Administrative procedures in place for OECS Economic Union free movement

(OECS Secretariat, Castries, St. Lucia, August 5th 2011)  Monday August 1, 2011 heralded the commencement of full free movement of OECS citizens throughout the six independent countries of the Organisation.

Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines agreed that, from that date, they would permit OECS citizens to enter their territories and remain for an indefinite period in order to work, establish businesses, provide services or reside.

Free movement of OECS citizens is one of the fundamental aspects of the Revised Treaty of Basseterre establishing the OECS Economic Union, which entered into force on January 21, 2011.   On that date the OECS Authority of Heads of Government agreed that August 01, 2011 would be the implementation date for the regime for the complete free movement of citizens of participating Member States.

In order to facilitate the free movement of citizens, the following administrative arrangements and procedures are in effect in Member States:

OECS citizens traveling within the Economic Union should enter the special immigration lines designated for CARICOM Nationals.

OECS citizens traveling within the Union must produce the following documents to the immigration Officials at the point of entry:

1.    A valid photo identification card that bears the nationality of the holder, for example, a passport, driver’s license, voter’s registration card or a national ID card.

2.     A completed E/D form.

The immigration official shall grant entry for an indefinite period, save and except in those circumstances where the citizen poses a security risk or there exists some other legal basis for prohibiting entry to the citizen.

Persons who require additional information or who are interested in giving feedback are encouraged to contact the Regional Integration Unit of their Member State.  They may also contact the OECS Secretariat in St. Lucia at telephone (758)-455-6327 or send us an e-mail: [email protected] or [email protected] with a copy to [email protected]. Information is also available on the OECS website www.oecs.org.

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13 Comments

  1. keith
    February 8, 2013

    One issue i may raise, i am a saint lucian in grenada, i have a international drivers permit but i was told that i need to get a permit to drive in grenada although that my permit says that grenada is part of the listing, can someone clarify this matter

  2. bactimus prime
    August 5, 2011

    a step in a positive direction

  3. Anonymous
    August 5, 2011

    Oh, Happy day!

  4. Cyril Volney
    August 5, 2011

    A wonderful first step toward an OECS NATION!

  5. 1979
    August 5, 2011

    dominicans!!!! stay at home……..when we leave our dominica, they are going to assimilate our country. there will be no one here but the chinese to fight for dominica…..carefull alllu carefulll

  6. 1979
    August 5, 2011

    admin you all have just inflammed a sore on allu own body…

  7. 1979
    August 5, 2011

    take notice people…..as soon as we start talking about relevant things, the previous headline was taken down as the headline and hidden far below the page to escape anyone whose eyes might stumble upon it. i am going to facebook, and i am going to put and end to this rubbish with dno….we will see how many members you will have when i am done with allu. and paint allu red.

    ADMIN: Stop being ridiculous…….we change headlines every couple hours. You expect us to have the same headline all day long? Obviously you don’t know how this business works.

  8. 1979
    August 5, 2011

    so what u trying to say admin????
    We reserve the right to screen, refuse to post, remove or edit user-generated content at any time and for any or no reason in our absolute and sole discretion without prior notice, although we have no duty to do so or to monitor any public forum. All comments posted on DominicaNewsOnline.com reflect the views and opinions of the commentators and not that of the management and staff

    ADMIN: Yep, we reserve the right to refuse, screen, edit or remove posts which does not meet our standards. We have been threatened with lawsuits because of comments people like you post. If you have a problem with that, oh well.

  9. Nation
    August 5, 2011

    Great Move, But why in the Caricom Line and not the OECS member state lines. Just a bit confuse

  10. D.A Massive
    August 5, 2011

    Soon no immigration officer will be able to watch you bad eye like you come in their country to take away something, especially Anguilla.

  11. Tobefair
    August 5, 2011

    Congratulations!

  12. zandoli
    August 5, 2011

    What is an E/D form?

    • Anon Again
      August 5, 2011

      Entry/Departure, otherwise called an immigration form

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