BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Tuesday February 16, 2016 – Come April 1, anyone coming into or leaving Barbados will have to be fingerprinted, the country’s Immigration Department announced yesterday.
The new measure takes effect on April 1 this year.
And according to Chief Immigration Officer Erine Griffith, it will be followed later this year with the introduction of facial scanning of passengers.
She said the only exemptions to the new regulations will be holders of diplomatic passports and children under the age of 16 years.
Griffith explained that the security measures would bring Barbados in line with international ports of entry, and were mandatory under the Immigration (Biometrics) Regulation 2015.
The immigration chief has urged travellers to cooperate, explaining that the Immigration Department was only seeking to ensure the safety of all who use Barbados’ ports of entry.