Dear Sir:

I was really surprised when leaving the Grantley Adams International Airport on Barbados recently 9th May.

While holding a United Kingdom passport and travelling to a non-Caricom country (St Maarten), I was instructed by the Immigration Officer to report to a nearby desk where my passport was further inspected and a special Caricom Timeband (#Z-0035128) was placed around my wrist, which was then recorded by another official.

When I queried the action and pointed out that I did NOT need a special Caricom visa and wasn’t travelling to one of the ten Caribbean countries participating in the excercise, the official after stating it would assist me getting through customs, just shrugged his shoulders.

Was my experience unusual or has this been standard practice?

It would certainly help explain the extraordinary number of Caricom visas that have issued after the last cricket match had been played.

Adrian Loveridge
Barbados