Barbados, Guyana to accept national IDs for cross-border travel

From July 1, citizens of Barbados and Guyana who hold valid national ID cards won’t need a biometric passport to travel to the other country.

This is after the two governments reached an agreement to accept national IDs for cross-border travel, as part of ongoing efforts to foster bilateral and regional integration and development.

Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley and Guyana President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali made the announcement during a joint press conference Monday.

The agreement reflects a broader trend toward using trusted national identity credentials to facilitate travel and access to services. Similar initiatives are emerging in other regions as governments explore digital identity, mobile credentials and digital travel documents as alternatives or complements to traditional passports.

Mottley, who entered Guyana with just her national ID card recently, expressed delight and described the move as a milestone that will go a long way in strengthening the movement of persons between the two regional neighbours.

“I am proud that, from July 1, 2026, Barbados and Guyana will allow our citizens to travel between our countries using only a national ID card. As Guyana celebrates 60 years of Independence, we are making Caribbean integration practical and people-centred,” the PM wrote on X on Wednesday.

The announcement came as Guyana celebrated its 60^th independence anniversary on May 26.

The Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation on May 26 posted a video of the Barbadian PM brandishing her ID card, stating: “You would have seen that when I landed just now, I was able to use our Trident ID card to replace what would otherwise have been a passport.”

She made mention of a speech which the father of Barbadian independence, Errol Barrow, made in 1986 when he addressed the CARICOM Heads of Government meeting in Georgetown.

“He delivered a speech that has forever remained in our hearts. That we in the integration movement must follow, and make it possible to follow the lived reality of ordinary Caribbean citizens who have integrated even beyond where governments have gone,” the PM said.

“We feel that this opportunity should be the gift that all Guyanese and all Barbadians remember as a 60^th anniversary gift,” she added. Barbados will celebrate its own diamond jubilee in November.

President Ali said during the presser that airlines will have the time between now and July to make the necessary adjustment before the new measure comes into force.

Barbados is pursuing its digital transformation drive with a government plan to digitize many more services this year.

Guyana launched a nationwide digital ID rollout in March after its regulatory framework took effect.

Article Topics

Barbados  |  Caribbean  |  cross border identity verification  |  digital government  |  digital ID  |  digital travel  |  Guyana  |  national ID  |  travel documents