Becoming a Citizen of Trinidad and Tobago
Answer
The general rule applies to you
No exception is recorded for citizens of Suriname on this topic. That is the answer, not a gap - everything below is the rule you get, unchanged.
81 exceptions recorded across 33 countries · none match Suriname to Trinidad and Tobago · Becoming a citizen
Birth in Trinidad and Tobago gives citizenship with only two exceptions, and they are the old diplomatic and enemy-alien ones; nothing turns on the parents' status. For everyone else the path forks on whether you are a Commonwealth citizen. A Commonwealth citizen, a citizen of Ireland or a British protected person is registered under section 7 after five years of residence or service, or a shorter period of not less than twelve months in special circumstances. An alien is naturalised under section 12 after twelve months immediately preceding the application plus five years out of the preceding seven. Both need good character, adequate knowledge of English and of the duties of a citizen, and the oath of allegiance; both are discretionary, the Minister may in each case. Section 13A bars either unless the applicant entered legally and is not in a prohibited class. The fork matters more than it looks, because the Constitution's own list of Commonwealth countries was last set in 1976 and the edition carries a footnote saying an Order to update it had not been made.
At a glance
- Birth in the country
- Citizenship at the date of birth
Excepted only where neither parent is a citizen and one has diplomatic immunity, or where a parent is an enemy alien and the birth occurred under occupation.
- Registration for a Commonwealth citizen
- 5 years
Section 7(1)(c) prints it in words - throughout the period of five years - which is the quotation on this record.
- Shortest period the Minister may accept
- 12 months
Section 7(1)(c) prints it in words - such shorter period (not being less than twelve months) - which is the quotation on this record.
- Naturalisation for everyone else
- 12 months immediately before the application, plus 5 of the preceding 7 years
Section 12(1)(b) and (c) print the periods in words - twelve months, seven years, five years - which is the quotation on this record.
- Language
- Adequate knowledge of English and of the duties of a citizen
- Dual citizenship
- Kept by citizens by birth and by descent; lost by citizens by registration or naturalisation
Section 11(1) still provides for loss on voluntary acquisition; section 11(2D) carves out birth and descent.
- Citizenship by investment
- None
The routes are section 17 of the Constitution and sections 7, 12 and 13A of the Citizenship Act, quoted here. Each turns on birth, descent, Commonwealth citizenship or residence, and none of them mentions an investment.
- Citizenship by marriage
- None
Marriage appears in the Citizenship Act at section 11(1), quoted here, and there only to stop a citizen losing citizenship by acquiring another nationality through marriage.
Requirements
- Full age and capacity
- Good character, and adequate knowledge of the English language and of the duties of a citizen
- For a Commonwealth citizen, a citizen of Ireland or a British protected person: five years of residence or government service, or a shorter period of not less than twelve months in special circumstances
- For anyone else: twelve months of residence immediately before the application, and five years in the preceding seven
- Legal entry and absence from the prohibited classes
- The oath of allegiance
In detail
Two doors, and which one you use is not your choice
Section 7 and section 12 of the Citizenship Act ask for different things. Registration under section 7 wants five years of residence or government service, or any mixture of the two, throughout the period immediately preceding the application - with a discretion to accept as little as twelve months in special circumstances. Naturalisation under section 12 wants twelve months immediately before the application and, during the seven years before that twelve months, five years of residence or service. The second is both longer in reach and stricter in shape: the applicant must have been here throughout the final year, which section 7 does not demand of a Commonwealth citizen in the same words. Section 7 applies to a Commonwealth citizen, a citizen of the Republic of Ireland and a British protected person; section 12 applies to an alien, which is everybody else. Both require the same good character and the same adequate knowledge of the English language and of the duties of a citizen, and both end in the oath of allegiance.
The list that decides which door
Section 18 of the Constitution defines who has the status of a Commonwealth citizen by naming the countries to which the section applies, and subsection (4) lets the President amend the list by Order subject to affirmative resolution of both Houses. The list as printed names thirty-three countries, and it is the list of 1976: it has Fiji and Swaziland and Western Samoa and Tanzania under those names, and it does not have Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Dominica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Namibia, South Africa, Pakistan or any Commonwealth member admitted since. The Law Revision Commission added a footnote at the revision date saying an Order under subsection (4) is proposed for the purpose of updating subsection (3) but had not yet been made. We did not find such an Order in the legal notices of 2022 to 2026.
What is not here
There is no investment route and no marriage route. Part I of the Citizenship Act is a closed list of means of acquisition - descent, adoption, registration of Commonwealth citizens, registration of minor children, restoration after voluntary acquisition of another citizenship, and naturalisation - and sections 9 and 10, repealed in 1978, were not replaced with anything. There is no provision anywhere making a payment, an investment or a marriage a ground. A foreign spouse gets to citizenship through resident status under section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act and then through section 7 or section 12 like everyone else.
Country-level policy
Every page of the Laws of Trinidad and Tobago published on the Ministry of the Attorney General's site carries two lines of its own: UNOFFICIAL VERSION and UPDATED TO 31ST DECEMBER 2016. Both are true and both matter. The Law Revision Act makes the Law Revision Commission responsible for preparing, publishing and maintaining the revised edition; section 5 says the Laws shall be published in loose-leaf form or in such other form as the Commission may determine; section 6 provides that every page must be authorised for inclusion by Order and that every page so authorised, and no other, shall form part of the Laws; and section 15 makes those authorised pages, in all Courts and for all purposes, the proper Statute Book. The web PDFs do not claim to be those pages. Their Current Authorised Pages table has a column headed Authorised by L.R.O. and the column is empty. In May 2026 Parliament passed an Act to fix this - the Law Revision (Amendment) Act, which would let the Minister designate a website as the sole official website and make a download from it deemed official and authoritative, prevailing over the loose-leaf where they differ. It was assented on 15 May 2026 and comes into operation on such date as is fixed by the President by Proclamation. No such Proclamation appears among the 822 legal notices of 2026.
What applies to you
Nothing changes for a citizen of Suriname
We have no rule recorded that treats your citizenship differently here, so the general rule above is the one that applies to you. That is an answer, not a gap.
What the law says
«17. (1) Subject to subsection (2), every person born in Acquisition of
citizenship by
Trinidad and Tobago after the commencement of this birth or descent.
Constitution shall become a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago at the»Quoted as printed: the publisher sets the marginal notes Acquisition of citizenship by birth or descent and Continuation of citizenship inside the text column, so the words interrupt the sentence. The sentence ends date of his birth.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The Commission established by section 3 of the Law Revision Act, Chap. 3:03, whose statutory function under section 4 is to prepare, publish and maintain the revised edition of the written laws of Trinidad and Tobago. It serves the whole statute book as one PDF per Chapter from a flat path, each file carrying the Chapter number as its name, together with the subsidiary legislation made under that Act printed behind it and an index of it on the front. The Constitution is served separately. This is where every consolidated Chapter cited for this country comes from: the Immigration Act 18:01 with the Immigration Regulations, the Immigration (Caribbean Community Skilled Nationals) Act 18:03, the Citizenship Act 1:50, the Income Tax Act 75:01, the Caribbean Community Act 81:11 with the whole Revised Treaty as its Schedule, the Customs Act 78:01, the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Act 48:50 with the 1986 driving exemption Notice, the Foreign Investment Act 70:07, the Exchange Control Act 79:50, the Proceeds of Crime Act 11:27 with the Financial Obligations Regulations, the Health Surcharge Act 75:05 and the Regional Health Authorities Act 29:05.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: It says on every page that it is not the law. Each page carries the words UNOFFICIAL VERSION and UPDATED TO 31ST DECEMBER 2016, and the Current Authorised Pages table on the front of each Chapter has a column headed Authorised by L.R.O. which is empty. Under sections 6 and 15 of the Law Revision Act only pages authorised by a Law Revision Order form part of the Laws and are the proper Statute Book, so these files are a copy and not the edition. It must therefore never be cited as the authentic text, and never for the law after 31 December 2016: the Immigration (Caribbean Community Skilled Nationals) Act printed here is the pre-2022 text, in which sections 3 and 4 are the other way round from the sections now in force, and the Income Tax Act printed here states a personal allowance of seventy-two thousand dollars that has twice been raised since. It must also not be used for commencement after that date, because no instrument later than the cut-off appears in it at all. Its layout sets each section's marginal note inside the text column rather than in a margin, so a section number usually sits in the middle of a line and a sentence is interrupted by the note's words; quotations have to reproduce that, and our own check for sections an edition lists and does not print reports these Chapters as incomplete when they are not. Its server sends an incomplete TLS chain, so a plain client rejects it until the GeoTrust intermediate is supplied.
We re-read it every 180 days. More about this source
«(2) A person shall not become a citizen of Trinidad
and Tobago by virtue of subsection (1), if at the time of his birth—
(a) neither of his parents is a citizen of Trinidad
and Tobago and either of them possesses such
UNOFFICIAL VERSION L.R.O.
UPDATED TO 31ST DECEMBER 2016
LAWS OF TRINIDAD A N D TOBAGO
MINISTRY OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL AND LEGAL AFFAIRS www.legalaffairs.gov.tt
26 The Constitution
immunity from suit and legal process as is
accorded to an envoy of a foreign sovereign
power accredited to Trinidad and Tobago; or
(b) either of his parents is an enemy alien and the
birth occurred in a place then under occupation
by the enemy.»About this source
The Commission established by section 3 of the Law Revision Act, Chap. 3:03, whose statutory function under section 4 is to prepare, publish and maintain the revised edition of the written laws of Trinidad and Tobago. It serves the whole statute book as one PDF per Chapter from a flat path, each file carrying the Chapter number as its name, together with the subsidiary legislation made under that Act printed behind it and an index of it on the front. The Constitution is served separately. This is where every consolidated Chapter cited for this country comes from: the Immigration Act 18:01 with the Immigration Regulations, the Immigration (Caribbean Community Skilled Nationals) Act 18:03, the Citizenship Act 1:50, the Income Tax Act 75:01, the Caribbean Community Act 81:11 with the whole Revised Treaty as its Schedule, the Customs Act 78:01, the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Act 48:50 with the 1986 driving exemption Notice, the Foreign Investment Act 70:07, the Exchange Control Act 79:50, the Proceeds of Crime Act 11:27 with the Financial Obligations Regulations, the Health Surcharge Act 75:05 and the Regional Health Authorities Act 29:05.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: It says on every page that it is not the law. Each page carries the words UNOFFICIAL VERSION and UPDATED TO 31ST DECEMBER 2016, and the Current Authorised Pages table on the front of each Chapter has a column headed Authorised by L.R.O. which is empty. Under sections 6 and 15 of the Law Revision Act only pages authorised by a Law Revision Order form part of the Laws and are the proper Statute Book, so these files are a copy and not the edition. It must therefore never be cited as the authentic text, and never for the law after 31 December 2016: the Immigration (Caribbean Community Skilled Nationals) Act printed here is the pre-2022 text, in which sections 3 and 4 are the other way round from the sections now in force, and the Income Tax Act printed here states a personal allowance of seventy-two thousand dollars that has twice been raised since. It must also not be used for commencement after that date, because no instrument later than the cut-off appears in it at all. Its layout sets each section's marginal note inside the text column rather than in a margin, so a section number usually sits in the middle of a line and a sentence is interrupted by the note's words; quotations have to reproduce that, and our own check for sections an edition lists and does not print reports these Chapters as incomplete when they are not. Its server sends an incomplete TLS chain, so a plain client rejects it until the GeoTrust intermediate is supplied.
We re-read it every 180 days. More about this source
«7. (1) Subject to this section, the Minister may cause any
Commonwealth
citizens, citizens person of full age and capacity to whom this section applies to be
of the Republic
of Ireland and registered as a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago if that person makes
British protected the prescribed application for registration to the Minister and
persons.
[25 of 1978 satisfies the Minister—
63 of 2000].
(a) that he is of good character;
(b) that he has an adequate knowledge of the English
language and of the duties of a citizen of Trinidad
and Tobago;
(c) that he has either resided in Trinidad and
Tobago or has been in the service of the
Government, or has had partly such residence
and partly such service, throughout the period
of five years, or such shorter period (not being
less than twelve months) as the Minister may
in the special circumstances of any particular
case accept, immediately preceding the date of
his application.»About this source
The Commission established by section 3 of the Law Revision Act, Chap. 3:03, whose statutory function under section 4 is to prepare, publish and maintain the revised edition of the written laws of Trinidad and Tobago. It serves the whole statute book as one PDF per Chapter from a flat path, each file carrying the Chapter number as its name, together with the subsidiary legislation made under that Act printed behind it and an index of it on the front. The Constitution is served separately. This is where every consolidated Chapter cited for this country comes from: the Immigration Act 18:01 with the Immigration Regulations, the Immigration (Caribbean Community Skilled Nationals) Act 18:03, the Citizenship Act 1:50, the Income Tax Act 75:01, the Caribbean Community Act 81:11 with the whole Revised Treaty as its Schedule, the Customs Act 78:01, the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Act 48:50 with the 1986 driving exemption Notice, the Foreign Investment Act 70:07, the Exchange Control Act 79:50, the Proceeds of Crime Act 11:27 with the Financial Obligations Regulations, the Health Surcharge Act 75:05 and the Regional Health Authorities Act 29:05.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: It says on every page that it is not the law. Each page carries the words UNOFFICIAL VERSION and UPDATED TO 31ST DECEMBER 2016, and the Current Authorised Pages table on the front of each Chapter has a column headed Authorised by L.R.O. which is empty. Under sections 6 and 15 of the Law Revision Act only pages authorised by a Law Revision Order form part of the Laws and are the proper Statute Book, so these files are a copy and not the edition. It must therefore never be cited as the authentic text, and never for the law after 31 December 2016: the Immigration (Caribbean Community Skilled Nationals) Act printed here is the pre-2022 text, in which sections 3 and 4 are the other way round from the sections now in force, and the Income Tax Act printed here states a personal allowance of seventy-two thousand dollars that has twice been raised since. It must also not be used for commencement after that date, because no instrument later than the cut-off appears in it at all. Its layout sets each section's marginal note inside the text column rather than in a margin, so a section number usually sits in the middle of a line and a sentence is interrupted by the note's words; quotations have to reproduce that, and our own check for sections an edition lists and does not print reports these Chapters as incomplete when they are not. Its server sends an incomplete TLS chain, so a plain client rejects it until the GeoTrust intermediate is supplied.
We re-read it every 180 days. More about this source
«(3) This section applies to a Commonwealth citizen, a
citizen of the Republic of Ireland, and to a British protected person.»About this source
The Commission established by section 3 of the Law Revision Act, Chap. 3:03, whose statutory function under section 4 is to prepare, publish and maintain the revised edition of the written laws of Trinidad and Tobago. It serves the whole statute book as one PDF per Chapter from a flat path, each file carrying the Chapter number as its name, together with the subsidiary legislation made under that Act printed behind it and an index of it on the front. The Constitution is served separately. This is where every consolidated Chapter cited for this country comes from: the Immigration Act 18:01 with the Immigration Regulations, the Immigration (Caribbean Community Skilled Nationals) Act 18:03, the Citizenship Act 1:50, the Income Tax Act 75:01, the Caribbean Community Act 81:11 with the whole Revised Treaty as its Schedule, the Customs Act 78:01, the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Act 48:50 with the 1986 driving exemption Notice, the Foreign Investment Act 70:07, the Exchange Control Act 79:50, the Proceeds of Crime Act 11:27 with the Financial Obligations Regulations, the Health Surcharge Act 75:05 and the Regional Health Authorities Act 29:05.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: It says on every page that it is not the law. Each page carries the words UNOFFICIAL VERSION and UPDATED TO 31ST DECEMBER 2016, and the Current Authorised Pages table on the front of each Chapter has a column headed Authorised by L.R.O. which is empty. Under sections 6 and 15 of the Law Revision Act only pages authorised by a Law Revision Order form part of the Laws and are the proper Statute Book, so these files are a copy and not the edition. It must therefore never be cited as the authentic text, and never for the law after 31 December 2016: the Immigration (Caribbean Community Skilled Nationals) Act printed here is the pre-2022 text, in which sections 3 and 4 are the other way round from the sections now in force, and the Income Tax Act printed here states a personal allowance of seventy-two thousand dollars that has twice been raised since. It must also not be used for commencement after that date, because no instrument later than the cut-off appears in it at all. Its layout sets each section's marginal note inside the text column rather than in a margin, so a section number usually sits in the middle of a line and a sentence is interrupted by the note's words; quotations have to reproduce that, and our own check for sections an edition lists and does not print reports these Chapters as incomplete when they are not. Its server sends an incomplete TLS chain, so a plain client rejects it until the GeoTrust intermediate is supplied.
We re-read it every 180 days. More about this source
«12. (1) The Minister may grant a certificate of naturalisation
[25 of 1978
63 of 2000]. to any alien of full age and capacity who makes the prescribed
application therefor and satisfies the Minister—
(a) that he has the qualifications specified in
section 7(1)(a) and (b);
(b) that he has resided in Trinidad and Tobago
throughout the period of twelve months
immediately preceding the date of his application;
(c) that during the seven years immediately preceding
the said period of twelve months he has resided
in Trinidad and Tobago or has had service under
the Government, or has had partly such residence
and partly such service, for periods amounting in
the aggregate to not less than five years.»Quoted as printed: the amendment reference sits inside the text column. The word alien is the Act's own, and means a person who is not a Commonwealth citizen, a citizen of Ireland or a British protected person.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The Commission established by section 3 of the Law Revision Act, Chap. 3:03, whose statutory function under section 4 is to prepare, publish and maintain the revised edition of the written laws of Trinidad and Tobago. It serves the whole statute book as one PDF per Chapter from a flat path, each file carrying the Chapter number as its name, together with the subsidiary legislation made under that Act printed behind it and an index of it on the front. The Constitution is served separately. This is where every consolidated Chapter cited for this country comes from: the Immigration Act 18:01 with the Immigration Regulations, the Immigration (Caribbean Community Skilled Nationals) Act 18:03, the Citizenship Act 1:50, the Income Tax Act 75:01, the Caribbean Community Act 81:11 with the whole Revised Treaty as its Schedule, the Customs Act 78:01, the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Act 48:50 with the 1986 driving exemption Notice, the Foreign Investment Act 70:07, the Exchange Control Act 79:50, the Proceeds of Crime Act 11:27 with the Financial Obligations Regulations, the Health Surcharge Act 75:05 and the Regional Health Authorities Act 29:05.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: It says on every page that it is not the law. Each page carries the words UNOFFICIAL VERSION and UPDATED TO 31ST DECEMBER 2016, and the Current Authorised Pages table on the front of each Chapter has a column headed Authorised by L.R.O. which is empty. Under sections 6 and 15 of the Law Revision Act only pages authorised by a Law Revision Order form part of the Laws and are the proper Statute Book, so these files are a copy and not the edition. It must therefore never be cited as the authentic text, and never for the law after 31 December 2016: the Immigration (Caribbean Community Skilled Nationals) Act printed here is the pre-2022 text, in which sections 3 and 4 are the other way round from the sections now in force, and the Income Tax Act printed here states a personal allowance of seventy-two thousand dollars that has twice been raised since. It must also not be used for commencement after that date, because no instrument later than the cut-off appears in it at all. Its layout sets each section's marginal note inside the text column rather than in a margin, so a section number usually sits in the middle of a line and a sentence is interrupted by the note's words; quotations have to reproduce that, and our own check for sections an edition lists and does not print reports these Chapters as incomplete when they are not. Its server sends an incomplete TLS chain, so a plain client rejects it until the GeoTrust intermediate is supplied.
We re-read it every 180 days. More about this source
«13A. A person making application under section 7, 11(2) or 12 Restriction on
shall not be registered as a citizen or granted a certificate of registration and
naturalisation.
citizenship or of naturalisation unless he entered Trinidad and [25 of 1978].
Tobago legally and is not a member of a prohibited class within
the meaning of the Immigration Act.»Quoted as printed: the marginal note and amendment reference sit inside the text column.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The Commission established by section 3 of the Law Revision Act, Chap. 3:03, whose statutory function under section 4 is to prepare, publish and maintain the revised edition of the written laws of Trinidad and Tobago. It serves the whole statute book as one PDF per Chapter from a flat path, each file carrying the Chapter number as its name, together with the subsidiary legislation made under that Act printed behind it and an index of it on the front. The Constitution is served separately. This is where every consolidated Chapter cited for this country comes from: the Immigration Act 18:01 with the Immigration Regulations, the Immigration (Caribbean Community Skilled Nationals) Act 18:03, the Citizenship Act 1:50, the Income Tax Act 75:01, the Caribbean Community Act 81:11 with the whole Revised Treaty as its Schedule, the Customs Act 78:01, the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Act 48:50 with the 1986 driving exemption Notice, the Foreign Investment Act 70:07, the Exchange Control Act 79:50, the Proceeds of Crime Act 11:27 with the Financial Obligations Regulations, the Health Surcharge Act 75:05 and the Regional Health Authorities Act 29:05.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: It says on every page that it is not the law. Each page carries the words UNOFFICIAL VERSION and UPDATED TO 31ST DECEMBER 2016, and the Current Authorised Pages table on the front of each Chapter has a column headed Authorised by L.R.O. which is empty. Under sections 6 and 15 of the Law Revision Act only pages authorised by a Law Revision Order form part of the Laws and are the proper Statute Book, so these files are a copy and not the edition. It must therefore never be cited as the authentic text, and never for the law after 31 December 2016: the Immigration (Caribbean Community Skilled Nationals) Act printed here is the pre-2022 text, in which sections 3 and 4 are the other way round from the sections now in force, and the Income Tax Act printed here states a personal allowance of seventy-two thousand dollars that has twice been raised since. It must also not be used for commencement after that date, because no instrument later than the cut-off appears in it at all. Its layout sets each section's marginal note inside the text column rather than in a margin, so a section number usually sits in the middle of a line and a sentence is interrupted by the note's words; quotations have to reproduce that, and our own check for sections an edition lists and does not print reports these Chapters as incomplete when they are not. Its server sends an incomplete TLS chain, so a plain client rejects it until the GeoTrust intermediate is supplied.
We re-read it every 180 days. More about this source
«(3) The countries to which this section applies are
Australia, the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Botswana,
Canada, Cyprus, Fiji, The Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana,
India, Jamaica, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Malaysia, Malta,
Mauritius, Nauru, New Zealand, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Singapore,
Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Tanzania, Tonga, Uganda, United Kingdom
and Colonies, Western Samoa and Zambia.»About this source
The Commission established by section 3 of the Law Revision Act, Chap. 3:03, whose statutory function under section 4 is to prepare, publish and maintain the revised edition of the written laws of Trinidad and Tobago. It serves the whole statute book as one PDF per Chapter from a flat path, each file carrying the Chapter number as its name, together with the subsidiary legislation made under that Act printed behind it and an index of it on the front. The Constitution is served separately. This is where every consolidated Chapter cited for this country comes from: the Immigration Act 18:01 with the Immigration Regulations, the Immigration (Caribbean Community Skilled Nationals) Act 18:03, the Citizenship Act 1:50, the Income Tax Act 75:01, the Caribbean Community Act 81:11 with the whole Revised Treaty as its Schedule, the Customs Act 78:01, the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Act 48:50 with the 1986 driving exemption Notice, the Foreign Investment Act 70:07, the Exchange Control Act 79:50, the Proceeds of Crime Act 11:27 with the Financial Obligations Regulations, the Health Surcharge Act 75:05 and the Regional Health Authorities Act 29:05.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: It says on every page that it is not the law. Each page carries the words UNOFFICIAL VERSION and UPDATED TO 31ST DECEMBER 2016, and the Current Authorised Pages table on the front of each Chapter has a column headed Authorised by L.R.O. which is empty. Under sections 6 and 15 of the Law Revision Act only pages authorised by a Law Revision Order form part of the Laws and are the proper Statute Book, so these files are a copy and not the edition. It must therefore never be cited as the authentic text, and never for the law after 31 December 2016: the Immigration (Caribbean Community Skilled Nationals) Act printed here is the pre-2022 text, in which sections 3 and 4 are the other way round from the sections now in force, and the Income Tax Act printed here states a personal allowance of seventy-two thousand dollars that has twice been raised since. It must also not be used for commencement after that date, because no instrument later than the cut-off appears in it at all. Its layout sets each section's marginal note inside the text column rather than in a margin, so a section number usually sits in the middle of a line and a sentence is interrupted by the note's words; quotations have to reproduce that, and our own check for sections an edition lists and does not print reports these Chapters as incomplete when they are not. Its server sends an incomplete TLS chain, so a plain client rejects it until the GeoTrust intermediate is supplied.
We re-read it every 180 days. More about this source
«*An Order under this subsection is proposed for the purpose of updating subsection (3) but had
not yet been made at the Revision Date.»The Law Revision Commission's own note. It is not part of the Constitution and has no legal effect; it is the publisher saying that the list is out of date and that nothing has been done about it.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The Commission established by section 3 of the Law Revision Act, Chap. 3:03, whose statutory function under section 4 is to prepare, publish and maintain the revised edition of the written laws of Trinidad and Tobago. It serves the whole statute book as one PDF per Chapter from a flat path, each file carrying the Chapter number as its name, together with the subsidiary legislation made under that Act printed behind it and an index of it on the front. The Constitution is served separately. This is where every consolidated Chapter cited for this country comes from: the Immigration Act 18:01 with the Immigration Regulations, the Immigration (Caribbean Community Skilled Nationals) Act 18:03, the Citizenship Act 1:50, the Income Tax Act 75:01, the Caribbean Community Act 81:11 with the whole Revised Treaty as its Schedule, the Customs Act 78:01, the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Act 48:50 with the 1986 driving exemption Notice, the Foreign Investment Act 70:07, the Exchange Control Act 79:50, the Proceeds of Crime Act 11:27 with the Financial Obligations Regulations, the Health Surcharge Act 75:05 and the Regional Health Authorities Act 29:05.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: It says on every page that it is not the law. Each page carries the words UNOFFICIAL VERSION and UPDATED TO 31ST DECEMBER 2016, and the Current Authorised Pages table on the front of each Chapter has a column headed Authorised by L.R.O. which is empty. Under sections 6 and 15 of the Law Revision Act only pages authorised by a Law Revision Order form part of the Laws and are the proper Statute Book, so these files are a copy and not the edition. It must therefore never be cited as the authentic text, and never for the law after 31 December 2016: the Immigration (Caribbean Community Skilled Nationals) Act printed here is the pre-2022 text, in which sections 3 and 4 are the other way round from the sections now in force, and the Income Tax Act printed here states a personal allowance of seventy-two thousand dollars that has twice been raised since. It must also not be used for commencement after that date, because no instrument later than the cut-off appears in it at all. Its layout sets each section's marginal note inside the text column rather than in a margin, so a section number usually sits in the middle of a line and a sentence is interrupted by the note's words; quotations have to reproduce that, and our own check for sections an edition lists and does not print reports these Chapters as incomplete when they are not. Its server sends an incomplete TLS chain, so a plain client rejects it until the GeoTrust intermediate is supplied.
We re-read it every 180 days. More about this source
Practical notes
Section 11(1) of the Citizenship Act, which provides that a citizen ceases to be one on voluntarily acquiring another citizenship, was not repealed when dual citizenship was allowed in 1988. It was overridden for citizens by birth and by descent by section 11(2D) and still operates on citizens by registration and naturalisation, who therefore cannot take a second citizenship without losing this one.
Section 14 lets the Minister deprive a citizen by registration, naturalisation or restoration of citizenship. It does not reach a citizen by birth or by descent.
The Immigration Division charges nothing for a passport to a person aged sixty or over, or to a child under two, and TT$500 for an ordinary thirty-two page adult passport.
This record rests on Chapter 2 of the Constitution and on Parts I and II of the Citizenship of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago Act in editions updated to 31 December 2016, and on the Immigration Division's passport FAQs.
- consolidatesThe Constitution of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
Law Revision Commission, Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs of Trinidad and Tobago · consolidated to 2016-12-31
About this source
The Commission established by section 3 of the Law Revision Act, Chap. 3:03, whose statutory function under section 4 is to prepare, publish and maintain the revised edition of the written laws of Trinidad and Tobago. It serves the whole statute book as one PDF per Chapter from a flat path, each file carrying the Chapter number as its name, together with the subsidiary legislation made under that Act printed behind it and an index of it on the front. The Constitution is served separately. This is where every consolidated Chapter cited for this country comes from: the Immigration Act 18:01 with the Immigration Regulations, the Immigration (Caribbean Community Skilled Nationals) Act 18:03, the Citizenship Act 1:50, the Income Tax Act 75:01, the Caribbean Community Act 81:11 with the whole Revised Treaty as its Schedule, the Customs Act 78:01, the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Act 48:50 with the 1986 driving exemption Notice, the Foreign Investment Act 70:07, the Exchange Control Act 79:50, the Proceeds of Crime Act 11:27 with the Financial Obligations Regulations, the Health Surcharge Act 75:05 and the Regional Health Authorities Act 29:05.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: It says on every page that it is not the law. Each page carries the words UNOFFICIAL VERSION and UPDATED TO 31ST DECEMBER 2016, and the Current Authorised Pages table on the front of each Chapter has a column headed Authorised by L.R.O. which is empty. Under sections 6 and 15 of the Law Revision Act only pages authorised by a Law Revision Order form part of the Laws and are the proper Statute Book, so these files are a copy and not the edition. It must therefore never be cited as the authentic text, and never for the law after 31 December 2016: the Immigration (Caribbean Community Skilled Nationals) Act printed here is the pre-2022 text, in which sections 3 and 4 are the other way round from the sections now in force, and the Income Tax Act printed here states a personal allowance of seventy-two thousand dollars that has twice been raised since. It must also not be used for commencement after that date, because no instrument later than the cut-off appears in it at all. Its layout sets each section's marginal note inside the text column rather than in a margin, so a section number usually sits in the middle of a line and a sentence is interrupted by the note's words; quotations have to reproduce that, and our own check for sections an edition lists and does not print reports these Chapters as incomplete when they are not. Its server sends an incomplete TLS chain, so a plain client rejects it until the GeoTrust intermediate is supplied.
We re-read it every 180 days. More about this source
- consolidatesCitizenship of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago Act, Chapter 1:50
Law Revision Commission, Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs of Trinidad and Tobago · consolidated to 2016-12-31
About this source
The Commission established by section 3 of the Law Revision Act, Chap. 3:03, whose statutory function under section 4 is to prepare, publish and maintain the revised edition of the written laws of Trinidad and Tobago. It serves the whole statute book as one PDF per Chapter from a flat path, each file carrying the Chapter number as its name, together with the subsidiary legislation made under that Act printed behind it and an index of it on the front. The Constitution is served separately. This is where every consolidated Chapter cited for this country comes from: the Immigration Act 18:01 with the Immigration Regulations, the Immigration (Caribbean Community Skilled Nationals) Act 18:03, the Citizenship Act 1:50, the Income Tax Act 75:01, the Caribbean Community Act 81:11 with the whole Revised Treaty as its Schedule, the Customs Act 78:01, the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Act 48:50 with the 1986 driving exemption Notice, the Foreign Investment Act 70:07, the Exchange Control Act 79:50, the Proceeds of Crime Act 11:27 with the Financial Obligations Regulations, the Health Surcharge Act 75:05 and the Regional Health Authorities Act 29:05.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: It says on every page that it is not the law. Each page carries the words UNOFFICIAL VERSION and UPDATED TO 31ST DECEMBER 2016, and the Current Authorised Pages table on the front of each Chapter has a column headed Authorised by L.R.O. which is empty. Under sections 6 and 15 of the Law Revision Act only pages authorised by a Law Revision Order form part of the Laws and are the proper Statute Book, so these files are a copy and not the edition. It must therefore never be cited as the authentic text, and never for the law after 31 December 2016: the Immigration (Caribbean Community Skilled Nationals) Act printed here is the pre-2022 text, in which sections 3 and 4 are the other way round from the sections now in force, and the Income Tax Act printed here states a personal allowance of seventy-two thousand dollars that has twice been raised since. It must also not be used for commencement after that date, because no instrument later than the cut-off appears in it at all. Its layout sets each section's marginal note inside the text column rather than in a margin, so a section number usually sits in the middle of a line and a sentence is interrupted by the note's words; quotations have to reproduce that, and our own check for sections an edition lists and does not print reports these Chapters as incomplete when they are not. Its server sends an incomplete TLS chain, so a plain client rejects it until the GeoTrust intermediate is supplied.
We re-read it every 180 days. More about this source
- administersPassport FAQs
Ministry of Homeland Security of Trinidad and Tobago - Immigration Division
About this source
The ministry that applies the Immigration Act. It took the immigration portfolio from the Ministry of National Security, whose address now redirects here. Its pages set out the work permit process, including the requirement that applications for one to nine permits go through the TTBizLink portal and that applications for ten or more use a single group form, the eVisa and eStudent Permit services with the fees charged for each, the list of countries whose citizens do not require entry visas, and the passport fees and documents.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: It states practice and not law. Its visa-free list carries no date on its face - only the upload directory in its address - and two different lists are served from the site at once, a longer one from February 2024 and a shorter one from September 2024, with nothing saying which supersedes which. Neither includes the United States or any European Union state, so neither is a complete answer to who needs a visa, and the exemption those travellers use is in regulation 13(8)(b) for countries with Visa Abolition Agreements, which the Division does not publish. Its statement that full-time registered students of the University of the West Indies at St Augustine do not require student permits appears in no instrument. The link it labels Immigration Act of Trinidad and Tobago Chapter 18:01 on its work permit page does not serve the Act: it serves Legal Notice No. 493 of 2025, the fee regulations. Its Minister's Permit page publishes weekly collection lists and no statement of what is required to obtain one.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source