Immigration

President revokes visa-free travel for Haitians: President Irfaan Ali has officially revoked the order under the Immigration Act that allowed Haitian nationals visafree travel to Guyana. An order, signed by the president and published in an Extraordinary edition of the Official Gazette on June 22, 2021, states that the Immigration Order of 2019 is revoked in its entirety with immediate effect. In January 2019, then President David Granger signed the immigration order for Haiti to be added to the list of countries whose nationals could travel to Guyana without any visa requirement. Ali’s revocation came hours after Attorney General Anil Nandlall announced that government would be implementing a visa requirement for Haitians and Cubans as a condition of entry into Guyana. Nandlall, in a letter sent to Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill, whose ministry has oversight of the aviation industry, has requested that he inform the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority and airlines operating out of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri and the Eugene F. Correia International Airport of the changes. The effect of this revocation is that the Schedule to the Immigration Act is amended by the deletion of ‘Haiti’ from the list of countries whose nationals are entitled to an automatic six months stay in Guyana. Accordingly, nationals of Haiti are no longer entitled to an automatic permit to enter and remain in Guyana for six months. Additionally, nationals of Haiti, except Haitian diplomats, will require a visa to enter Guyana,” Nandlall said in the letter, copied to Minister of Home Affairs Robeson Benn, Minister of Foreign Affairs Hugh Todd and the Commissioner of Police Nigel Hoppie, who is also the Chief Immigration Officer.