President Irfaan Ali has officially revoked the order under the Immigration Act that allowed Haitian nationals visa-free 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.
Concerns have been raised by the governing party over the movement of Haitian nationals into and out of Guyana. It has been suspected that their movement is linked to a well-organised human smuggling ring in which Guyana is used as a transshipment destination.
The 2019 order, signed by Granger, allowed nationals of the Caribbean sister state to enjoy an automatic six-month stay upon arrival here as Haiti.
“We are taking a position that will require visas for these nationals when they come including Haitian nationals, Cuban nationals etc, so the Government of Guyana will be moving in that direction,” Nandlall, on Tuesday said on his weekly televised programme “Issues in the News,” while speaking of the recent discovery of 10 Haitian nationals in a hotel at Skeldon, Corentyne.
He said that the suspected human smuggling activities have long raised concerns as many of the Haitians and, in some cases, Cubans, do not leave Guyana via the legal channels.
“We have a problem in Guyana, which we have been grappling with. It is the influx of persons from various nationalities. It has been long suspected that their entry into Guyana is part of a human smuggling ring of international stature. They enter Guyana and they do not remain here, very few leave through the channels that they came,” he stated.
He pointed out that other Caribbean countries have implemented the visa requirement for Haitian nationals in a bid to prevent such activities. On this note, he said that Guyana is one of three Caribbean nations that currently allow visa-free travel for Haitians.
In 2019, the numbers obtained from both the then Department of Citizenship and from Brazil confirmed that the Haitians are passing through these countries on their way to a final destination. Guyana’s immigration records show that 8,476 Haitians arrived here and 1,170 later departed. Brazil’s immigration records show that 6,925 Haitians arrived in that country and, except for 129, the majority left.
It was also reported for 2019 that 13 persons had been charged with human trafficking-related offences but none of these cases involved a Haitian, either as a victim or a perpetrator, the Department pointed out.
“These people are being smuggled; Haitians, there are some Venezuelans and there are Cubans but in the main it remains Haitians,” Nandlall said.
Nandlall said the government has already met with the United Nations Human Rights Commission, INTERPOL, the Cuban and American embassies, and other international anti-human smuggling agencies to register their concern.
He noted too, that Suriname also faces a similar situation and will have to find ways to address it.
Last Thursday, police on the Corentyne found 10 Haitian nationals, who they initially thought were juveniles but turned out to be over 18 years of age.
In a statement, the Guyana Government said members of the police force, acting on information received, went to the Swiss Hotel located at Skeldon, Corentyne, Berbice, where they found the persons in a room. One of the ten persons is pregnant and only one spoke English.
Nandlall said that these are classic indicators of a smuggling ring.
The statement said that the Haitian nationals did not possess any form of identification or passports. However, during questioning, one of them who spoke English related to the police that they arrived in Guyana on Monday, June 14. The individual said that the group was brought from neighbouring Suriname via speedboat.
Presently, Nandlall said that the police are working to arrest those involved in the detainment of the 10 persons.
Only last Wednesday, the statement said, the police arrested a number of Haitians, Nigerians and Cubans in the vicinity of Lethem, Region Nine. “Some of these persons did not have entry stamps in their passports in relation to Guyana. This is taking place when all neighbouring borders with Guyana are currently closed. There is a continuous influx of these persons at both Cheddi Jagan International Airport and the Eugene F Correia International Airport at Ogle,” it further said.
The Brazilian Government, the statement added, has already expressed concern about the situation, while the Surinamese Government has also shared intelligence that suggests that the racket extends to that neighbouring republic. The Cuban Ambassador to Guyana has also been engaged on the issue.
In addition, the statement noted that the government will also “immediately” review its immigration protocols and impose lawful restrictions and conditions that it considers necessary.
