Gov’t urged to simplify online immigration form
The government has been urged to review and simplify the online immigration and customs form used by residents and visitors entering the Virgin Islands.
During a recent Talking Points radio programme, hosts Violet Gaul, Elvin Grant and Damion Grange said travellers have experienced difficulties completing the digital form.
Gaul said she had seen passengers rushing to complete the form and seeking help after arriving in the territory. She also reported instances in which the system forced users to restart the process.
“Sometimes you fill it out, you get to the end, and it cuts you off, and then you’ve got to start all over again,” Gaul stated.
She also questioned the system’s identity verification process, saying it had rejected a photograph she submitted.
“You put in a picture, and they tell you that that’s not you. I have had that,” Gaul stated.
She called on the government to revisit the system and determine whether it was benefiting the territory.
Grant supported the call for a review, saying he had witnessed travellers struggling to complete the form after leaving an aircraft. He said some passengers also encountered problems accessing the internet while waiting to enter the territory.
“So we definitely need to sort that out sooner rather than later. It’s not a very good visitor experience,” Grant stated.
Gaul said displaying information about the requirement at ferry terminals did not fully address the problem because groups of arriving passengers could still be left attempting to complete the form at the same time.
“It’s not the easiest form to fill out. It is very tedious,” Gaul stated.
Grange acknowledged that the form helps the government collect information but questioned whether the same data could be obtained through a less complicated system.
“Do we need that elaborate form? Do we need it at all?” Grange asked.
He also called for officials to examine whether another method could improve travel for residents and visitors while preserving necessary data collection.
“Can we collect the data some other way to make ease of travel a better experience for the travellers and locals?” Grange asked.
The government introduced the digital Embarkation and Disembarkation Card system on January 1, 2025, after conducting a pilot exercise from October 2024. The system replaced paper forms and was intended to streamline processing at ports of entry and improve data collection for border security and tourism planning.
Travellers may complete the form up to 72 hours before travelling or upon arrival, but must submit it before seeking entry from an immigration officer.
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It’s great that we are collecting data, but what do we actually DO with that data? Who has access to that data?
The vessel number still requires letters. BVI-issued official numbers don’t contain letters! This issue was raised while the system was still in beta. It was raised again after the system launched. They said they would fix it. They didn’t. It seems they just don’t care. How is a tourist supposed to know what to do?
Very correct – the registration number thing is nonsense. I experimented, found that the requirement was alphanumeric, and thereafter made up numbers, mostly out of spite.
This form is in urgent need of review. I hope the Government will take the advice given.
The problems associated with online forms are not limited to the BVI. They frequently occur when trying to access international services.
It would appear that those responsible for setting up the forms lack logic and the wherewithal required for building a user friendly website.
I feel like y’all retarded. The form isn’t even that difficult to fill out. Y’all just dumb.
The only thing simple about government is their MINDS! Every f**king thing has to be convoluted or they are not happy!
Just remove it. What’s the point? Swipe a passport on entry done. Most countries do that making travel super easy. Why are we making it hard? It’s just unnecessary
Just like every other pprocess with the misguided belief that they are securing jobs.
you go thru all of that and the custom agents don’t even scan the QR code or look up the info but want to ask where you’re going to stay when you’re a belonger, I can sleep on the sidewalk as my birth given right.
I know when a passenger manifest was enough. Ok Now.
Thank you for calling out the on-line form.
⭐️ “It’s not a very good visitor experience…”
⭐️ “It is very tedious.”
It”s very clear, the entire odious on-line form was written by petty bureaucrats from HM Customs and Immigration, all mainly interested in preserving their jobs, their rank and position, and ultimately how very necessary they were. No concern given to the tourist experience – ZERO!
Did said petty bureaucrats think about asking users for their experience? Sure doesn’t seem so.
Start out with dumping the requested vessel registration number, an item important to possibly 3 people on this planet.
Once again, the entire experience is an example of bad bureaucratic overkill and very poor planning.
The civil servant wants the public to do their job for them because doing it themselves is time consuming, they have to put their own phones down which is tiresome and frankly all work as far as they’re concerned is tantamount to slavery.
You have to upload a picture of your passport and then type some of that info into the form. Why?
Why can’t the form read the data off of the passport picture like the Antigua one does.
Actually, go speak to the Antigua immigration people and just use their system. It’s much easier than this BVI one.
its like they find the most backwards way to implement something vs copy / pasting what is a good efficient process
Does Ronnie have to fill this in?