Turks and Caicos to enforce visa bonds against sponsors of visitors who overstay

COCKBURN TOWN, Turks and Caicos Islands, CMC – The Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands is moving to actively enforce visa bonds, warning that sponsors could face financial penalties and restrictions on their ability to sponsor others if visitors they bring into the country overstay.

Speaking with reporters, Immigration Minister Jamell Robinson said the requirement for visa bonds has existed in law for years but acknowledged that they were not consistently called in when overstays occurred, a gap the government now intends to close.

“The law already allows for it,” Robinson said.

“If you put up a bond for someone and that person does not leave the country when they are supposed to, we have the authority to call in that bond. What we are doing now is making sure that happens.”

Robinson said the renewed enforcement is aimed at closing loopholes in the immigration system that have allowed some individuals to overstay without consequence, while the state is left to absorb the cost of enforcement.

“We should not have to be running after people,” he said.

“If you bring somebody in and say they are only coming to visit, you are the surety. You are putting your money and your reputation on the line to say this person is going to leave.”

Visa bonds, typically set at several thousand dollars under the Immigration Ordinance, may be forfeited if a visitor fails to depart at the end of their approved stay.

“If that person does not leave and we cannot find them, then we have the ability to call in the bond,” Robinson said.

“There have to be consequences when that commitment is broken.”

He said visa overstayers place unnecessary strain on immigration enforcement resources and undermine the government’s ability to accurately track who is lawfully present in the country.

“When people overstay and disappear into the community, the government ends up carrying the financial and administrative burden,” Robinson said.

“That is not how the system is supposed to work.”

Robinson said sponsors whose bonds are called in could also face restrictions on their ability to act as guarantors for future visa applications.

“If your bond is called in, it could also mean that you are no longer allowed to stand surety for other people for a period of time,” he said.

“That is part of encouraging responsibility.”

While acknowledging that visa bonds have been enforced in the past, Robinson said the approach has not always been consistent and that stricter application is intended to act as a deterrent.

“This is about consistency,” he said. “If the rules are there, then they need to be applied fairly and evenly.”

Robinson stressed that calling in a bond does not replace efforts to locate and repatriate individuals who overstay.

“Enforcing the bond does not stop us from still finding that person and repatriating them,” he said. “It simply ensures that the government is not left carrying the financial burden alone.”

He added that enforcement will be supported by the roll-out of new digital border management and travel authorisation systems, which are expected to make it more difficult for individuals to overstay undetected.

“Once those systems are fully in place, it becomes much harder for someone to disappear,” Robinson said. “If there is no lawful record of entry or exit, that raises a red flag, and enforcement action follows.”

The minister said the enforcement of visa bonds forms part of a broader strategy to tighten immigration controls, reduce overstaying, protect public funds, and ensure that immigration rules are applied consistently and responsibly.

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