Antigua and Barbuda's immigration amnesty programme is progressing as expected, with approximately 40 applicants being processed each day under a newly introduced number system, according to Antigua Observer.

Chief Immigration Officer Katrina Yearwood provided the update shortly after the programme launched, noting that turnout has matched official projections.

Registration begins just before 2 p.m. each day and is handled on a first-come, first-served basis between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., in line with the official Public Service Announcement (PSA). On opening day, however, some applicants arrived ahead of the scheduled hours, leaving more than 100 people unable to be accommodated that morning.

Before being seen by officials, applicants receive a briefing on the required documents. Anyone found to be missing paperwork is asked to return the following day fully prepared.

Applicants must present a completed application form, a passport-sized photograph, and a police record. Fourteen days after submitting an application, they return for an endorsement appointment, at which point their status is either extended or an appointment for residency or citizenship is scheduled.

The amnesty programme is open to anyone who has lived in Antigua and Barbuda without proper immigration status for more than four years. Yearwood explained that the process is designed to "perfect the gaps" in an applicant's record, clearing the path toward a residency or citizenship application depending on the length of stay. An individual who has overstayed by exactly four years, for example, would proceed to a residency application once amnesty is granted.

Yearwood attributed the initial disorder to some applicants not having seen the PSA beforehand.

"Yes, a few teething problems in the beginning," she said. "A lot of people didn't read the PSA, or maybe it wasn't presented to them in a timely manner. We were seeing applicants come down in drones, but there is some resemblance of order now as we catch our bearings."

Yearwood cautioned that it remains too early to draw firm conclusions, as the programme had not yet completed a full week of operations. She noted, however, that the groups coming forward align with what officials had anticipated.