The Passport Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA) is taking its Access Jamaica initiative to the United Kingdom in October.
PICA utilises this engagement to offer services provided locally to persons in the Jamaican Diaspora, and will be doing so in Birmingham and London from October 3 to 8.
Access Jamaica will be at the Legacy Centre of Excellence, 144 Potters Lane, Birmingham on October 3 and 4, and Lewisham Parish Church of St. Mary the Virgin, 346 Lewisham High Street, London, from October 6 to 8.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Andrew Wynter, told JIS News that the entity decided to stage the event in the UK because of the significant number of Jamaicans residing there.
He said PICA has, to date, staged the initiative in the United States and Canada, adding that taking it to the UK forms “part of our whole… strategic… objective to engage the Jamaican Diaspora across the globe.”
“It is important that the same level of service that we have done for Access Jamaica Canada, Toronto, Hartford, Connecticut, Fort Lauderdale, Atlanta, and Orlando, we do for the UK. We believe that it’s time that Jamaicans in the UK benefit from the services that we’re offering,” Mr. Wynter added.
Persons will be able to apply for unconditional landing, as well as Jamaican citizenship by descent or marriage, and new passports or renewals.
“For this [UK] event, our partners will be the Registrar General’s Department (RGD), Victoria Mutual Building Society and Jamaica National Bank. The RGD is a critical partner in this process,” Mr. Wynter said.
Persons in the UK wishing to utilise services through Access Jamaica are encouraged to bring the requisite documents, including birth certificates, marriage licences, expired passports and completed passport applications forms.
“If your passport is the old blue book then you will need to take your birth certificate. If you got married, [bring] your marriage certificate, two pictures and a completed application form. If you have the new dark blue passport and it recently expired and you have not changed your name or [made] any material changes, then you just need to complete the simplified adult renewal form, [and provide] two pictures and the expired passport,” Mr. Wynter explained.
He added that “once you have submitted your documents at Access Jamaica and paid your money, it will take approximately 25 working days for us to process the applications and return them.”
Mr. Wynter further indicated that PICA arranges courier service to facilitate direct delivery of documents to clients.
Persons can register for Access Jamaica by visiting PICA’s website at www.pica.gov.jm.
