Barbados, Belize, Dominica, and Saint Vincent & the Grenadines will allow their citizens to move without restrictions.

The measure was agreed upon by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Heads of State during their 49th Ordinary Meeting on July 6, and responds to the need to advance regional integration.

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This new regime grants nationals of the four countries the right to enter, exit, re-enter, reside, work, and remain indefinitely in any of the participating member states, without the need for special permits.

In addition to mobility, citizens will have access to emergency and primary medical care, as well as public primary and secondary education, always within the capabilities of the host country.

The agreement is part of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas’s Enhanced Cooperation Chapter, which allows groups of at least three CARICOM states to deepen their integration without waiting for the entire community.

Preparations included the creation of digital registries for indefinite stays, entry control systems, and mechanisms to facilitate access to essential services such as health and education in host countries.

The other CARICOM states will continue to apply their existing free movement regimes for skilled workers, services, and businesses, while remaining open to joining the new agreement.

CARICOM members are Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Bahamas, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.

teleSUR: JP

Source: EFE

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