Barbados to install screenings for travelers

New measures to be implemented April 1

Barbados will be implementing a system where everyone entering or leaving the island will have to be finger printed. In an announcement on Monday the government said the new measure comes into place from April 1. Chief Immigration Officer, Erine Griffith, said this will be followed later in the year with a measure to facially scan passengers. She said the only exemptions to these regulations will be holders of diplomatic passports and children under the age of 16. The Chief Immigration Officer said these security measures will bring Barbados in line with international ports of entry and were mandatory under the Immigration (Biometrics) Regulation 2015. She urged visitors to cooperate with the Immigration Department saying it is seeking to ensure the safety of all who used Barbados’ ports of entry.

When the measure was first introduced here briefly in 2009 it created a backlash with travellers turning to social media to publicize their objections.