St Kitts Unveils First CARICOM Passports

The Federation of St Kitts & Nevis achieved a major milestone for Caribbean integration yesterday when it began issuing its new CARICOM passport to its citizens.

Astona Browne, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of National Security, Immigration, Justice and Labor, said St Kitts was eager to take the lead in the integration process. She acknowledged however, that the real significance of the document was that it shows the commitment of the country to CARICOM and it was serious about integration.

The new machine-readable passports not only complies with the required standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), but also enhances the security and integrity of the travel document says Browne.

She said the new system, which is a first for regional integration, was purchased from Canadian Bank Note Company at a cost of just over US$1 million.

“Over the years we have had to rely on the keen eye of our immigration officers to identify the documents that have been tampered with. Individuals habitually removed the data page of a passport that they might have found or stolen and as we would say in local parlance, doctored it,” said Browne.

According to Browne, the new passport is similar on the cover to the current document used, except that it carries the CARICOM Logo and the words Caribbean Community at the top with the Coat of Arms and the name of the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis.