As the OECS prepares for free movement of people in the sub-region, St. Kitts/Nevis has upgraded its Immigration Services with the installation of a computerized immigration management and control system.

AT A GLANCE...What is OECS Economic Union? 

Prime Minister Dr. Denzil Douglas last week commissioned a US245,000 computer system at a ceremony held at the Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport. The management and control system is operational on both islands of the Federation and is designed to track the arrival and departure of residents and visitors.

Prime Minister Douglas pointed out that the system also addresses a major concern of the Federation’s residents that under the OECS Free Movement initiative there is the potential for increased access for criminals into the country.

He indicated that the system has the capacity to identify criminals who may attempt to enter the Federation. “These fears are not isolated to St. Kitts and Nevis,” Prime Minister Douglas said. “The response is that the OECS Governments have been working together to address this particular concern as well as other concerns.”

“As a result the security agencies in the OECS Member Countries have put together what we call a “watch list” to ensure that the criminals do not move across our borders freely any longer. “This “watch list” has been incorporated into the management and control system so that the system immediately flags criminals from the attempt to enter the country,” Dr. Douglas said. He commended the partnership developed with IBM on this and other projects and said the introduction of the system has raised the level of the Federation’s immigration services.