Jamaica stresses US initiated Third Country Nationals transit deal
Key Points(5)
- Jamaica’s government says the United States initiated discussions on a Third Country Nationals (TCN) programme that allows individuals transferred from the U.S.
- to transit through Jamaica en route to other destinations.
- Minister of Education, Skills, Youth and Information Senator Dr.
- Dana Morris Dixon said Jamaica entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to facilitate the arrangement, stressing that it originated as a U.S.
- “It is a US initiative.
Jamaica’s government says the United States initiated discussions on a Third Country Nationals (TCN) program that allows individuals transferred from the U.S. to transit through Jamaica en route to other destinations.
Minister of Education, Skills, Youth and Information Senator Dr. Dana Morris Dixon said Jamaica entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to facilitate the arrangement, stressing that it originated as a U.S. proposal.
“It is a US initiative. So, the US would have come to us on that Third Country Nationals program,” she said during a Jamaica Information Service (JIS) Ministerial Update at Jamaica House on Thursday (June 18).
The agreement allows for the transit of individuals through Jamaica, but officials emphasized that it does not involve permanent relocation or settlement in the country.
Dr. Morris Dixon also sought to distinguish the TCN arrangement from separate discussions involving potential skilled labor mobility initiatives led by the Minister without Portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister, Ambassador Audrey Marks.
She said the two matters were being conflated in public discussion, adding that the sensitive nature of bilateral negotiations often limits how much information is shared during ongoing talks.
“It’s really for that reason that when you’re doing bilateral negotiations, they tend not to really be public, because you have several different iterations of the conversation,” she said.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Security and Peace Dr. Horace Chang also addressed the issue during a post-Cabinet briefing, outlining the operational framework of the agreement.
He said the arrangement was finalized after extensive negotiations involving the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, National Security and Peace, the Office of the Prime Minister, and the Attorney General’s Office.
Dr. Chang said the programme operates under strict limits, with a quota of 25 individuals permitted every two weeks for transit through Jamaica, bound for third countries, including their home nations.
“At no time will the number exceed 25, because we have the right to refuse anyone at any time and both parties can terminate the entire agreement without any long-term notice,” he said.
Officials emphasized that the arrangement is strictly temporary in nature and does not change the immigration status of individuals passing through Jamaica.
