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CARICOM Skills Certificate and CSME Unconditional Landing

JamaicaFree movement

Explore the five recorded questions, answers and sources for this pathway.

Official link

Which citizenship, status or regional agreement creates the person's right to move/reside?

The right derives from the Caribbean Community (Free Movement of Skilled Persons) Act. A skilled CARICOM national obtains a CARICOM Skills Certificate under this Act, allowing movement and work in another CARICOM member state without needing a work permit or permit of stay.

See recorded sources
  • JIS Get the Facts: Applying for a CARICOM Skills Certificate
    Under the Caribbean Community (Free Movement of Skilled Persons) Act, skilled nationals of CARICOM member states are entitled to move and work freely within other member states. This is made possible through the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Skills Certificate, a provision of the Act that allows these freedoms without the need for a work permit or permit of stay.

Under which circumstances can the person reside: worker, self-employed, student, jobseeker, self-funded person or another recognised basis?

Unconditional Landing allows the holder to live in Jamaica while being able to attend school or work without having to obtain a student visa or a work permit.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • The official source does not state the complete answer to this question for this route.

What entry, registration or residence-document formalities remain?

Application is made through the Ministry of Labour and Social Security: the person first contacts the Ministry to indicate intention to apply and, once the Ministry determines eligibility, receives an application form by email. Required documents: certified copy of the birth certificate; copy of the passport bio data page signed by a Justice of the Peace; police report from the country of residence for the last three years; three certified passport-sized photographs; name-change documents (marriage certificate or deed poll), if applicable; certified copy of University Degree, Associate Degree, Diploma, professional qualifications (ACCA, AAT etc.) or Certificate NCTVET Level 2 (HEART/Trust NTA), as applicable. A processing fee of $2,000 is paid; applications go to the Work Permit Department of the Ministry; processing takes eight weeks; the certificate is collected after paying a fee of $8,000.

See recorded sources

Which non-member-country family members can accompany or join, and what broad rights do they receive?

CARICOM Unconditional Landing covers CARICOM nationals with the CSME certificate and their dependants. Unconditional Landing is a type of extension of stay that allows the holder to live in Jamaica while being able to attend school or work without having to obtain a student visa or a work permit. Documents listed include the original birth certificate of dependants and the original marriage certificate, if applicable. The official source does not define which relatives count as dependants.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • The PICA page does not define 'dependents' (which relatives) nor say whether dependents of non-CARICOM nationality qualify; the Act's definition of 'dependants' is in a scanned PDF not read (see notas.md 2R block).

When do permanent/long-term rights arise and what continuity, absence or retention conditions matter?

Unconditional Landing is a stamp placed in the foreign passport that allows the holder to remain in Jamaica unconditionally. The stamp expires when the holder's foreign passport expires, after which a transfer of the stamp from the expired passport to the new passport is required. The official source does not state any absence or retention rule.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • Source states no absence limits, no rule on loss of the right, and no route from CUL to permanent residence or citizenship.
  • https://www.pica.gov.jm/immigration/unconditional-landing
    It is a stamp placed in a foreign passport that allows the holder to remain in Jamaica, unconditionally. This stamp expires, when the holder’s foreign passport expires after which, a transfer of the stamp from the expired passport to the new passport is required.

These are the answers currently recorded in the catalogue. A missing or partial answer is not an eligibility decision.

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