- NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 11/Jul 08:17

Sobers: Neglect led to UK visa situation

FOREIGN and Caricom Affairs Minister Sean Sobers said the previous administration had the opportunity to ensure UK visa fees were not increased but neglected to do so. He said he would be meeting virtually with the UK Home Office on July 18 to discuss the issue. Speaking at the post-cabinet media briefing at the Red House, Port of Spain, on July 10, Sobers said the government had it on good authority that discussions took place with the High Commission and a particular security agency in Trinidad and Tobago. “What was revealed based on that discussion was an inordinately high number of people were leaving TT to go to the UK to claim asylum and from what we have gleaned, none of the ministries of the previous administration did anything about it prior to us coming into office. They were told, well in advance of the March deadline that eventually came upon them, that they needed to do certain things about that issue. “One of the things which was requested for the change in a particular piece of legislation which would have allowed advance passenger information to be delivered to the UK an hour before the plane’s actual departure for the UK. That was never done, and based upon the ineffective, lackadaisical or non-existent approach to deal with that issue and not providing a solution, we fell into error in the month of March and they imposed the UK visa on us.” Sobers said after several discussions with the High Commission, the ministry had succeeded in getting a virtual meeting with the UK Home Office on July 18. “We will try to chart a course of solutions to hopefully bring about some type of relief to citizens of TT, because nearly every couple of days, we are inundated with calls from people who are facing challenges in procuring the visas. “The UK has indicated this is not a bespoke situation with TT, they have a visa system they put you in and you have to look at why you’ve been placed into that category or pool and figure out your steps to come out of the pool. We are trying to listen to what they have to say and move with alacrity to adopt the things they’ve asked us to do, which did not take place previously and that is why we’re in this position.” Sobers said the number of applicants increased from 15-20 per year to over 400 per year, with the main reasons being given were fleeing from being the victims of crime and gang-related activity as well as economic migration. He said it costs British taxpayers £65,000 to house and feed one person while their asylum claim is processed, and often the claim was rejected. “There are solutions in terms of how we would treat with people seeking asylum to escape being a victim of crime, but in terms of economic migrants, it’s a little more difficult to deal with. We’ve already come up with what we think of as palatable solutions and we’ll present it to them next week.” Asked about the situation with US visas, including student visas and the increase in the visa fees, Sobers said the ministry had not received any formal correspondence from the Chargé D'Affaires at the US Embassy in TT. “That is a situation tethered to the Big Beautiful Bill that was passed and essentially it touches all countries that have to procure visas to go to the US, so it’s not something that deals with TT in an isolated situation. So if the US passes legislation to treat with that and it comes to us, we will have to abide by that position.” In a WhatsApp message in response to questions from Newsday on July 10, former foreign and Caricom affairs minister Dr Amery Browne said Sobers was recycling an old story to distract from his failure to represent TT at Caricom at the Head of Government level. “The last time we heard from Minister Sobers on this issue, he was lying to the nation by claiming that he had an immediate solution to the UK visa matter. That was in the month of May, almost two months ago. Not a word since then, as obviously he and the Government were simply misleading the public. The message is simple: you have been in government since April 2025; stop with the excuses and blame game and fix what you promised to fix. The nation is waiting. “The minister once again is talking out of his hat. If all that is required is a simple amendment, why did the UNC not bring it to Parliament before the Parliament went into recess? They found the time to bring multiple matters to Parliament including a bill to change the Prime Minister's pension entitlements. Why did he wait till the recess to talk about this, knowing full well that there will be no further sitting scheduled for months to come?” The post Sobers: Neglect led to UK visa situation appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.