March, 31st 2014 now marks the official recall date of all non-machine readable passports. The Ministry of Home Affairs and National Security recently announced that the Cabinet of Ministers has agreed that October 31st 2013 deadline for the national recall of non-machine readable passports has been extended to the end of March next year.

In 2007 the government of Saint Lucia took the decision to support the introduction of Machine Readable Passports for the citizens of Saint Lucia. In March of that same year, the Saint Lucia Immigration Department began to issue the Machine Readable Passports to citizens of Saint Lucia.

This new system is in compliance with the standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation ICAO, the organization that governs the specifications and guidelines for travel documents. The introduction of the Machine Readable Passports is to enhance the security of travel documents to avoid counterfeiting and fraudulent alterations.

Citizens of Saint Lucia who presently carry non-machine readable passports will be required to apply for a machine-readable passport at the Immigration Department on Bridge Street, Castries. The public is encouraged to take full advantage of this five month extension. The fees which obtain remain the same. Machine Readable Passports (Regular) costs $80 and Machine Readable Passports (Expressed service) costs an additional $50.00 or $130.00.Those fees will remain, with the extension of the deadline. At the end of the recall, citizens of Saint Lucia will not be permitted to travel with the non machine readable passports.