KINGSTON, Jamaica – The Jamaica government says it welcomes the decision of the London-based Privy Council allowing for appellants from the Commonwealth to benefit from a new visa arrangement that waves the visa application fees for travel to the United Kingdom.
The Privy Council is Jamaica’s highest and final court.
“We welcome this practical development for Jamaicans whose matters appear before the Privy Council and for the attorneys at law who represent them,” Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister, Kamina Johnson Smith said.
“We have been advocating for full removal of the visa requirement, but still welcome the removal of the cost of the visa for this category of Jamaicans and the establishment of a clearer process,” she said, adding “this can only be viewed as positive with respect to access to our final court of appeal”.
The government said that where an appellant or counsel intends to attend a hearing person, travel to London would require a UK visa with Smith noting that the visa cost associated with so has been “a practical consideration for members of Jamaica’s legal profession and their clients for more than two decades’.
The ministry said that under the new arrangement, once a hearing date is confirmed, appellants intending to appear in-person will advise the Privy Council through its case management portal that a visa is required.
“The Court will provide an invitation letter in support of the application, which will be automatically flagged to the UK Supreme Court and Home Office for processing. Applicants will remain subject to the usual checks and may be asked to provide additional information where required”.
Johnson said that the matter had formed part of the discissions overs several years between the two countries and that the new development would clearly be felt by Jamaica’s legal and justice fraternity “who have largely recognised or absorbed the cost of visa fees as a routine part of representing clients before the Privy Council”.
