Jamaica welcomes fee waiver but pushes visa-free travel to Privy Council

JAMAICA has welcomed a new United Kingdom (UK) arrangement waiving visa application fees for Jamaican appellants and their lawyers travelling to London for Privy Council proceedings, but the Government says it is still pushing for the visa requirement itself to be removed.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Senator Kamina Johnson Smith said in a media statement Thursday that the measure was a practical step towards improving access to justice for Jamaicans whose cases reach the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC), Jamaica’s final court of appeal.

The waiver applies to Jamaican appellants appearing before the JCPC and the attorneys representing them when they need to travel to the UK in connection with court proceedings.