The Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA) will seek to deepen the connection between the Jamaican Diaspora community in Atlanta and the island through its Access Jamaica Expo from October 25 to 26, 2019.
The event is being staged in collaboration with the Honorary Consul to Atlanta, Dr. Elaine Bryan and incorporates the partnership of other Jamaican businesses, namely, JAMPRO, Jamaica Tourist Board, Victoria Mutual Building Society, Western Union, National Housing Trust and JN Money.
The 2-day expo, which is being held at the JW Marriott in Buckhead, Atlanta, will allow patrons ease of access to the services of each entity whilst presenting opportunities for overseas Jamaican to invest and do business in the island.
Persons wishing to apply for their passport will be facilitated at the PICA booth and will benefit from the convenience of having their document delivered directly to their home or any other specified location within 20 working days. The cost of this service is US$130.
Applicants must submit a certified application form, two passport-sized photos, original birth certificate (if renewing a non-machine readable passport), their old passport and any evidence of a name change, where required.
In addition to this, patrons who wish to deepen their connection with their heritage can do so by applying for Jamaican citizenship by descent. Applicants must provide proof of their Jamaican heritage by submitting a birth certificate of their Jamaican parent or grand-parent or great grandparent. The name of their Jamaican parent must appear on their birth certificate. Information on other required documents may be obtained from the Agency’s website at www.pica.gov.jm. Citizenship certificates will be delivered directly to successful applicants at their home or at any other specified location within twenty working days. Jamaican citizenship by descent can be obtained at a cost of US$130.
In commenting on this the first staging of such an event by PICA, the Agency’s CEO, Andrew Wynter points out that the Access Jamaica Expo is part of an overall strategic objective to enhance service delivery via customer engagement and efficient business processes. He adds that PICA took a deliberate step to increase its activities in the Diaspora at the start of the year and that dialogue with the Atlanta Consul General yielded the ideal opportunity to do so. He further points out that networking activities at this year’s event will ensure the success of similar initiatives in the future.
Persons wishing to attend the two-day Access Jamaica expo can do so between the hours of 10am to 4pm each day.
