We often get the question from family back home; “What is the Customs process for a sailboat exiting or entering a country, and what about Immigration?” Folks are shocked at the lengthy procedures, not just for us crew but for the boat as well. The Port Officials and Border patrol are always watching all boats coming and going. They use online programs like Marine Traffic, since boats have an AIS (automatic identification system). Their exact location is transmitted through the vhf radio. Port authorities, and coast guards worldwide rely on AIS for traffic control, and security. In a few days, New Zealand will monitor our boat closely, after our clearing out appointment, we promptly exit their waters without stopping. We have sent New Caledonia Customs our paperwork so that when we get close, we will hoist our yellow quarantine flag, and arrive at their check in area. This yellow flag ( Q flag) indicates that we are entering their country and will head straight to the customs dock. This flag stays up until we are fully cleared in and free to come and go.
Once at the Dock, boats may get searched by biosecurity. They look for pets, plants, raw meats, drugs and produce. Any fresh produce is taken and our trash is double bagged and collected. The 21 or so official Customs papers that I had previously emailed in are reviewed. If all good, our passports are stamped, then lower the yellow flag, and hoist the local country flag above our US flag. Either that day or the next, we pay for clearing in and are granted our tourist visas, temporary import papers, and cruising permits. Then we can freely get off the boat. It’s a lot, right?
We spend a lot of time researching the location of the Ports of call for each country. There may be 4-5 Ports spread out 100 miles or more, on various small islands, all with varying advantages or disadvantages. For example, these remote places may only have offices open a few days a week. Or, as someone has reviewed it may be closed down due to a recent cyclone. It pays to research. Sailors are grateful for the app called Noforeignland. With map filters we can easily find the Offices to head to. Sometimes these buildings are miles apart and to our disadvantage, may have no public transportation. These are stressful days. Remember, new country, new language, new money, new transportation and new procedures. We were lucky to have a welcoming party as we entered Fiji 2 years ago.
Our World Adventure 