Caribbean to Offer Regional Visa for 2007 Cricket World Cup

The 15-nation Caribbean Community will offer a regional visa to ease travel for cricket fans island-hopping for the 2007 World Cup Cricket, an official said Monday.

Martin Joseph, the chairman of the national security and law enforcement council of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) trade group, said that visitors will only need one visa for the Caricom member states beginning January 15, and will only have to clear customs once while in the region.

The one-visa program will last through May 15.

The initiative was launched in part to facilitate fans arriving for the two-month-long Cricket World Cup, to be held across several countries in the region before the finals take place April 28 in Barbados.

Caricom countries plan to create a joint security and law enforcement team assisted by Interpol, the United States, Britain, Canada and other participating World Cup Cricket countries.

Jamaican Defense Force Colonel Anthony Anderson will head the security team.