Caribbean customs: the paperwork shuffle every island seems to do differently

Caribbean customs: the paperwork shuffle every island seems to do differently

Caribbean island customs processes can be complicated, because each island manages its borders differently, and what you find at the office is basically a lottery. For skippers trying to hop quickly from island to island, that means frequent runs through a sometimes tortuous and ambiguous border-control path. SailClear, launched in 2013, now operates in about 20 Caribbean islands, costs US$25 annually, and is meant to bring some uniformity and shorten time in the various offices. But it doesn’t cover every island, and each one seems to apply it in slightly different ways. The web form for arrival time and date should be completed 24 hours ahead, which gives skippers an identification number to hand over when they arrive. French Caribbean islands don’t use SailClear; they introduced their own online system in 2024, and the process can be completed online when transiting between French islands.

Gobble's Take: In Caribbean cruising, “standardized” still means “surprise yourself at the customs desk.”
Source: Yachting Monthly

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