Gov’t on mission to explore transition for Customs, Immigration
A delegation from the BVI government is visiting the Cayman Islands between June 5 and 7 to explore potential enhancements to the BVI’s Customs and Immigration systems.
Led by Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley, the visit aims to assess how the Cayman Islands successfully integrated their customs and border control services in search of ways to streamline the territory’s own processes.
Premier Wheatley explained that the mission would explore the transition of the Department of Immigration and His Majesty’s Customs to a border force entity.
“The mission will allow for both departments and the parent ministries to gain information on legislative, administrative, and management changes undertaken by the Cayman Islands which allowed for the successful transitioning to the Customs and Border Control Force,” Premier Wheatley stated.
During the delegation’s fact-finding mission, BVI officials will participate in several critical regional meetings, including the Universal Postal Union Regional Strategy Summit and the 20th Caribbean Council of Ministers of Postal Affairs.
The outcomes from this visit could potentially transform the BVI’s approach to border management, aligning it more closely with international standards and leading practices within the Caribbean region.
It also represents a critical step towards implementing the necessary reforms the Commission of Inquiry (COI) report suggested.
The COI report assessed the operations of the Customs Department and pointed out inefficiencies and the need for reforms that enhance the capability to handle modern customs and border control challenges.
The Immigration Department also received significant attention. The COI identified issues with policy enforcement, staff training, and the overall management structure. The report suggested that the immigration system’s effectiveness is crucial for the territory’s security and economic stability and recommended a restructuring to address current shortcomings.
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A waste of trip no two department in the bvi could work together,eg labour & immigration they keep sending you back and forth for information on they say they are one entity.
Cayman could have joined you on a Zoom call or series of calls and simply sent you the legislation they put in place via email. No need for a physical trip and waste of taxpayers dollars.
“explore the transition of the Department of Immigration and His Majesty’s Customs to a border force entity.”
Lol i waiting to see this.
Police was nabbing all the drug bust on water and always in the news
i was wondering why US Customs don’t work with our customs to do the job.
Now i will really see if bvi customs corrupt or will they actually perform a drug bust.
hopefully sea drug bust news and don’t go quiet after customs start duty.
bvi loveee