Cablegate: Country Clearance for Armbrister O/a August 13-18, 2007

VZCZCXYZ0025
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHWN #0965/01 2112101
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 302101Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY BRIDGETOWN
TO RUEHSJ/AMEMBASSY SAN JOSE 0909
INFO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5160

UNCLAS BRIDGETOWN 000965

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

AIDAC FOR MDRO

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: AMGT EAID ASEC OTRA CS SC XL
SUBJECT: COUNTRY CLEARANCE FOR ARMBRISTER O/A AUGUST 13-18, 2007

REF: A SAN JOSE 01416

1. Embassy Bridgetown grants country clearance to Beryl Armbrister,
Consultant, to travel to St. Kitts and Nevis O/A August 13-18, 2007.
The purpose of the visit is to facilitate technical assistance in
damage assessment and needs analysis development and conduct initial
damage assessment training.

2. Embassy point of contact is James Goggin, USAID Representative,
tel. 1-246-227-4118, cell. 1-246-243-1172, fax. 1-246-228-8589.

3. No Mission support is requested.

4. Post's resources do not allow us the flexibility to meet and
assist visitors at the airport. The exchange rate is approximately
2.70 Eastern Caribbean Dollars for 1 U.S. Dollar. You should bring
enough U.S. Dollar bills to pay the taxi. U.S. currency, traveler's
checks, and credit cards are routinely and widely accepted here.

5. Entry requirements: A valid U.S. passport is required to enter
St. Kitts and Nevis. No visa is required if your stay is under six
months, including those travelers arriving with diplomatic or
official passports. For further information, travelers may contact
the Embassy of St Kitts and Nevis, 3216 New Mexico Avenue, NW 20016,
Tel 202-686-2636 Fax 202-686-5740.

6. Restrictions: The laws of Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, St.
Lucia, Grenada, Dominica, and St. Kitts and Nevis prohibit
non-military personnel from wearing any articles of camouflage
clothing. Immigration officers in these countries randomly check
visitor's baggage on arrival at the airport; if items of restriction
are found, you will be asked to surrender them to the officers.

7. Departure tax for St. Kitts and Nevis is xcd $30 or USD $11.

8. ICASS TYD Policy: Each visitor, regardless of length of stay,
must bring/forward fiscal data to pay for direct costs of the visit.
Each agency, organization or visiting delegation will be charged
for the actual costs attributed to its visit. Direct charge costs
include, but are not limited to: airport transportation and
expediting; driving services; American and LES overtime (for such
services as airport expediting, cashier accommodation exchange,
control room staffing, representational event support); travel and
per diem costs incurred by post personnel in support of visitor's
field travel; rental of vehicles and other equipment; long distance
telephone calls; office supplies, procurement/small purchasing;
departure tax and other airport fees. Post will not provide service
if fiscal data is not provided for the direct charges.

For TDYers remaining at post over 30 days, there is a charge for
ICASS support services. This charge is for the following ICASS
services: Basic Package, CLO and Health Services. Agencies will
not be billed until the accumulated invoice cost for TDY support
exceeds $2,500 for the fiscal year. If your sponsoring agency is
not signed up for ICASS services at post, please be prepared to sign
a Memorandum of Understanding for ICASS support services upon
arrival. The agency should provide post with a written
communication, generated by the traveler's headquarters, that
confirms the agency will pay ICASS charges for the TDYer, provides
the agency ICASS billing code to which the TDY support charges
should be applied, and authorizes the traveler to sign the ICASS
invoice generated by the TDY module. Where travel is urgent, the
TDYer should bring this documentation with him/her to ensure there
are no interruptions in the provision of service. Post will not
provide any service to a TDYer staying in excess of thirty days
without provision of this documentation before day 31 of the TDY.

9. The following is general information pertaining to security and
health considerations throughout the Eastern Caribbean:

Security
--------
In the Eastern Caribbean, foot travel outside of well-established
tourist areas is not generally recommended, especially at night. Be
vigilant when using public telephones or ATM machines near roadsides
or quiet areas. As in many U.S. metropolitan areas, wearing
expensive jewelry, carrying expensive objects, or carrying large
amounts of cash should be avoided. Visitors should also safeguard
valuables while at the beach. While hotels are generally safe, many
visitors have experienced loss of unattended items. Hotel
burglaries are not uncommon and all valuables should be locked in
room safes if possible.

Health Information
------------------
Throughout the Eastern Caribbean, the most likely threat to a
visitor's health is sunburn. It takes several weeks to become
accustomed to the heat and humidity. Prolonged exposure to the sun,
without protection, causes sunburn and may ultimately result in
sun-damaged skin or even skin cancer. Sunscreens should be used for
protection. In Barbados, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent the major
health threat is dengue fever, transmitted by mosquito. Dengue
cases are most often seen in the summer months. Persons should
therefore protect themselves with insect repellant. There is also a
growing number of HIV/AIDS cases reported. The Eastern Caribbean
enjoys clean and safe drinking water. Only routine boosters for
immunizations (i.e. tetanus, diphtheria, and oral polio vaccine) are
required when traveling to this region. Barbados has the best
medical facilities of all the islands in the region and most of the
medical specialties have practitioners here.

OURISMAN

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