The authorities will begin registering all unregistered immigrants within weeks, and those who fail to comply will face deportation.
“Within the next three or four weeks, we’re going to use another mechanism where we’re going to ID all the immigrants that are in Guyana that are not registered, and so they are going to be registered through the process,” Police Commissioner Clifton Hicken told reporters during a press briefing on Tuesday.
He noted that while immigrants are currently monitored and registered at ports of entry, the new initiative will focus on those already in the country who have not been documented.
The issue of electronic identification (E-ID) cards and border security has come under renewed attention following Sunday’s deadly explosion that killed six-year-old Soraya Bourne.
Daniel Alexander Ramirez Peodomo, the main suspect in the explosion at the Mobil Gas Station on Regent and King Streets, along with several accomplices, are Venezuelan nationals who entered Guyana illegally by boat on October 26, 2025 at around 8 am. Ramirez has been linked to the notorious Sindicato criminal gang in Venezuela.
Home Affairs Minister Oneidge Walrond said individuals who fail to register will face deportation and sanctions.
“What we will do is that for the persons who are in Guyana illegally, they will be given a grace period to come to register and have this E-ID card,” she said.
The Department of Public Information reported that the E-ID cards will distinguish between citizens and non-citizens and integrate personal data into a secure digital and physical card used to access government and private sector services.
Non-nationals without the card will not be able to access services in Guyana.
