Travel in and out of Trinidad and Tobago just got easier.
From March 17th, travellers will no longer need to fill out the traditional paper-based arrival and departure forms, as the Ministry of Homeland Security launched the country’s new Online Arrival/Departure Card (ADC) Platform on Wednesday.
The new digital system will replace the paper-based forms travellers are required to complete when entering or leaving the country.
Minister of Homeland Security, Roger Alexander, said the online platform will make the border-crossing process faster and more efficient.
“This has been long overdue. We have been left behind somewhat primitively, but today is a new day. In fact, when you had paper-based situations to fill out, that was an era then. That era has come and gone. Passengers will simply complete the online forms, upload the bio-data page of their passport, and receive a digital receipt with a QR code which can be presented to the Immigration and Customs officers upon arrival or departure.”
Minister Alexander noted, however, that the paper-based forms will not be completely phased out.
“Just like in any other system, just in case that we have any issues, we’ll keep some forms available in case we have to return to those forms for a short time to fix any glitches that it may have because everything new sometimes starts off sometimes very rocky, and we intend to treat it like that.”
Minister of Public Administration and Artificial Intelligence Dominic Smith said the platform was a priority of the Government.
“I remember distinctly, two weeks into office, the Minister and I sat, and we said, in his typical fashion, ‘Minister, what do we do about this thing, boy? This online travel thing?’ And I remember we set up a Joint Committee with several of the stakeholders involved here, including CARICOM IMPACS and a number of stakeholders from Immigration, from the Customs Division, Permanent Secretaries, Deputy Permanent Secretaries and at that meeting, we decided, ‘What is the impediment? What is the challenge with this? What can be seen as a rudimentary adjustment?'”
Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Homeland Security, Dr. Wilson Henderson Jr, said personnel will be stationed at the airport to assist passengers in navigating the system.
The ADC platform will be fully implemented from March 17th. However, Minister Alexander noted that the platform will be available from March 14th to ensure travellers are familiar with the system ahead of implementation.