PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago, Feb. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Just days after the start of the Single Domestic Space on February 1, 2007, news has come that in just one month, 7,000 applications were received for the Special CARICOM Visa, which is required by nationals of certain countries to visit 10 Caribbean countries as the world prepares to flock to the region for the ICC Cricket World Cup (CWC) 2007.
The visa is being issued by Caribbean immigration officials in the major cities of London, England; New Delhi, India; Sydney, Australia; Toronto, Canada; and Miami and New York in the United States. A satellite site is now in full operation at the Embassy of Trinidad and Tobago in Venezuela, while others will soon be opened in Geneva, Switzerland; Beijing, China; Brussels, Belgium; and Berlin, Germany.
The Honourable Mia Mottley, Chair of the CARICOM Sub Committee on CWC security and Deputy Prime Minister of Barbados, informed that between January 1 and February 3, 2007, 7,694 people had applied for visas. Of these, 5,735 were issued, with the remaining being processed.
Ms. Mottley also revealed that 17 visa applications have been denied. An extensive vetting process involving multiple checks against CARICOM, United Nations and Interpol Watch lists, as well as other intelligence-gathering mechanisms, ensures full screening of visa applicants.
"The CARICOM Special Visa is not the normal rubber stamp visa. It is a secure visa," said Ms. Mottley.
In order to meet the growing demand for the CARICOM Special Visa, visa- issuing sites have increased staff levels to handle the extra load.
"To issue all these visas is a tremendous amount of work, but we will continue to forge ahead," said the Barbados Deputy Prime Minister, noting that their "turnaround time for processing visas was three days, exclusive of courier or pick-up times."
Details on the CARICOM Special Visa are available at www.caricomvisa.com/ or www.caricomimpacs.org/, or by contacting Rose Blenman, Public Education Coordinator at rblenman@caricom.org.
Website: www.caricomvisa.com/
Website: www.caricomimpacs.org/
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