With renewed British confidence in Guyana, Pres. Ali advises against abusing visa-free travel
After decades, the United Kingdom (UK) has granted visa-free travel for up to six months to visitors with a valid Guyanese passport and President Dr. Irfaan Ali says this is a strong show of the nation’s confidence in Guyana.
This new visa-free arrangement for visitors was announced by British High Commissioner Jane Miller on Tuesday. It takes effect from November 09, 2022.
Already, the new arrangement has been welcomed by many including several local businesses and private sector bodies since it is seen as a crucial facilitator for easier travel and trade.
President Ali was keen on pointing out the enormous benefits that will be garnered from this new arrangement. Chief among those benefits, he posited, is the confidence the British have demonstrated in Guyana.
Security concerns are among the reasons countries require visas before allowing travellers to enter. This visa waiver can allay some of those fears internationally, the President reasoned.
He also contended that the visa-waiver signals that Guyana is a good investment partner- particularly now that the country is seeking valuable partners to aid its ongoing transformation.
The UK is already one such partner and the two countries are deepening economic ties. In fact, just after the visa-waiver takes effect, a trade mission from the UK is expected in Guyana to scope out new investment and partnership opportunities.
With this show of confidence, the President was quick to advise Guyanese against abusing this new visa-free travel arrangement.
“With these waivers come an important responsibility to all of us.
“We will be working very closely with the UK in strengthening our systems to ensure that there’s proper monitoring and to ensure that there’s no abuse of the process,” Dr. Ali said.
The President also lamented that abusing this visa-free arrangement could harm the government’s efforts at securing visa-free travel to other countries.
High Commissioner Miller noted that there are no plans to cease this waiver soon but said that some issues may trigger a reimposition of the visa requirement.
“If there is a non-compliance or if there’s problems, then it might be reimposed but there’s no plans at the moment for it to be removed,” she related.
The waiver is in effect indefinitely, the British Diplomat underscored.
