Trinidad tells former PM to hand back his diplomatic passport — by phone

Former Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Stuart Young has publicly revealed via a video on social media that the Persad-Bissessar Government contacted him by phone — without warning — and instructed him to return the diplomatic passport issued to him after he left office.

Young, who served as the country's 8th Prime Minister for approximately 42 days beginning March 17, 2025, said the passport was formally issued to him on May 2, 2025, following his departure from office after the April 2025 General Election. He did not identify who placed the call, and no written legal basis was provided for the request.

"I received a call out of the blue," Young said in a video statement posted to social media. "As a former prime minister, you get a diplomatic passport. It was given to me on the second of May last year. I didn't ask for it. Get a call out of the blue: return the passport."

Guardian Media confirmed that Young still holds the passport, having declined to surrender it without a formal written demand. He stated he intends to "deal with that in accordance with the law at the appropriate time."

Under Trinidad and Tobago's Immigration Act, Chap. 18:01, the authority to issue, renew or revoke passports rests exclusively with the Minister of National Security. Guardian Media found no statutory provision explicitly entitling former prime ministers to retain diplomatic passports after leaving office.

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar did not respond to questions from Guardian Media by press time. The development follows earlier legislative amendments that successfully blocked Young from receiving the retirement gratuity and pension typically afforded to former prime ministers.

• Young served as T&T's 8th Prime Minister for approximately 42 days from March 17, 2025 • His diplomatic passport was issued on May 2, 2024, after he demitted office • Young received an unexpected phone call — with no written notice — instructing him to return the passport • Young still holds the passport and has refused to comply without a formal written request • The Immigration Act, Chap. 18:01, grants the Minister of National Security sole authority over passport issuance and revocation • No statutory provision explicitly entitles former prime ministers to retain diplomatic passports • PM Persad-Bissessar did not respond to Guardian Media questions by press time • Legislation was previously amended to block Young from receiving the standard former-PM pension and gratuity

The dispute over Young's diplomatic passport signals a deepening constitutional and political fault line in Trinidad and Tobago's post-election landscape. 

If the Government proceeds to formally revoke the passport, it would set a precedent for how post-office benefits are administered for short-serving prime ministers — with implications for the integrity of institutions that transcend partisan politics. 

The absence of an explicit statutory entitlement, as noted in legal commentary on the Immigration Act, gives the Minister of National Security considerable discretionary power, but exercising it selectively risks entrenching perceptions of political weaponisation of state instruments.

"Stuart Young served as Trinidad and Tobago's 8th Prime Minister for approximately 42 days from March 17, 2025 — one of the shortest tenures in the country's history — and the Government has now made a second move to curtail his post-office benefits, following earlier legislative amendments to his pension entitlements."

— Guardian Media / CNC3 News Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago's post-election political landscape has become a battleground over the rights and benefits of former officeholders — and Stuart Young, who served as the country's 8th Prime Minister for just 42 days beginning March 17, 2025, has found himself at the centre of it.

Young's brief tenure ended with the PNM's defeat in the April 2025 General Election, returning Kamla Persad-Bissessar and the UNC to power. What followed has been an escalating series of disputes over his post-office entitlements: first, the Government amended legislation to block Young from receiving the pension and gratuity ordinarily afforded to former prime ministers; now, it has moved to reclaim the diplomatic passport issued to him on May 2, 2024 — again by phone, without written notice or cited legal authority.

The controversy gains sharper edges when set against the case of former PM Keith Rowley, who confirmed he still holds and has recently used his diplomatic passport — with no reported request for its return. Under Trinidad and Tobago's Immigration Act, Chap. 18:01, the Minister of National Security holds sole authority over passport issuance and revocation, but no provision explicitly governs former prime ministers.

Political victimisation: Young argues that the passport request is part of an unprecedented pattern of political persecution since May 2025, compounding earlier legislative moves to strip his pension rights. He contends that thousands of workers have also been dismissed from state programmes under the current administration, and that the Government is using political attacks to distract from an economic and energy sector crisis.

Government discretion within the law: According to legal commentary cited by Guardian Media, the Immigration Act grants the Minister of National Security the authority to issue, renew or revoke passports, and the act contains no explicit automatic entitlement requiring former prime ministers to retain diplomatic passports. The Government has not publicly stated its legal justification, and Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar had not responded to media questions by press time.

Selective application raising institutional concerns: The fact that former PM Rowley confirmed he still holds and recently used his diplomatic passport — with no reported request for its return — has amplified Opposition claims that the Government is applying post-office benefit reviews selectively. Young has also joined calls for a full investigation into Rowley's separate passport flagging incident during regional travel.

"The firing of tens of thousands of our most vulnerable workers and citizens in CPEP, URP, reforestation, continued firings at WASA, T&TEC, even in the energy sector, at Heritage, NGC, NE, PPGPL and Paria. Every day people are being terminated by this Government."

— Stuart Young, Former Prime Minister and MP for Port of Spain North/St Ann's West, via Trinidad and Tobago Guardian