Jamcovid, Visit Jamaica Platforms Overhauled and Simplified

Jamaica’s travel authorisation application process through the JamCOVID and Visit Jamaica online platforms has been significantly overhauled and simplified.

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, said that the number of questions has been reduced and the speed of approval has increased.

“Jamaican passport holders and tourists can now obtain expedited approvals within minutes of submitting their application, provided that no coronavirus (COVID-19)-related risks are identified. Permanent residents and work permit holders are required to upload documentary evidence of residency status in Jamaica, following which approval is granted,” Mr. Holness said.

The Prime Minister, who was making a statement in the House of representatives on Tuesday (Oct. 26), noted that, eventually, JamCOVID will be retired and morphed into the general management of entry into the country.

“In fact, the Ministry of National Security is already working on a digital platform for immigration entry and so forth, and that is very near to being completed and announced,” he said.

The https://jamcovid19.moh.gov.jm website, which caters to Jamaicans, and the https://www.visitjamaica.com website, dedicated to non-residents and visitors, were designed to assess the health risks of all persons intending to travel to Jamaica and authorise travel accordingly.

Mr. Holness thanked the developer, Amber Group, reminding the House that it was the inability to accurately identify and track infected persons when the first COVID-19 cases were discovered in Jamaica that necessitated the controlled entry measure.

He noted, further, that the implementation of the software in rapid time afforded Jamaica the ability to reopen its borders, when they had to be closed as part of measures to contain the spread of the virus.

“We were among the first to do it in the Caribbean, and other countries looked at what we were doing and copied it and introduced the same systems and other similar systems. It has served us well. It is not a perfect system, and the speed at which it was developed by a local company, that is something that we should really look at and commend ourselves,” he said.

Mr. Holness noted that as other countries increase their vaccination rates and their citizens want to travel and have vacations, “the pressure is building on us to open up, but we’re going to do it strategically. We are going to do it wisely and with great caution so that we are not forced into an uncontrolled fourth wave [of the virus]”.

In the meantime, the Prime Minister informed that Jamaica is removing all banned countries from its travel list based on the recommendation of the Ministry of Health and Wellness.

He noted that a ban was placed on countries such as India, South America and Trinidad and Tobago, because of high infection rates and concerns about new variants of the virus.

“These countries have, however, controlled their outbreaks and have very high vaccination rates. If you look at all of them, their vaccination rates are higher than Jamaica’s vaccination rate… . It doesn’t make sense that we are banning countries that have brought their infection rates under control and have higher vaccination rates than ours,” the Prime Minister pointed out.

The pretesting requirements for persons travelling to Jamaica to present a negative COVID test within three days prior to travel, remains in place.