From Wednesday on, people going to the Caribbean island of St. Lucia will have to fill out a new form before they get there.
With the new Electronic Immigration Form, travelers must give their travel plans and contact information within 72 hours of their arrival. The form also asks what the trip is for, like business, a convention, a wedding, or to see friends.
Even though St. Lucia got rid of all COVID-19 entry restrictions, the new form asks a lot of health-related questions, like if a traveler has any symptoms of a communicable disease or has been in contact with someone who did. If you lie on the form, you will be fined XCD $1,000, which is about $370 USD.
On its website, St. Lucia’s tourism department says that all travelers are strongly encouraged to send in the form at least 3 days before they arrive. If they don’t, they will have to fill out and send in a paper version at the airport.
“We have been listening to our citizens, visitors, and investors who want to travel easily and have faith in how the destination’s entry processes are managed “Sean Alexander, who is in charge of the island’s Department of Immigration for the Department of Immigration, said this in a statement to Travel + Leisure. “This is a unified approach that makes sure our promise to welcome travelers is the same everywhere.
The government’s website says that travelers only need to fill out one form for an entire family or group. After filling out the form, travelers will receive an email receipt with a QR code that they can show to local authorities when they arrive.
T+L tried out the form on both a desktop computer and a mobile device and found that the process was quick and easy. The island’s tourism office says that the form can even be filled out on an arriving flight with wifi, which helps speed up the process for passengers.
