facilitate intra-region travel.
As of early 2009, twelve Member States have introduced CARICOM passports. These states are Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Dominica
, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. CARICOM members who have not yet issued the common passport are the Bahamas, Haiti
, and Montserrat
. As Montserrat is a British Overseas Territory, citizens of Montserrat became full citizens of the United Kingdom
in 2002, and so a common passport is unlikely to be introduced for them.
The CARICOM passport creates awareness that CARICOM nationals are nationals of the Community, as well as a specific country.
In the case of Suriname, the Passport is adorned with the national symbols for the Republic of Suriname, as well as the CARICOM insignia on its cover. President of the Republic of Suriname
Ronald Venetiaan
received the first of these new CARICOM passports.
Antigua and Barbuda's design is to feature the country's Coat of Arms and country name as well as the CARICOM logo.
The passports for Suriname were created by the Canadian Banknote Company Ltd
. (CBN) Under a five-year programme with a price tag of US$1.5 million. It is believed other member states of CARICOM will now soon follow with the introduction of their own branded version of the national 'CARICOM' Passport.
became the first full member state to officially launch the new bloc "CARICOM Passport". The new passports boast having better security and are also machine-readable. The full member states of the Caribbean Community had agreed to establish a common passport in order to make intra-regional and international travel easier for their citizens. The passports are also thought to save additional costs for member states by using a similar cover design, the designs will also follow newly updated international standards on Passport design.
The second state that released the national CARICOM passport was Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
: SVG began issuing the new CARICOM passports around April 2005. On the 25th of October 2005, St. Kitts and Nevis became the third CARICOM member state to bring the CARICOM passport into operation, making good on its promise to launch it before the end of the year and began Issuance of the document to its citizens on 14 November 2005.
Antigua and Barbuda
announced that it would begin using the new CARICOM passport format by the middle of 2005.
St. Lucia proposed introducing the common passport in early 2007 and actually introduced it on January 16, 2007.
Trinidad and Tobago
announced that it would begin to issue the new CARICOM passport in June 2006, and then indicated that it would introduce the passport in July 2006 along with Guyana, but only introduced the passport on the 24th of January 2007.
Grenada
planned to begin issuing the common passport in mid-2006, but started issuing them on the 29th of January 2007.
Barbados
had planned to switch to the common format by late 2006, but then proposed to introduce it by the 31st of December 2007. Barbados launched the new common-format passport on 1 October 2007.
Guyana
had also announced that it would begin to use the new CARICOM passport format by the middle of 2005, but the introduction was delayed and the new target date was set to July 2006. However, Guyana eventually officially launched the passport on the 13th of July 2007.
Jamaica
was expected to institute the passport by the end of 2007; However, this deadline lapsed, and Jamaica was then expected to introduce the passport by January 2009, finally launching the passport on the 2nd of January 2009.
Belize
was expected to introduce the passport by the 31st of December 2007 after its current stock was depleted,. but ultimately Belize introduced the passport on 17 March 2009. In doing so Belize became the twelfth and last country in the CSM to introduce the passport and its introduction was the reason why Belizeans had been having trouble renewing or obtaining new passports as the Belizean Ministry of Immigration and National Security awaited the arrival of a shipment of the new travel documents.
The Bahamas
has not launched the machine-readable passport, and intends to launch the e-passport on December 5, 2007.
Passport
A passport is a document, issued by a national government, which certifies, for the purpose of international travel, the identity and nationality of its holder. The elements of identity are name, date of birth, sex, and place of birth....
document issued by the 15 member states of the Caribbean Community
Caribbean Community
The Caribbean Community is an organisation of 15 Caribbean nations and dependencies. CARICOM's main purposes are to promote economic integration and cooperation among its members, to ensure that the benefits of integration are equitably shared, and to coordinate foreign policy...
(CARICOM) for their citizens. It can be used both for intra-regional and international travel
Travel
Travel is the movement of people or objects between relatively distant geographical locations. 'Travel' can also include relatively short stays between successive movements.-Etymology:...
. The passport was created to facilitate intra-region travel.
The CARICOM Common Passport
Dominica
Dominica , officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles region of the Caribbean Sea, south-southeast of Guadeloupe and northwest of Martinique. Its size is and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of . The Commonwealth...
, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. CARICOM members who have not yet issued the common passport are the Bahamas, Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
, and Montserrat
Montserrat
Montserrat is a British overseas territory located in the Leeward Islands, part of the chain of islands called the Lesser Antilles in the West Indies. This island measures approximately long and wide, giving of coastline...
. As Montserrat is a British Overseas Territory, citizens of Montserrat became full citizens of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in 2002, and so a common passport is unlikely to be introduced for them.
The CARICOM passport creates awareness that CARICOM nationals are nationals of the Community, as well as a specific country.
Passport designs
The passports of all members have the same colour scheme:- Dark blue for civilians,
- GreenGreenGreen is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 520–570 nanometres. In the subtractive color system, it is not a primary color, but is created out of a mixture of yellow and blue, or yellow and cyan; it is considered...
for governmentGovernmentGovernment refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
officials, and - RedRedRed is any of a number of similar colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of light discernible by the human eye, in the wavelength range of roughly 630–740 nm. Longer wavelengths than this are called infrared , and cannot be seen by the naked eye...
for diplomats.
In the case of Suriname, the Passport is adorned with the national symbols for the Republic of Suriname, as well as the CARICOM insignia on its cover. President of the Republic of Suriname
President of Suriname
The President of the Republic of Suriname is, in accordance with the Constitution of 1987, the head of state, head of government, and commander-in-chief of Suriname....
Ronald Venetiaan
Ronald Venetiaan
Ronald Runaldo Venetiaan served as the 6th and 8th President of Suriname. His first term as president ran from 1991 to 1996 after which he lost in the elections to Jules Wijdenbosch...
received the first of these new CARICOM passports.
Antigua and Barbuda's design is to feature the country's Coat of Arms and country name as well as the CARICOM logo.
The passports for Suriname were created by the Canadian Banknote Company Ltd
Canadian Bank Note Company
The Canadian Bank Note Company is a Canadian security printing company. It is probably best known for being one of two private companies holding contracts with the Bank of Canada to supply it with Canada's paper currency. The company's other clients include private businesses, national and...
. (CBN) Under a five-year programme with a price tag of US$1.5 million. It is believed other member states of CARICOM will now soon follow with the introduction of their own branded version of the national 'CARICOM' Passport.
History
On Friday, January 7, 2005, the Republic of SurinameSuriname
Suriname , officially the Republic of Suriname , is a country in northern South America. It borders French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, Brazil to the south, and on the north by the Atlantic Ocean. Suriname was a former colony of the British and of the Dutch, and was previously known as...
became the first full member state to officially launch the new bloc "CARICOM Passport". The new passports boast having better security and are also machine-readable. The full member states of the Caribbean Community had agreed to establish a common passport in order to make intra-regional and international travel easier for their citizens. The passports are also thought to save additional costs for member states by using a similar cover design, the designs will also follow newly updated international standards on Passport design.
The second state that released the national CARICOM passport was Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is an island country in the Lesser Antilles chain, namely in the southern portion of the Windward Islands, which lie at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea where the latter meets the Atlantic Ocean....
: SVG began issuing the new CARICOM passports around April 2005. On the 25th of October 2005, St. Kitts and Nevis became the third CARICOM member state to bring the CARICOM passport into operation, making good on its promise to launch it before the end of the year and began Issuance of the document to its citizens on 14 November 2005.
Antigua and Barbuda
Antigua and Barbuda
Antigua and Barbuda is a twin-island nation lying between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It consists of two major inhabited islands, Antigua and Barbuda, and a number of smaller islands...
announced that it would begin using the new CARICOM passport format by the middle of 2005.
St. Lucia proposed introducing the common passport in early 2007 and actually introduced it on January 16, 2007.
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
announced that it would begin to issue the new CARICOM passport in June 2006, and then indicated that it would introduce the passport in July 2006 along with Guyana, but only introduced the passport on the 24th of January 2007.
Grenada
Grenada
Grenada is an island country and Commonwealth Realm consisting of the island of Grenada and six smaller islands at the southern end of the Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean Sea...
planned to begin issuing the common passport in mid-2006, but started issuing them on the 29th of January 2007.
Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
had planned to switch to the common format by late 2006, but then proposed to introduce it by the 31st of December 2007. Barbados launched the new common-format passport on 1 October 2007.
Guyana
Guyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
had also announced that it would begin to use the new CARICOM passport format by the middle of 2005, but the introduction was delayed and the new target date was set to July 2006. However, Guyana eventually officially launched the passport on the 13th of July 2007.
Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
was expected to institute the passport by the end of 2007; However, this deadline lapsed, and Jamaica was then expected to introduce the passport by January 2009, finally launching the passport on the 2nd of January 2009.
Belize
Belize
Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...
was expected to introduce the passport by the 31st of December 2007 after its current stock was depleted,. but ultimately Belize introduced the passport on 17 March 2009. In doing so Belize became the twelfth and last country in the CSM to introduce the passport and its introduction was the reason why Belizeans had been having trouble renewing or obtaining new passports as the Belizean Ministry of Immigration and National Security awaited the arrival of a shipment of the new travel documents.
Future introduction
The expectation is that all the member states will have introduced the CARICOM passport by 2008 when the stock of their old passports is depleted.The Bahamas
The Bahamas
The Bahamas , officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is a nation consisting of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 islets . It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba and Hispaniola , northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States...
has not launched the machine-readable passport, and intends to launch the e-passport on December 5, 2007.