WATCH LIST MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING (MOU) SIGNED BETWEEN ST HELENA AND UKG – 12 FEBRUARY 2025
A Press Statement on 17 October 2024 highlighted that SHG and the UK Government (UKG) had approved an arrangement in regards to the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT)/Chagos Archipelago.
On Wednesday, 12 February 2025, Jeffrey Ellick, Minister for Safety, Security and Home Affairs (SSHA), and The Rt. Hon Lord David Hanson, Minister of State for the Home Office, signed a Watch List MoU.
This is a major step forward in addressing a key BIOT component between St Helena and UKG, ensuring St Helena can safeguard our borders.
The MoU ensures individuals intending to travel to St Helena can be checked against UK watch list information. This means that St Helena’s Customs and Immigration Department can share passenger data (either from flights or cruise ships) with the UK for watch listing, prior to those passengers arriving in St Helena. This is the first time St Helena has been able to draw upon UK watch list checks.
By sharing data, the island can improve border security, and allow SHG Customs and Immigration to make informed decisions on permitting entry into St Helena.
The Minister for SSHA, Jeffrey Ellick stated:
“Well done and thank you to the UK Government, Lord Hanson and his office (Home Office) for facilitating the agreement along with my team here on island.
This significant agreement demonstrates a clear and visible development of the work that is ongoing to build and strengthen the relationship between the UK, and St Helena Governments, which has resulted in St Helena achieving a high level of Border Security for our island now and into the foreseeable future”.
#StHelena #MoU #UKWatchList
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SHG
14 February 2025
