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Aug 02, 2019 News
The immigration order which was amended to allow Haitians a six months stay in Guyana may have been misinterpreted. This is according to a legal opinion obtained by Kaieteur News.
Following careful examination of the immigration order, a lawyer explained that while the letter issued by the Senior Confidential Secretary to President David Granger, in January, states that Haitian nationals are “entitled to an automatic stay of six months”, the Immigration Order issued by the President and published in the Official Gazette in January 2019 suggests otherwise.
According to the attorney, the Order does not give Haitian nationals entitlement to an automatic stay of six months, but merely amends Schedule II of the Immigration Act, Cap. 14:02, by adding Haiti to the list of other Caricom member states.
Prior to the amendment, the Act had facilitated the six months automatic stay to other Caricom member states including Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, The Bahamas, Montserrat, Grenada, Jamaica, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago et al.
However, the lawyer said that it is important to note that the basis of the entry of Haitians and other Caricom countries is limited only to certain categories of persons.
Alluding to Part A of the Schedule, the attorney pointed to specifics, in which Caricom nationals are allowed to remain in Guyana for a definite or indefinite period for the purpose of among other things seeking employment.
According to the specifications, this category of persons should possess supporting documentation, which includes a Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME) certificate to allow automatic six months stay.
Further, the attorney pointed out that the list includes graduates of the University of the West Indies; graduates of the University of Guyana; graduates of the University of Suriname; other skilled and professional personnel; contract workers on a seasonal basis; persons engaged in the visual and performing arts; persons engaged in sports; and persons engaged in the media.
The lawyer said too that it is important for immigration officers and their ranking authority to note that without supporting documentation (degrees from specific universities, or a CSME Skills certificate, a contract for seasonal work, etc) which evinces that Haitians or any other national of Caricom member states fall into the class of persons described in Part A of Schedule I, there should be no automatic entry for such a period.
The comments follow revelations that thousands of Haitians have been coming to Guyana through the legal ports of entry but vanishing without a trace.
According to the figures acquired by Kaieteur News, the number of Haitians arriving has escalated since January, when the order to allow six months stay was issued.
Kaieteur News has since confirmed 952 passengers arrived from Haiti in January. From February to July, it was 673, 345, 1321, 2010, 1749 and 1552 respectively. Following allegations by the opposition People’s Progressive Party, (PPP) that a sinister plot to rig the elections was afoot, Minister of Citizenship Winston Felix issued a statement to clear the air on the issue.
According to Felix, the nationals have been using Guyana as a gateway to get to greener pastures. He told the press that droves of Haitians have arrived, but left the country via the porous borders. He categorically stated that there is not plan to have Haitians register and vote for the government as alleged by the PPP.
Earlier this year, Felix had cause to issue a similar statement to quell fears that the Immigration Order for Haitians was an “election-rigging” mechanism. He said the allegations were “wicked and unfounded and are intended to mislead, as well as create the inaccurate impression that Haitians are being treated differently from other foreign nationals coming to Guyana”.
The Minister had reminded that the Immigration Order was in keeping with a unanimous decision that was taken by CARICOM Heads of Government at their 39th Summit in Jamaica in July 2018, to allow Haitians an automatic of six-month stay in all CARICOM Member States.
“This arrangement is not confined to Guyana, it is being implemented by all signatories to the CSME [Caribbean Single Market and Economy] … Haitians are members of the Caribbean Community and we have to treat them as such,” he said.
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