JAMAICA has welcomed a new United Kingdom (UK) arrangement waiving visa application fees for Jamaican appellants and their lawyers travelling to London for Privy Council proceedings, but the Government says it is still pushing for the visa requirement itself to be removed.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Senator Kamina Johnson Smith said in a media statement Thursday that the measure was a practical step towards improving access to justice for Jamaicans whose cases reach the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC), Jamaica’s final court of appeal.

The waiver applies to Jamaican appellants appearing before the JCPC and the attorneys representing them when they need to travel to the UK in connection with court proceedings.

But the development does not mean Jamaicans can travel to Britain for a Privy Council hearing without a visa.

The visa requirement remains, with the change removing the application fee for those covered by the arrangement.

Johnson Smith said Jamaica had been seeking a more far-reaching change, but welcomed the reduction in costs and the creation of a clearer process.

“We have been advocating for full removal of the visa requirement, but still welcome the removal of the cost of the visa for this category of Jamaicans, and the establishment of a clearer process. This can only be viewed as positive with respect to access to our final court of appeal,” she said in the statement.

The issue of visa costs has been a concern for Jamaica’s legal profession and litigants for years.

Johnson Smith said the cost of obtaining a UK visa for travel connected to Privy Council proceedings had been a practical consideration for Jamaican lawyers and their clients for more than two decades.

She said the matter had formed part of discussions with British authorities over several years, including during her visits to the UK and official visits by British representatives to Jamaica.

Under the new arrangement, the process for those requiring a visa will also be streamlined.

Once a hearing date has been confirmed, an appellant intending to attend the hearing in person must notify the JCPC Registry through its case management portal that a visa is required.

The court will then provide an invitation letter in support of the application. The application will be automatically flagged to the UK Supreme Court and Home Office for processing.

Applicants will still be subject to the usual checks and may be required to provide additional information where necessary.

The change removes the visa application fee, but other expenses associated with travelling to London for an appeal, including transportation and accommodation, still remain.

Johnson Smith said the development would nevertheless have a direct impact on Jamaica’s legal and justice fraternity, where visa fees have largely been recognised or absorbed as a routine cost of representing clients before the Privy Council.