V'zuelans to pay for visas

NATIONAL Security Minister Stuart Young said there will be a cost attached to the visas being issued to Venezuelans to enter TT legally. Young made this statement in response to a question in the Senate yesterday.

The new visa policy went into effect yesterday.

Young explained it is normal for there to be administrative costs attached to visa applications to any country.

"It will be no different in this circumstance."

At a news conference at his ministry at Temple Court in Port of Spain last Friday, Young said signed an order to allow those visas to be issued at TT's embassy in Caracas. He denied that the embassy was not functioning.

Young said he has been speaking with Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister Dennis Moses about the visas.

He said it was unnecessary to provide additional resources to the embassy, as "the approval of these visas will come from headquarters (Port of Spain)."

A visa application will be made at the embassy in Caracas, sent to Port of Spain and either a "yea or nay" will be sent back to the embassy on the application, he said, adding that the cost of the visa application and all other logistical elements will be issued in due course.

Last Friday, Young said registration cards for successful migrants will be issued within two weeks. He also promised to provide full details of the number of Venezuelan migrants registered, the categories of those migrants (men, women and children) and the cost of the registration process, once they are available.

On another matter, Young apologised to contract staff at the Immigration Detention Centre who had not received their salaries and said instructions were issued to have those payments made yesterday. There seemed to have been a delay in the paperwork to process these workers' salaries, he said.