PRESIDENT, Dr. Irfaan Ali and the President of the Guyana Oil and Gas Energy Chamber (GOGEC), Maniram Prashad, on Wednesday, called for systems to be put in place for the processing of Schengen visas in Guyana.

This will end the inconvenience of Guyanese having to travel to Suriname to secure the short-stay visa which is required for travel to a number of European Union (EU) countries that are part of the Schengen area.

While giving remarks at the launch of the EU-Guyana Chamber of Commerce, Prashad said that he had just returned from Suriname where he had to travel to have a visa processed. He noted that steps must be taken to bring that service to Guyana.

“I think the time has come. Guyana has now become a developing country… we need facilities here and I ask you to use your influence and in the near future we can have Schengen visas issued in Guyana,” Prashad told the EU Ambassador, Fernando Canto.

Later, President Ali, during his keynote address noted that he supports Prashad’s request. He called for such a facility to be established within the next few months.
“The request that Maniram made is an important request. It’s not a luxury for the EU anymore to take their time to grant us that facility. I think that the EU must understand that it is in their strategic interest to have that facility here in Guyana within the next few months,” the President emphasised.

The President added: “We can’t have our business people going to Suriname to spend three days then get a travel document to come back. It’s nonsense. We have to find where to get it done in the next few months, which embassy is in the position to get it done in the next few months, what do you want us to do to help you get it done in the next few months and get it done.”
Noting that travel between the two areas will become critical, he hinted that talks to get the Netherlands flag carrier airline KLM to Guyana are on the cards.
This comes following the recent announcement that the official flag carrier of the United Kingdom, British Airways, will commence scheduled flights to Guyana in the first quarter of 2023.
The government is also in the process of working on direct flights to Canada.

President Ali said the call for the Schengen issuing facility in Guyana should be among the first initiatives lobbied for by the newly launched EU-Guyana Chamber of Commerce given the kind of businesses involved and the kind of development that is taking place in Guyana.

“That should be the first outcome, even before we have the first elections for the chambers, because it’s important,” he said.

Responding to questions about the matter on the sidelines of the event, Canto explained that the issuing of the Schengen visa does not fall under the remit of the EU but is really a matter dealt with by the member states themselves.

Nonetheless, he noted that he is already in talks to see how best he can lobby for an easier system for Guyanese to obtain the visa.
“We have already started work on that on the different possibilities. The problem we have is that this is not a responsibility of the EU institutions. This is a responsibility of the EU member states. So, in other words, the delegation of the EU doesn’t have the mandate to deliver any visas; we don’t have it,” Canto remarked.

He further explained, “I understand that it is frustrating to have to go to Paramaribo to get the visas. We are working hard to try to find a solution. Again, it’s not our responsibility but we are trying to facilitate [a] change of the system. Who knows, perhaps without any commitment, one possibility is that someone could come periodically here and deliver the visas. We are exploring that possibility. We don’t know whether it will work.”

Canto noted that the option of moving the issuing office from Paramaribo to Georgetown, while not entirely out of the question, would create a lot of financial implications that would be problematic.

“It’s a complicated thing but it is an important one. I am fully committed to do my very best to find a solution in the longer term. I want to be very clear it is not something on which I can commit myself to anything because it is not my mandate,” Canto said.

Rather than working on bringing visa facilities closer to Guyanese, the ultimate goal is to eventually see the complete removal of the visa requirement for travel between Guyana and the EU countries, he added.