Reports have emerged of a Virgin Islands national being denied entry into Guyana while transiting through Barbados, due to them not having a visa. Photo: Internet Source/File

Confusion surrounds the visa requirements for Virgin Islands (VI) nationals traveling to Guyana—following conflicting reports regarding entry procedures— prompting Premier and Minister for Finance, Dr the Honourable Natalio D. Wheatley (R7) to address the issue at a press conference on January 23, 2025, disclosing that his government is actively working to clarify the matter. Photo: VINO

The uncertainty arose after reports emerged of a VI national being denied entry into Guyana while transiting through Barbados.

According to Dr Wheatley, “I'm going to have my Director of International Affairs just confirm that for me.

"There was one incident where I was called by a BVI national who got stuck in Barbados on their way to Guyana and was told that they didn't have the visa," Dr Wheatley said, adding, “...I did make contact with the authorities in Guyana to try to get that cleared up. So we will confirm."

Reciprocal Measures

Acknowledging receiving conflicting accounts regarding the travel requirements, the Premier said, "some persons have said that they've been able to travel to Guyana on their BVI passport with no problem; Others have told me otherwise. So we will confirm that those visas are not required."

Elaborating on potential implications of visa policies generally, he explained to media operatives that reciprocal measures often come into play when one country imposes visa restrictions.

"Sometimes what happens is when you put a visa on a country, they reciprocate—they'll put visas back on you in reciprocity.”

The Virgin Islands lifted its travel visa requirements for Guyanese in October 2024.

To ensure clarity, Dr Wheatley sought to reassure citizens that the matter is being thoroughly investigated, affirming, "I have my acting director of international affairs here, and we will confirm the current status of visa requirements for BVI nationals traveling to Guyana; Of course, we did have the one incident, but we’ll get to the bottom of it.”

The Virgin Islands does not appear on the November 14, 2023, list by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Guyana of countries not requiring a visa to enter the South American country.