Any Guyanese who has filled out a visa application form for the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada or the European Union (Schengen countries) will quickly come to the conclusion that the process is deliberately made costly and complex in order to make it a deterrent to travel.
Costs for a UK tourist visa is US$133 for a stay of less than six months and currently takes six weeks to process. For the United States the cost is US$160 for a non-immigrant visa but the current wait time for an interview is – at least according to the State Department website – an incredible 718 calendar days. For Canada the application fee with biometrics is CAD$185 and takes 22 days to process. The EU Schengen Visa is particularly complicated: For a short trip to the Netherlands for example, you are required to make an appointment to submit your visa application at the visa application centre in Paramaribo. “After submitting the visa application on the day of the appointment, your passport will be returned to you so that you can return to Guyana. Upon return in Guyana, you’ll have to send your passport as soon as possible (max within 10 days) via commercial courier (DHL, FedEx) to the Netherlands embassy in Paramaribo whereupon it will be returned to you with the stamp or a denial slip. Cost US$96.
Aside from the costs and delays, these ABCE countries issue volumes of forms with obscure questions, requiring deep research into family trees and rummaging around one’s house for dusty documents. It is a highly tiresome exercise and really a test of comprehension and patience. And it probably works in eliminating the poorly educated or those without internet/computers. Even after one has pressed “Send” you can still be rejected with no reason nor refund given. The delays meanwhile have meant many Guyanese have, in this time of Covid-19, been unable to attend funerals of loved ones overseas.
Of course this less than subtle obstacle course is imposed on mostly developing countries with poor persons of colour as part of a strategy to keep certain immigrants out. At the same time between themselves there are no such impediments. It was only after 9/11, that UK and EU citizens were required to fill out an Electronic System for Travel Application (ESTA) prior to travel to the United States. Even then it is a fairly simple form (although it does ask one mother’s maiden name) and can literally be done a few hours before departure. Approval or denial is given within about 24 hours. The system is so efficient that airlines are notified of the ESTA status of a traveller who is not even required to present any document at check in. Of course within the EU, citizens cross borders without any checks helping to lower national costs for border controls and facilitating tourism and trade.
Not so for citizens from Guyana, which ever since independence has seen a massive exodus of its people. Much of this has involved them legitimately establishing resident status in a foreign country, prior to going there or after. However there has been in the past many cases of Guyanese simply over-staying tourist visas and becoming “illegal aliens” – a quite pejorative description.
That said, in recent years the numbers are not in fact that significant. The Department of Homeland Security’s 2020 Entry/Exit Overstay Report enumerates that of 53,681 expected departures, suspected in country overstays for Guyanese were 3,054 or around 5%. Many may have simply left at a later date, and because of Guyana’s minute population the overall effect on immigration rates for the USA is of little consequence.
It may have also come to the notice of some of these countries that Guyana’s economic prospects, thanks to the discovery of 11B barrels of oil which at current rates is theoretically worth 1 Trillion US dollars, are looking decidedly brighter of late.
It is hoped that with the increased economic activity and opportunities this should begin to change the push/pull equation that motivates migration – push because of economic hardship (and domestic abuse or discrimination based on sexuality) and the pull of opportunities for work and education or simply to be with family members overseas.
So perhaps it is now time for Guyana’s leaders to begin to push for, if not visa free travel, then certainly arrangements that can make it far easier for their citizens including business travellers. It is incongruous that Western investors can jet down here visa-free looking for the wealth of opportunities we hear so much about, but our own business community must jump through hoops. Canada for example has an Electronic Travel Authorization for visa-exempt foreign nationals which Barbados and Bahamas citizens can use. Guyana is not on the list. Barbadian citizens can arrive in the UK without a visa. According to Global Passport, a website which ranks a country’s travel documents, there are 113 countries which require Guyanese to apply before travelling, 40 issue a visa upon arrival and 42 a Guyanese can fly there visa-free. Of course getting to those 42 countries often requires passing through a major airport hub meaning a visa is needed for intransit. It is also not just about convenience but also about national respect for Guyanese and about reciprocity.
Of course the yardsticks that the ABCE countries might measure in deciding whether to alter current arrangements would revolve around the likelihood that significant numbers of Guyanese would overstay in their countries. They will be looking closely at the standard of living among the poorest citizens. Therefore any success in such a diplomatic endeavour would mean genuinely sharing the oil wealth among all the people. But that’s a whole other story….