Advanced Passenger Information Bill

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ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA

ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA

ADVANCED PASSENGER INFORMATION BILL, 2015

NO. OF 2015

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Advanced Passenger

Information Bill 2015

Advanced Passenger

Information Bill, 2015

NO…… OF 2015

ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA

ADVANCED PASSENGER INFORMATION BILL, 2015

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

1. Short title and Commencement

2. Interpretation

3. Duty to provide Advance Passenger Information

4. Time frame

5. Powers of Competent Authority to verify

6. Vessel or aircraft arriving

7. Powers and duties of the Competent Authority

8. Use and Sharing of API with regional and International Security Agencies

9. Retention of APIS

10. Regulations

11. Amendment of the Schedules

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Advanced Passenger

Information Bill 2015

ANTIGUA & BABUDA

ADVANCED PASSENGER INFORMATION BILL, 2015

No. of 2015

AN ACT to facilitate the provision of advance passenger information relating to

passengers and members of crew of an aircraft or vessel; to share the information with

other States with a view to identifying persons who may pose risks to security; and for

matters connected therewith.

ENACTED by the Parliament of Antigua and Barbuda as follows-

1. Short title and Commencement

(1) This Bill may be cited as The Advanced Passenger Information Bill, 2015.

2. Interpretation

In this Act—

“advanced passenger information (API)” means the information or data

concerning a crew member, passenger or any other person travelling in an aircraft or

vessel as set out in Schedule 1;

“advanced passenger information systems” means the automated electronic data

interchange of API; and the screening of API by the competent authority, IMPACS

and JRCC against a Watch List for any API hit;

“aircraft” includes an aeroplane or a helicopter or other means of airborne

navigation by means of which persons, goods or both can travel across international

borders;

“API hit” means a name present in the Watch List;

“captain” means the pilot designated by the operator , or in the case of general

aviation the owner or pilot designated by the owner, as being in command and

charged with the safe conduct of the flight;

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“commercial aircraft” means an aircraft which engages in transporting passengers

or goods for monetary gain;

“competent authority” means Chief immigration Officer or someone appointed by

him;

“crew” means –

(i) in relation to aircraft, a licensed individual charged with duties essential

to the operation of an aircraft during flight;

(ii) in relation to vessel, any individual charged with performing duties

essential to the operation of the vessel and the safety and entertainment

of its passengers.

“IMPACS” means the Implementing Agency for Crime and Security established

under the 2006 Agreement establishing the CARICOM Implementing Agency for

Crime and Security;

“JRCC” means the Joint Regional Communication Centre which is a sub-agency of

IMPACS;

“Master” includes every person having command or charge of a vessel other than a

pilot;

“Minister” means the Minister responsible for Immigration.

“passenger” means any person not being a bona fide member of the crew, travelling

or seeking to travel on an aircraft or vessel;

“private aircraft” means any aircraft which is not a commercial or state owned or

leased aircraft.

“technical stop” or “stop for non-traffic purposes” means an aircraft or vessel

arriving for purposes of refuelling, repairs, emergency or a similar purpose other

than taking on or discharging passengers, baggage, cargo or mail;

“vessel” means any ship, boat, yacht, air cushion or other floating or submersible

transportation, including amphibious vehicles, hydrofoil craft and hovercraft, by

means of which persons and goods can travel across international borders;

“Watch List” means a list that is used to watch or track the activities or movements

of criminals and persons who have been found guilty of any offence involving stolen

and lost travel documents (SLTD), criminal deportees, suspected terrorists and other

persons of interest to the intelligence community;

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3. Duty to provide advance passenger information

(1) This section applies to an aircraft or vessel which –

(a) is expected to arrive in Antigua and Barbuda, or

(b) is expected to leave Antigua and Barbuda.

(2) The captain or master of every aircraft or vessel shall provide to the competent

authority and IMPACS, the relevant API and data relating to the flight or voyage as set

out in Schedule 1.

(3) A captain or master who –

(a) fails to provide the relevant API;

(b) intentionally or recklessly provides an erroneous, faulty, misleading,

incomplete or false API; or

commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of ten thousand dollars

or to imprisonment for a term of one year or to both such fine and imprisonment.

(4) Where the API provided is inaccurate and the captain or master of the aircraft or

vessel satisfies the competent authority that the error was not made knowingly or

recklessly, then notwithstanding any other provision of this enactment, the captain or

master may not be charged for the offence

(5) In addition to any information provided pursuant to subsection (2) the Competent

Authority may –

(a) question any captain or master , member of crew or passenger in relation to

the aircraft or vessel, any member of crew or passenger, the voyage or

flight; or

(b) request any person within the category of persons mentioned in paragraph (a)

to forthwith produce any document within that person’s possession or

control in relation to the questions put to him.

(6) Any captain or master, member of crew or passenger who –

(a) refuses to answer or knowingly gives a false answer to any question put to

him by the Competent Authority; or

(b) fails to comply with any requests under subsection 5(b)

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commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of Five Thousand

dollars or to imprisonment for six months or to both such fine and imprisonment.

(7) The Minister may, in consultation with the Minister of National Security, waive the

requirements of subsection (2) in such circumstances and subject to such conditions as

the Minister may prescribe where the aircraft or vessel is –

(a) a military or law enforcement aircraft or vessel; or

(b) on official state business.

4. Timeframe

API data shall be submitted to the Competent Authority in accordance with the timelines

set out in schedule II.

5. Powers of the Competent Authority to verify

(1) The API provided under section 3 (2) shall be verified by the Competent

Authority during physical processing of any passenger or member of crew at any port of

entry or exit by comparing the API information to the information contained in the travel

document presented by the passenger or member of crew.

(2) The competent authority shall, if any discrepancy is found in the API,

immediately correct the data and update the information in APIS.

6. Vessel or aircraft arriving

(1) Nothing in section 3 applies to an aircraft or vessel which makes a technical stop

or lands, berths, anchors, or otherwise arrives or stops at any port for non-traffic purposes

if the arrival is –

(a) required by any statutory or other requirement relating to navigation;

(b) compelled by any emergency, accident, unfavourable weather conditions, or

other necessity; or

(2) Where an aircraft or vessel arrives or stops for any of the reasons outlined in

subsection (1) the captain or master shall –

(a) forthwith report to the competent authority;

(b) with the consent of the competent authority, permit any of the crew members

or passengers to disembark from the aircraft or vessel; and

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any crew, or passenger carried on the aircraft or vessel.

(3) Subject to any authorisation granted by the competent authority, no member of

crew and no passenger on the aircraft or vessel, shall without the consent of that authority

disembark from the aircraft or vessel, and all such persons shall comply with any

directions given by the competent authority.

(4) A captain or master who fails to comply with or acts in contravention of this

section commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of ten thousand

dollars or to imprisonment for a term of one year or to both such fine and imprisonment.

(5) Notwithstanding subsection (4), the disembarkation of any member of crew or

passenger from the aircraft or vessel shall not constitute an offence, if the disembarkation

is necessary for reasons of health, safety or the preservation of life.

7. Powers and duties of the competent authority

(1) The competent authority shall –

(a) co-ordinate with IMPACS on all matters relating to the APIS;

(b) if requested, allow the crew or passenger from an aircraft or vessel access to

his personal identifiable information maintained in the APIS to ensure its

correctness; but no member of crew or passenger shall have access to any

information provided by IMPACS or JRCC through the screening of API by

IMPACS and JRCC against a Watch List for any API hit;

any passenger or member of crew into Antigua and Barbuda;

(d) withhold clearance for the departure of an aircraft or vessel whose captain or

master has not provided the API required pursuant to section 3; and

(e) assess the sufficiency of API information provided for each journey and

review API transmissions to assess error rates.

(2) Notwithstanding sections 7(a) and (c), any decision with respect to the

admissibility or inadmissibility into Antigua and Barbuda of passengers or members of

crew from an aircraft or vessel shall be made solely by the competent authority.

8. Use and sharing of API with regional and international security agencies

(1) IMPACS shall use the APIS to conduct screening against Watch Lists of

members of crew and passengers on aircraft and vessels that enter into, depart from and

travel within the regional space in order to provide information to assist participating

countries.

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(2) IMPACS may share the information contained within APIS with the International

Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) and any other national, regional or

international intelligence, law enforcement or security agencies or centres approved by

CARICOM Council for Security and Law Enforcement (CONSLE) in order to further

national, regional or international security.

(3) API shall only be used for the purposes mentioned in this Act.

9. Retention of APIS

(1) The API collected under this Act for entry screening purposes shall be retained

for a period not exceeding three years from the date of travel of the crew or the

passenger.

(2) Nothing contained in subsection (1) shall apply to the data copied from the APIS

into any other security database system to which a different data retention schedule

applies.

10. Regulations

(1) The Minister may make regulations to give effect to the principles and provisions

of this Act.

(2) The Minister may make regulations in regard to procedures for the gathering of

information and for the collaboration and sharing of information with the agencies

mentioned in this Act.

11. Amendment of the Schedules

(1) The Minister may by Order published in the Gazette amend Schedule I or II in

consultation with CONSLE with respect to API.

(2) Any Order made under subsection (1) shall be subject to Affirmative Resolution

of the House.

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SCHEDULE 1

(Pursuant to Section 3(2)

ADVANCED PASSENGER INFORMATION

(a) Data relating to the flight or voyage (Header Data):

Flight Identification

Vessel Identification Number

Vessel Name

Country of Registration

Agent/Owner

Call Sign (If applicable)

Schedule Departure Date

Scheduled Departure Time

Scheduled Arrival Date

Scheduled Arrival Time

Last Place/Port of Call of Vessel or Aircraft

Place/Port of Vessel or Aircraft Initial Arrival

Subsequent Place/Port of Call within the country/regional space

Number of Persons on board

(b) Data relating to each individual on board:

Official Travel Document Number

Issuing State or Organization of the Official Travel Document

Official Travel Document Type

Expiration Date of Official Travel Document

Surname/Given Name(s)

Nationality

Date of Birth

Gender

Place of Birth

Traveller’s Status

Place/Port of Original Embarkation

Port/Place of Clearance

Place/Port of Onward Foreign Destination

Passenger Name Record (PNR) Data

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(As available in the traveller’s Passenger Name Record in the carrier’s Reservation

System including all historical changes to the PNR listed)

Visa Number (if applicable)

Issue Date of Visa

Place of Issuance of the Visa

Other Document Number used for Travel (if applicable)

Type of Other Document used for Travel

Primary Residence

Country of Primary Residence

Address

City

State/Province/County

Postal Code

Destination Address

Address

City

State/Province/County

Postal Code

(d) Date relating to the Reporting Party

Reporting Party Name

Reporting Party Telephone Number

Reporting Party Facsimile Number

Reporting Party Electronic Mail Address

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SCHEDULE II

(Pursuant to Section 4)

Timeframe

In case of commercial aircraft, no later than 40 minutes prior to departure from the

last port of call;

In case of a vessel arriving, no later than 40 minutes prior to the departure from the

last port of call;

In case of a vessel arriving from a destination outside the regional space, no later

than 24 hours prior to the arrival;

In case of a vessel arriving from a destination within the regional space, no later than

1 hour prior to the arrival of the vessel from the last port of call.

In the event of any changes to the flight/vessel header data or data relating to an

individual on board, an updated API file is required prior to departure of the aircraft or

vessel.

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Passed the House of Representatives on

the , 2015.

Passed the Senate on the

, 2015.

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Speaker.

…………………………………………

……………………………………….

President.

……………………………………………

Clerk to the House of Representatives. Clerk to the Senate.

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

The Advanced Passenger Information Bill 2015 is one of CARICOM’s recommended

uniform legislations intended to be in effect throughout the territories. The Bill addresses

the nature of the information that the Captains of aircrafts and the Masters vessels are

required to provide in relation to the passengers and members of crew on board an

aircraft or vessel and which is expected to arrive in Antigua and Barbuda or is expected

to leave Antigua and Barbuda. The Bill also addresses the timeframe within which the

information is to be provided and the penalties for failing to provide the information. The

Bill also addresses the issue of information sharing as a means of further strengthening

our efforts to prevent terrorism. The Bill also effectively repeals section 30 of the

Immigration and Passport Act 2014, No. 6 of 2014 which formerly dealt with the

provision of Advance Passenger Information.

CLAUSE 1 deals with the short title

CLAUSE 2 deals with Interpretation. Key definitions are provided including Advance

passenger Information, API hit, distinction between aircraft and vessel, IMPACS, JRCC,

etc.

CLAUSE 3 deals with Duty to provide advance passenger information

CLAUSE 4 deals with the timeframe for the provision of advance passenger information

in relation to arriving and departing vessels.

CLAUSE 5 deals with the power of a Competent Authority to verify Advance Passenger

Information

CLAUSE 6 deals with the arrival of vessels or aircraft making a technical stop and the

conditions under which passengers would be allowed to disembark from said vessels or

aircrafts.

CLAUSE 7 deals with the powers and duties of a Competent Authority generally in

relation to the sharing of information under the act as well as the protection of data for

passengers and members of crew.

CLAUSE 8 deals with the sharing of API with regional and international security

agencies.

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CLAUSE 9 deals with the retention of API information collected during processing of a

passenger or member of crew.

CLAUSE 10 deals with the making of regulations.

CLAUSE 11 deals with the Amendment of the Schedules. There are two schedules in

this Act which will replace the schedule 2 of the Immigration and Passport Act 2014, No.

6 of 2014 when the Advanced Passenger Information Bills comes into effect.