Extension Of Stay

Please see our previous post on April 10, 2017 for information about our first visit to the Grenada Immigration Office.

When we arrived in Grenada from Barbados our passports were stamped with permission to stay in Grenada as tourists for a three month period. We planned for the expiry of our tourist visas ahead of time by purchasing tickets to St Vincent so we could take a mini vacation from Grenada for a few days at the end of June. So we did that, returned to Grenada, and got stamped for another three months to expire on September 27, 2017.

So, today it's time to extend our stay in Grenada through the Immigration office as we are not planning on leaving anytime soon... So in order to get a new stamp on your passport without leaving the country there are several steps one must take:

Step One: Plan Ahead - bring a book--there will certainly be some waiting involved. Optimistically, plan for the whole procedure to take a couple of hours.

Bring a bottle of water. They might frown on you mixing your own umbrella drinks in the waiting room.

The Immigration Office is open from 8am-4pm, but the Treasury – a vital part of the procedure - closes from 12:00 noon to 1:00 pm for lunch. Try to get to Immigration a few hours before lunch or just after lunch, so that you don't have to wait for the Treasury to re-open to complete your transaction.

Step Two: There are things you must have with you (for a retired Canadian couple):

- You must have your passports.

- You shall have appropriate attire. To enter a Grenada government building, your shoulders and knees must be covered. We also found that out when we visited the Immigration Office in Barbados. You cannot wear shorts and tank tops and flip flops even though its 32 degrees C outside.

- EC$25.00 cash (about CAN$12) per person for each month that you wish to extend your stay in Grenada.

- Proof of a return flight to leave Grenada prior to the expiry of your extension date. So if you already have a ticket out, you need to change that first to coincide with the last day of your extension of stay. They won't extend your stay beyond the date of your valid ticket. Maximum extension is one year per application. We are looking for a 6 month extension and therefore changed our exit flight to March 30, 2018.

- If you are married they might ask for your marriage certificate.

- Bring a pen - you will need it - they don't have spares.

Step Three: Of course you need to get there, so hop on the #1 Reggae bus from Grand Anse and get off the at the round-about close to the Ministerial Complex just off Lagoon Road. Walk through the main gates and up the steep driveway in the hot sun. Stop regularly to drink the water you brought (see step 1).

Once you reach the top of the hill, the water will be all gone, you will be hot a sweaty and in need of a rest, and you will find the Immigration Office in a small air conditioned building across the small street from the massive Government Ministry building... whew!

Step Four: Wait patiently for your turn to see the nice lady behind the glass window and then ask for an application form for an extension of stay. One for each person. Fill out the form and then hand it back in to nice lady again. The nice lady then tells you to have a seat and wait for the Immigration officer to call you into his office (it is just off the waiting room and is marked with a sign that says "No unauthorized entry") for a chat. Sit and wait while reading your book.

Read book. Read book some more, until the officer opens the door and calls you in.

Step Five: Once you are called into the office, sit on the visitor's chairs in the office so the nice officer may ask you a few questions and ask to see your documents.

Step Five and half (optional... not recommended): If you happen to mention that you are volunteering your vacation time to help out the Grenada Association for Retired Persons (GARP), and that you get a feeling of self-satisfaction doing that for the many under privileged seniors in the country, be prepared to have the Immigration Officer ask to see the President of GARP so she can fill out some forms and register our names with the Ministry of Labour. Our names then get sent to the Canadian government saying we are volunteering our time in Grenada in a registered organization... we didn't know that would happen, and now regret it as we were hoping to stay off the radar so-to-speak. Grenada and Canada have a reciprocal agreement regarding taxes (and many other things) and they like to share information and who's who in the zoo. Long story short... the President of GARP was able to come in to meet with the Immigration Officer while we were still there (mind you we had to read our books for a while longer)... and she found out what she had to do when volunteers came into GARP to assist her with her programs.

Step Six: The officer will then place some marks on your application and will fill out an invoice that you will need to take with you for payment at the Treasury. In the meantime, the Officer will keep your application and your passport. You are told you will get your passport back once the full amount owing has been paid.

Step Seven: So, the Ministry of the Treasury is in the same building, but you need to walk out of the Immigration Office into the now stifling heat, make a right and walk down the steps to the floor below and enter the glass doors. If there is no line, go up to the glass window and present your invoice to the clerk and make payment. The clerk will stamp paid on your payment documents and now you will need to bring that back to the Immigration Officer. Don't drop it...it's windy. Tap on the Immigration Officer's door to let him know you are there with your receipt.

Step Eight: Read book, Read book some more. You are then asked to return to the office so the Immigration Officer can officially stamp your passport with your extension date. So, as it turns out, we now have to leave Grenada on Boxing Day (December 26, 2017) yep.... all done... and our return / exit flight says we leave at the end of March.... hmm.

The Immigration Office did that on purpose so the registration that is needed with the Ministry of Labour gets done. We will need to go back for yet another extension-of-stay once the President of GARP has completed her registration documents saying we are volunteers.

While we were there we had a general discussion with the Immigration Officer regarding permanent residency. He suggested we go see the nice people in the building across the street in the Prime Minister's Office, in the Ministry of Homeland, so we did. Apparently, a person can apply for permanent residency after residing in Grenada for a minimum of two years. The fee is EC$5,000.00. It is a different form, and a whole host of other things that need to be done. I suppose we should wait to write about that for a bit... things might change in the process before / if we get to that point....