St. Vincent applies for visa-free access to the US
Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves of St.Vincent is making a formal request to the US to allow visa-free travel for citizens of the mainland and those in the Grenadines.
Building up hopes that the Trump administration might soon grant the country’s request, Gonsalves says the federation has a widely respected passport, and islanders have no tradition of overstaying their status in countries that allow visa-free travel.
He did not emphasize that the federation is not under the radar of the US and other Western nations for having the so-called golden passport scheme, which allows foreign nationals to obtain local passports and citizenship for a fee or by investing in local development projects.
These nations have persistently made known their concerns and security discomfort about people with dubious backgrounds, including terrorists, being able to buy into these schemes being offered by St. Kitts, Antigua, St. Lucia, Dominica, and Grenada by simply having access to cash.
“A couple of months ago, I wrote to the government of the US requesting that they accord St.Vincent and the Grenadines visa-free status to go to the United States. Even for a month, three months, you could visit your family,” he said on the campaign trail ahead of the Nov. 27 general elections.
Gonsalves, 79, is seeking a sixth consecutive term in office. “Our nationals have not abused their visa-free status. They are overwhelmingly law-abiding and hardworking.”
“I pointed out, we have had it for six months in England. We have it for 90 days in Europe, and we don’t abuse it. Though I know that President Trump has a stance against certain types of immigration, that we in St. Vincent and the Grenadines are peaceful. We don’t abuse the visa-free status going to the UK or the 27 countries in Europe, which we negotiated, and our passport is one of the three best passports in the Caribbean. I do not know whether the United States will accede to our request, but I have had relevant conversations with officials, and I am keeping in touch.”
Not many nations in the 15-member bloc have attempted to secure special visa-free travel to the US, especially given the current anti-immigration stance of the Trump administration. Gonsalves says he will, however, continue negotiating and will remain hopeful of success.
