Jamaica grants visa-free access to residents of Dominican Republic

Jamaica has waived the visa requirements for residents of the Dominican Republic. Effective Tuesday, March 4, the residents who travel to the island for visits whether business or leisure for up to 180 days does not require any visa.  

The announcement was made by Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett on Monday during a press conference. He called this as a historic development in Caribbean tourism cooperation between both destinations.  

The Minister said that this represents more than just an administrative change and it showcases Jamaica’s commitment to building stronger regional bonds while creating several new opportunities for tourism growth across the beautiful Caribbean region. He added that by removing the visa restriction, they are opening doors to a diverse multi-destination possibilities between the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and the region on a wider scale with Asia, Europe and Africa.  

He emphasised that this development is also a major step towards achieving multi-destination tourism which has been a significant target for Jamaica over the past five years. Bartlett added that Jamaica has, so far, signed the Memorandum of Understanding with Cuba, Dominican Republic, Mexico and Panama and are also in talks with Colombia to this end.   

The Tourism Minister continued to say that he thinks that this is the way forward and at the heart of multi-destination is visa facilitation and what visa facilitation does is to make an enablement across borders which is seamless.  

Edmund Bartlett also stressed that this visa waiver is just the beginning and added that the government envisage a Caribbean where visitors can freely travel between the islands, where the shared heritage becomes the collective strength and where regional tourism cooperation drives economic growth for all the people.  

Meanwhile, the Ambassador for the Dominican Republic to Jamaica Angie Martinez expressed gratitude to the government of Jamaica and said that this is history in the making and she feels very grateful and humbled.  

She highlighted that the decision to remove the visa requirement is an indicative of around two decades of diplomatic work which was further increased when she arrived in Jamaica back in April 2021 after her diplomatic appointment.