Jamaica expected to face hurdles in joining CARICOM free movement

Although Jamaica could benefit from joining the four Caribbean Community (Caricom) countries that have recently implemented free movement of their nationals among themselves, Damion Gordon, lecturer in the Department of Government at The University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, believes differences in values, structural, ideological and execution barriers may hinder any such move by the Jamaica Government.

“We are very likely to experience many ideological, institutional and implementation hurdles in terms of building solidarity and national consensus for unrestricted free movement, mainly because in the over 52 years since the establishment of Caricom, member states have made very little progress in cultivating a strong regional identity,” he told The Gleaner.

Free movement among citizens of Barbados, Belize, Dominica and St Vincent and the Grenadines came into effect last Wednesday, October 1, 2025.

This means that nationals of these four countries will be able to travel to any of these territories to reside, work and remain indefinitely, with the right to access emergency and primary health care as well as public primary and secondary education for their children.

They will no longer be limited to temporary entry of up to six months, or to work under the Caricom skills regime.

The decision by the four member states to implement full free movement ahead of the other member states was approved by Caricom Heads of Government during their meeting in July, 2025. This arrangement falls under the Enhanced Cooperation Protocol to the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, which provides for groups of at least three Caricom member states to pursue deeper regional integration efforts among themselves, with the option for other member states to join later.

Gordon emphasised that the four countries have shared characteristics which made them more conducive to “fruitful” free movement. This includes relatively small population sizes, relatively strong and stable currencies, relative macroeconomic stability, and generally favourable domestic security environments.

Dominica and St Vincent and the Grenadines are members of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States, which has allowed for free movement among the nine-member subregional group since 2009.

He noted that addressing the region’s sustainability challenges, amid the rise of right-wing domestic and foreign policies in the developed world, requires a more inward-looking disposition that fosters new forms of mutual economic and cultural exchanges that will make Caribbean countries more prosperous and resilient.

Jamaica, he said, would have many factors to contemplate.

“Unrestricted free movement may help to create new streams of economic livelihoods and prosperity for Jamaicans and fill some local skill gaps at the same time, [but] the inducement of higher salaries and improved living conditions in other Caribbean countries might pull talent away and worsen brain drain,” he said.

However, he noted that the country also is in close proximity to Haiti, “which has a unique and complicated set of challenges”.

“How will Haiti fit into such an arrangement, since it would be inconsistent with the spirit of regionalism to exclude them with them being a part of Caricom?” Gordon quizzed.

Haiti continues to face a security and humanitarian crisis, with criminal gangs taking over the capital city and other areas of the country.

While Jamaica might be able to earn more tax revenue, attract new investments and improve labour productivity by having a more skilled labour force from joining the free movement, Gordon pointed out that the country might still have to reckon with internal fiscal and resource constraints which would undermine its ability to offer social protection and economic inclusion to its citizens, while expanding benefits and entitlements to migrants.

“This challenge is compounded by the fact that Jamaicans have generally shown the tendency of xenophobia towards other Caribbean nationals, often times driven by historical distrust, ignorance and misconceptions, and their own economic survival interests,” he said. (Jamaica Gleaner)