Just a few days before he lost the general elections in humiliating fashion, Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves last month revealed that he had formally asked the US to abolish visa requirements for citizens in the federation with St. Vincent and the string of Grenadine islands.
His stunning defeat means that it is not clear now whether the new administration will follow up with Washington now that Gonsalves’ party won only one of the 15 parliamentary seats.
Now, The Bahamas, geographically the closest country to the US mainland, says it also plans to formally ask the State Department to grant visa waivers for Bahamians, even now as the Trump administration says it is reviewing travel permits for dozens of mostly Third World countries.
Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell says The Bahamas is anxious to sign off on a visa treaty with the US that would make it easier for Bahamians to travel to then transit to other countries. He says he wants a formal arrangement in place given increasing chat about travel bans for Third World countries. “Bahamians have always wanted to travel freely to the United States. I said to them, and I’ve indicated in sort of private discussions with the prime minister, that I think we ought to formally propose to the United States a treaty between ourselves for visa-free access for Bahamians to the US.
The US and The Bahamas have for decades had a special relationship pertaining to international travel. US customs, immigration, and the Department of Agriculture have preclearance offices in The Bahamas allowing travelers to enter the US basically on domestic flights or by cruise ships.
The US is also the largest contributor of tourists to The Bahamas. Bahamians usually travel to the US visa free if they have no past criminal record but must obtain a visa if entering from a third country.
“I said to them, particularly, since in these days of climate change and all these other climate emergencies, that if the 400,000 of us moved to the states, it wouldn’t make a difference in terms of impact on the population, but the fact is that you have to behave lawfully, and this ought to be lawful entry into another country.”
He made his pitch this week during parliamentary debates on a local migration bill.
