KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Britain Monday sought to give the assurance that Jamaica’s head of state will not require a visa to enter the United Kingdom, as London sought to answer a question that had been posted on social media by the Minister of Legal and Constitutional Affairs, Marlene Malahoo Forte.
In a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday, Marlene Forte, who is also the co-chairperson of the Government’s Constitutional Reform Committee tasked with driving the process to Jamaica’s move towards republican status, questioned why the Governor General be “required to apply for & obtain a visa to travel to the UK on official business?”.
She also noted that the “Independence Constitution of Jamaica 1962 gives the deepest protection to British Monarch in Govt of Jamaica. Governor-General is personal rep of King Charles III”.
In her question, the Minister tagged the British High Commissioner to Jamaica, Judith Slater Slater, and the UK Home Office.
But in a response on X, the British High Commissioner said that the head of state does not require a visa to visit the United Kingdom.
“The Governor General and Lady Allen are not required to obtain a visa, but rather a vignette, or stamp, is put in their passports which states that they are exempt from requiring visas. This is renewed every two years,” Slater said.
Jamaicans must obtain a visa to visit the UK, including going to the London-based Privy Council, the country’s final court of appeal.
Britain imposed a visa restriction on Jamaica in 2003, arguing it was an immigration measure.
Earlier this month, Malahoo Forte said Prime Minister Andrew Holness will, in “short order,” disclose the administration’s position on whether Jamaica should accede to the appellate jurisdiction of the Trinidad-based Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) established in February 2001 by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) governments to replace the Privy Council.https://caribbeantimes.com/grenada-grenada-to-host-a-major-regional-tourism-conference-next-year/.
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