The Passport and Corporate Services Office (P&CSO) is urging all residents to ensure that personal official documents are updated and always secure, throughout this hurricane season and beyond.
Passports and other vital documents such as birth and marriage certificates, naturalization and registration certificates, and Caymanian status and permanent residence papers should be kept together in waterproof bags or containers. They should be stored securely in a place that is easily accessible during emergencies.
As part of readiness preparations for the current hurricane season, it is essential to ensure that:
*Passports and other travel documents are valid.
*Holders of Cayman Islands (CI) passports submit only copies of those
passports, together with applications for United Kingdom (UK) passports. Actual passports should not be sent.
*Holders of UK passports which will expire within the next six months should
not send them away for renewal, unless each holder has a second passport that may be used in the event of an emergency.
*Residents should make copies of key documents, including passports, birth
and marriage certificates, naturalization and registration certificates.
*Original documents and the copies should be stored securely, but in separate
locations.
*During emergency situations, particularly approaching hurricanes or tropical
storms which may require travel or evacuation, original documents should be kept at hand, secured in waterproof bags or containers.
Also, persons travelling to the United States, either before or immediately after a hurricane, must ensure that their travel documents are in order. This is essential because:
*Holders of CI or UK passports containing a US visitor’s visa may travel
to the US on commercial, charter or air ambulance flights.
*Holders of CI passports without a US visitor’s visa must first obtain US visa
waivers from the P&CSO to travel to the US on commercial or air ambulance flights. Visa waivers can only be placed in machine-readable CI passports.
*Holders of CI passports should ensure that the passports are valid for at
least six months after the intended date of departure from the US.
*Holders of UK passports without a US visitor’s visa, but with an approval
from the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), may travel to the
US on commercial flights only.
Residents travelling to other countries should make appropriate plans beforehand and should also know and comply with the travel requirements of respective destinations. Accordingly, planning ahead and being prepared will help reduce the stress and anxiety everyone faces when emergencies threaten or occur.
Residents should also remember that travel documents cannot be issued when weather conditions require the closure of government offices, including the Passport & Corporate Services Office.
