00:00Arrival and departure cards can soon be filled online for both air and sea travel,
00:06as the government accelerates efforts to modernize this country's border management system.
00:12The system will be fully implemented on the 17th of March.
00:20Again, on the 17th of March.
00:22At which point, the traditional paper-based arrival and departure cards will be discontinued.
00:32The move is expected to allow for greater security oversight, ease of access and convenience,
00:38and an overall improved travel experience.
00:42Passengers will simply complete the online forms, upload to the bio-data page of their passport,
00:52and receive a digital receipt with a QR code,
00:58which can be presented to the immigration and custom officers upon arrival or departure.
01:06The ministry is hoping for a seamless transition.
01:09It's advising members of the public to visit www.travel.gov.tt as early as March 14th
01:18to get familiar with the process.
01:20Just like in any other system, just in case that we have any issues,
01:25we'll keep some forms available in case we have to return to those forms for a short time
01:31to fix any glitch that it may have, because everything new sometimes starts off very, sometimes very rocky.
01:36The forms will be available in seven languages initially.
01:40The ministry is giving the assurance that the various ports will have personnel on hand
01:45to assist persons who may encounter challenges with the electronic process,
01:50and the minister is entreating his fellow MPs to assist the cause.
01:54I want to extend that opportunity to my colleagues who have members of parliament,
02:02who have constituency offices, to have persons come to those offices and obtain that information,
02:08to get that information so they can know exactly how to operate.
02:10The ministry says CARICOM Impacts, which are described as a trusted vendor,
02:16provided the platform.
02:18However, the minister was unwilling to state at what cost.
02:22The Ministry of Homeland Security, and because of the security involved,
02:26we don't want to discuss the cost at this time.
02:28Renasa Cutting, TV6 News.
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