A press conference was held at the Hilly Ewing Building yesterday for the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Turks and Caicos Islands Government and the United Kingdom that will allow TCI to join the list of countries that take part in the Advanced Passenger Information System (APIS).
APIS is an automated system established for aviation and maritime operators. It has the capability of enhancing border security over the region by supplying law enforcement officers with data on passengers and crew members prior to arrival and departure from CARICOM member states, United Kingdom, United States and Canada. This system was established by the US Customs Border Protection agency (CBP) in May 2009.
The main contributions of APIS to TCI border management include:
- The ability for law enforcement officials to know whether potential or known offenders or inadmissible persons are travelling to the TCI prior to departure, giving TCI and it’s partners adequate time to utilize resources efficiently. This also reduces workload for immigration officers.
- The TCI hopes to use APIS as a decision making tool that Immigration and Customs primarily can employ before a passenger is permitted to board an aircraft in their port of departure.
- Transmission of passenger details well in advance of arrival is also a positive step toward achieving facilitation and compliance goals in the TCI.
With the signing of the MOU, the United Kingdom formally granted consent to the TCI for the sharing of intelligence among member states of the Caribbean Community (Caricom).
An MOU regarding APIS between the Turks and Caicos and the United States was signing back in May of 2017 making TCI the first Caricom Associate Member country amongst the six British Overseas territories to sign on to the Advanced Passenger Information System.
At the 2017 signing ceremony, Deputy Premier and Minister of Border Control, Hon. Sean Astwood remarked that that the signing marked a historic occasion as the Turks and Caicos Islands embarked on a path of modernizing our border security regime through the cooperation agreement between the United States of America and the Caribbean counterparts.”
The US ambassador also explained that by adopting APIS, countries would be better able to secure their airports and ports which leads them to enhancing regional security.
Attending yesterday’s signing ceremony were H.E. the Governor, Mr. John Freeman, Premier, Hon. Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson, Deputy Premier and Minister of Border Control, Hon. Sean Astwood, Minister of Home Affairs, Hon. Vaden Williams, Minister of Infrastructure, Hon. Goldray Ewing, Minister of Health, Hon. Edwin Astwood, Officials of the Ministry of Border Control and Employment and Staff of the Immigration Department.
The Hon. Premier signing the MOU on behalf of the Turks and Caicos Islands and H.E. the Governor signed on behalf of the United Kingdom.
