PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – Independent Member of Parliament (MP) Leona Marlin-Romeo, has requested a follow-up on the motion to ensure that a separate registry is created to accommodate the registry of births, marriages, deaths acknowledgements, name change and adoption, of persons registered in Sint Maarten but born, married or died outside of the island.
The motion was passed on September 17 2015 and supported by
12 Members of Parliament.
The motion also requested that the necessary laws be amended to accommodate these groups of persons and for the Minister of General Affairs to appoint the Civil Registry Department as the entity that registers the foreign personal documents and that the Minister ensures that the integral copies are recognized as an official government issued document.
Persons born outside of Sint Maarten are constantly faced with dilemmas including high costs to obtain personal documents from their country of birth. The approved motion would allow these individuals the opportunity to acquire an official integral copy of the above listed personal documents once registered in Sint Maarten for a fee.
The MP believes that this initiative will resolve the constant problems that are experienced by those residents born outside of Sint Maarten.
The MP is looking forward in hearing and seeing that the motion is implemented immediately, after all the population of persons born outside of Sint Maarten surpasses that of those who are born on the island.
“Therefore there is a demand and a need to accommodate and give improved services to these individuals,” MP Leona Marlin-Romeo concluded.
