These are our experiences of Customs and Immigration on our trip. The charges relate to Newtsville (37ft) and for 2 people on board and were between July 08 and Nov 09:
Morocco (Rabat)
- Met by customs and police (at 4am) on the reception pontoon
- They boarded the boat and opened cupboards, looked under seats etc but were very friendly
- Took passports and ship papers which they returned the next day
- Had to visit Customs, Immigration and Police when leaving but all based at the marina
- No charges
Antigua (English Harbour)
- Customs, Immigration and Port Officer all in one building
- Charges (US$):
- Port Entry $12
- Harbour Dues $22 (for 14/12 – 27/12)
- Landing Fee $4 per person
- Garbage Fee $1 per person per day
Guadeloupe (Deshaies and Port a Pietre)
- French island
- Relaxed about customs
- Irregular office hours at the office in deshaies so we visit Point a Pitre when we were exploring the island
- No charges
Dominica (Prince Rupert Bay)
- Visit customs near commercial dock
- Will clear you in and out on same day
- Charges (EC$):
- Port Charges 50EC
- Overtime Charge 20EC
St Lucia (Rodney Bay)
- Customs and immigration in one office at
- Charges (EC$) :
- Pratique 10EC
- Clearance 5EC
- Navigational Aids 15EC
St Vincent and the Grenadines (Bequia and Clifton)
- Cleared in at Bequia and out at
- Charges (EC$) : 70EC
Grenada (Hillsborough, Carriacou and St Georges, Grenada)
- Cleared in in Hillsborough and out in
- Cruising guide implied that you could clear out of St Vincent and spend a couple of days at PSV before checking into Grenada but Hillsborough immigration wasn’t happy that we had cleared out of St Vincent on Friday and were clearing in their on Monday
- Charges (EC$) :
- Immigration 20EC
- Clearance 50EC
Bonaire
- Visit customs and immigration (or police station if immigration is closed)
- No charge to clear in but US$11 for Zarpe on departure
- Make sure you get given a copy of the immigration form
Panama (Porvenir, San Blas and Colon)
- We cleared into the San Blas which we had received mixed advice about whether it is necessary or an added expense
- San Blas check in is all based in one building in Porvenir
- San Blas Charges (US$) :
- Crusing Permit $57.20
- Zarpe $4.50
- Immigration $30
- Kuna Indians $24
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- Check Out $25
- Cruising Visa $40
Panama Canal
- $609 transit fee plus $891 deposit (cash or visa card)
- We used Tito as an ‘agent’ for $50 and he was suppose to drive us to the necessary places and provide our lines ($15 each) and tyres ($4 each)
- Tito was recommended and he was ok but had taken too many boats on when we arrived and was overstretched and therefore was often late or missed appointments. We didn’t get a date any earlier by using him
- The canal procedure would be easy to do yourself but Tito was handy as a taxi driver and would be very useful if you were at
- Procedure:
1/ Visit the admeasurer office and register
2/ Wait for the measurers to visit the boat
3/ Go to the CitiBank to pay your transit fee and deposit
4/ Call the scheduler for your transit date
5/ Call the day before and on the day to ensure your slot hasn’t changed (we know a boat we called the day before and was told they had been moved to that day and other boats got earlier time in the day)
- We have heard that Stanley Scott is a reasonable price and good
- Tina McBride was very rude to us about the size of our boat and engine – apparently under 40ft you are too much of a risk and she is very expensive.
- Have to pay $1 a tyre to dispose of your tyres at Balboa Yacht Club or Playita Marina
Galapagos (Wreck Bay)
- We had heard that there are 3 ways of visiting the Galapagos:
1/ turn up at
2/ Apply for a permit that allows you to visit
3/ Apply for an Autograph that allows you to visit all anchorages but you need a guide on the boat at all times
…. We chose the first option as it was the cheapest
- You have to use an agent to check in
- In
- Both start at $100 but this is negotiable – we got a good deal when a group of boats used Fernando
- We paid $60 agent fee, $80 port fees, $30 to get passports stamped and $12 for a Zarpe. Port fees are based on the tonnage of the boat – Newtsville weighs 8 tonne
- There are a couple of options to get fuel: Jerry jug it yourself or get your agent to bring it to the boat. The locals pay about $1 a gallon, if you get it yourself it is $2.10 a gallon and to get it delivered we were told it would be $2.50 a gallon (on delivering the fuel Fernando changed his price and wanted $2.80 a gallon which we managed to get down to $2.70 a gallon). We decided to use Fernando as we didn’t have enough jerry jugs so wanted him to bring us some extra in his containers. We got the right amount of fuel but there was some variation in the capacity of his containers amongst other cruisers!!
- Fernando wanted $3 per 5 gallon water container delivered to the boat. Sharksy (tour agent in town) wanted $2 per container plus the water taxi cost ($3)
French Polynesia (Nuku Hiva, Marquesas and Papeete, Tahiti)
- Very easy to clear in – Visit Gendarmarie
- Only cost is 70CPF for a stamp to send your customs form to
- Once in Tahiti you need to finish your check in in
Niue (Alofi)
- Call Niue Radio on CH16 as you approach the island. They will arrange your customs check in – don’t go ashore without doing this
- Visit customs and then immigration to check in
- Visit immigration, pay your mooring buoy fees and then go to customs to check out
- Mooring buoys looked after by Niue Yacht Club (CH16). NZ$15 per night.
- Departure Tax NZ$34 per person
- NZ$10 Gargabe Disposal fee (although we weren’t asked for this)
Tonga (Neiafu)
- Call port control on CH16 and they will ask you to come alongside the main wharf. This is very high and can be dangerous at low water for yachts. The lower fishing wharf can also be used for a TPF $13 fee (recommended).
- Arriving outside office hours isn’t a problem, simply pick up a mooring in town and check in as soon as possible. You are not meant to go ashore before clearing customs, but this didn’t seem to be enforced.
- Expect 4 visitors, health, immigration, customs and quarantine.
- No searches were made of the boat and everyone was very friendly.
- Charges:
- Health TPF$100
- Customs TPF$23
Fiji (Lautoka)
- Pre arrival notice must be emailed / faxed to Customs at least 48 hours before arrival, however it doesn’t seem to find its way to the customs man you deal with!
- Overtime charges here are high so aim to arrive during office hours.
- Stopping anywhere before check-in is carefully monitored and communication between ports to catch yachts is in place. We stopped at
- Anchor north of the harbour and call on VHF16 and then proceed ashore.
- Customs and Immigration are at the docks and despite the lengthy paperwork are friendly and helpful and no charges were made.
- Health is called from the hospital and wanted to visit the boat – we took him out in the dinghy and he did a quick search but didn’t ask any questions (even about the alcohol he found) – all he wanted was a drink (soft drink or fruit juice)!
- Cruising permits need to be obtained from the Western Office in town, or via fax from one of the marinas.
- We did speak to several boats who were boarded by customs as well as health and had a thorough search but no actions resulted from these searches.
- Costs: Health F$40
- To clear out you have to take the boat back to Lautoka even though they don’t want to visit it (F$180 charge if boat is not in port) and you have to clear out the day you leave
New Caledonia (Noumea)
- If you go into the marina at Port Moselle they send the officials to your boat
- If at anchor you have to visit their offices and maybe take officials out to the boat by dinghy
- Straight forward paperwork and no charges
- Quarantine takes any fresh fruit/veg, eggs and meat
- To clear out visit immigration and customs and then the port captain. Straight forward and no charges. Can clear out the day before or on a Friday if you want to leave over the weekend or early mon morning.
Australia (Coffs Harbour)
On approaching the harbour we called
Alongside the customs dock we were asked about health and then given some forms to complete – small craft arrival form (which you can download off the internet) and immigration cards. They told us they would leave us for half an hour to complete these but it took them a while to come back!
We were cleared by Robert (manager) and Craig (who normally works on the large ships near
Customs and immigration was straight forward. They checked our ‘last ports of call’ from our paperwork against the stamps in our passport and wanted to take copies or our visas.
Being non-Australian we needed a cruising permit, we were given a 12 month cruising permit that we can re new twice (giving us 3 years in total). They just ask that every 3 months we send in a prepaid card informing customs of where the boat is.
Quarantine – they didn’t look in any cupboards – just asked us to show us things. They took:
- all dairy – milk, milk powder, eggs, butter, cheese
- anything with egg products eg mayonnaise
- open bags of cereal (which is really annoying as I had just opened a new bag that morning!!
- Yeast, ginger, popcorn
- They checked pasta, rice and flour based products for weevils and creatures
- All tins (meat, veg) were fine
- We bought a wooden tiki man carving in
Quarantine charges were A$330 which had to be paid by credit card. These are doubled at the weekend / public holidays.
They didn’t ask about anti fouling, the dinghy or whether the anchor and chain was clean. No under water cameras or dogs with booties on!!!
The whole process took around 2 hours, although an hour of that was waiting for them to come back and do the inspection. The guys where on the boat in total for about an hour. Very friendly and no hassles whatsoever.
