The new Border Management System will be implemented in three phases in the Virgin Islands, beginning with the seaports by April 2020. Photo: BVIPA/File

Minister for Natural Resources, Labour and Immigration, Honourable Vincent O. Wheatley (R9) has said the Border Management System for the Virgin Islands is intended to ensure efficiency as persons pass through the Territory's borders and at the same time maintain a high level of security. Photo: VINO/File

Premier and Minister of Finance, Honourable Andrew A. Fahie (R1), second from right, and Deputy Premier and Minister for Natural Resources, Labour and Immigration, Honourable Vincent O. Wheatley (R9), right, signs the contract for the state-of-the-art border management system with Canadian Bank Note (CBN) Ltd on December 2, 2019. Sitting second from left is CBN’s Vice President of Business Development International, Mr Mark Houlton. Photo: VINO

“Mr Speaker, the Border Management System will be installed in three phases, and it is hoped that the first phase will be rolled out by the end of April, at all the seaports.

"More details of phase 2 and 3 will be forthcoming as soon as they are in progress,” Honourable Wheatley said during the Fifth Sitting of the Second Session of the Fourth House of Assembly (HoA) on Tuesday, February 25, 2020.

He continued: “This Border Management System is intended to ensure efficiency as persons pass through our borders and at the same time maintain a high level of security for the Territory.”

Minister Wheatley also mentioned that Canadian Bank Note (CBN), the system developers who signed a contract in late December 2019, came to the Territory early in January 2020 to start the process.

He said CBN met with Her Majesty's Customs, Royal Virgin Islands Police Force (RVIPF), Passport and Visa Office and the Department of Information Technology, who would be utilising the new system.

VI will receive the ‘very best’

CBN’s Vice President of Business Development International Mark Houlton, on December 2, 2019, said the Territory would be receiving the “very best in the latest technology from CBN.”

“We have leveraged all the experience that we have obtained through your neighbours in bringing you that solution. It will be a seamless, integrated solution and we are looking forward to working with the immigration, passport, and e-visas teams into brining one single solution containing all of the information you need to control your borders.”

He said given the experience that CBN has working in the region, “we understand the traveller experience is equally important as national security and so facilitating the traveller experience in a controlled and efficient way will help you with your tourism objectives to continue to build this strong tourism industry that you’ve got here.”

Additionally, Mr Houlton had said, the system would allow electronic visas capabilities that in turn would be integrated into work permit systems and for law enforcement.

$6.4M system

In June 2019, Hon Wheatley revealed during the House of Assembly; the Virgin Islands Party-led administration would be spending $6.4 million to buy the new system for the Territory.

One month later, in July 2019, Hon Wheatley said the system would likely be fully implemented in June 2020 and would include passport scanning upon entry at all ports, e-visas, and proper people tracking.

He said CBN would be responsible for training the present Immigration staff to operate the system.

Meanwhile, Premier and Minister of Finance, Honourable Andrew A. Fahie (R1) has said the system is “needed” in the VI.

“I always say no one does what’s expected, only what’s inspected, but the issue is we do not have the statistics now to inspect. This now will let us know who will be coming, who is here and who is leaving,” Hon Fahie noted back in December 2019.