New Border Management system to facilitate paperless entry into Saint Lucia

Saint Lucia: The government has recently announced new rules for passport physical travel documents. The upcoming electronic Saint Lucian passports will mean a reduction in the use of physical travel documents.

Immigration expert with the Saint Lucia Border Control Agency, Lucius Lake, says the new passports are part of a Border Management System for Saint Lucia and aim to make travel more user-friendly.

“The intent now, because we have a more functioning border management control system, is to continue with the new ED card solution. The ED card, in its present state, exists where passengers on arrival in Saint Lucia present that ED card to the immigration officer who cross-checks the information against the passport and whatever other travel documents and the declaration to customs. What this is intended is to reduce the amount of paper that is used as compared to travelling to some of the first world countries; you will be able to go online in the not too distant future to complete your online ED card registration and customs declaration with a small health component into it. So it means paperless entry in terms of capturing our visitors coming in and the submissions of visitors or residents entering Saint Lucia.”

Lucius Lake elaborated on the health component of the Border Management System. “The system has the capability of working along with the recognized lab or institutions which grant or which can authenticate a person’s COVID results. It has been done before, so it is a matter of replicating it and having it used in Saint Lucia.”