Above: Dominica (CJ Photo)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

The governments of Dominica and Brazil have signed a new visa waiver agreement.

The new agreement means residents of Dominica and Brazil can travel between the two countries without the need of visas.

“I am glad to announce that from now on all Dominicans can go to Brazil without a visa as a tourist and I hope to get a lot of Brazilians coming here as tourists with the signing of document,” said Brazilian Ambassador to Dominica Jose Marcos Vienna.

Alvin Bernard, Dominica’s Secretary of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the agreement had been “long in coming” since the two sides established diplomatic relations.

“We’ve been engaged in a number of discussions in various areas of technical cooperation,” Bernard said.
According to the Secretary of State, the agreement will “broaden the scope of this engagement, this bilateral relation, in that it would give opportunities for tourism as well as other development activities.”

Under the agreement, for stays exceeding 90 days, special permission must be sought from the host government.

The agreement can also be suspended in matters of “national security and public health,” official said.