Clearing Customs the Fun Way In the British Virgin Islands
Do you know that the St. Thomas, St. John and St. Croix in the Virgin Islands are a U.S. territory and you don’t need a passport to visit any of those three island paradises? They are incredible, just a stone’s throw away–with passports or visas as admission–are the British Virgin Islands. The British Virgin Islands, made up of more than 60 islands, each uniquely different and beautifully unspoiled, are the Caribbean’s best kept secret. These islands are virtually free of crowds because there are no direct flights to the main airport on Beef Island, just off Tortola (airport code EIS). Any flight to the area connects through other Caribbean ports, like San Juan, St Thomas, St. Kitts and St. Martin. As a result, most visitors arrive by boat from the US Virgin Islands, which is really the best way to arrive in the British Virgin Islands.
You may think that clearing customs is a huge hassle, but it’s really quite simple, and can be a lot of fun, when you do it by boat with a Virgin Islands Boat Charter. If you get this close to the British Virgin Islands and don’t “island hop” by boat, man–you’re missing out. Nothing in the world compares to seeing these picture perfect deserted beaches, amazing sugar mill ruins, stunning landscape, pirate history and different topographies by boat.
Everyone that enters the British Virgin Islands MUST have a passport or a visa to enter–regardless of age. If you are bringing an infant, that child must have a passport. European citizens from certain countries and citizens from some other Caribbean islands will require a visa to enter the British Virgin Islands. You can contact the the Immigration Department of the British Virgin Islands for a listing of which documents are required from each country or territory.
Once you have your passport or visa in hand, the process is really easy and even fun. There are four ports of entry in the British Virgin Islands: Road Town, Tortola, West End, called “Soper’s Hole” on Tortola, Great Harbour on Jost Van Dyke and Spanish Town on Virgin Gorda. These offices are located at harbors to easily accommodate those arriving by boat.
There are fees associated with customs check-in that vary by day of the week and time of the year. It’s a pretty complicated formula and the fees change daily, but expect to pay around $25.00-$30.00 a day per person. Customs fees must be paid in cash.
If you really want to make your customs experience easy–and fun–go through customs on a Virgin Islands boat charter. Your captain will take your passports and customs fees into the office and handle everything for you. If you’re on Tortola, check out Soper’s Hole–you can shop and dine while you clear customs. If you go in through Great Harbour, sink your toes in the sand, relax in a hammock and order a drink at Foxy’s while you wait for your captain to process the paperwork. In Road Town, you can tour the local crafts bazaar or the shops on Wickham’s Cay while your captain clears you in. In Spanish Town, you can stroll the Yacht Harbour Shopping Center. The average time to clear customs can vary by time of year and the number of people clearing at the same time, but it’s typically takes 20-30 minutes. The best part is that you come out with a “British Virgin Islands” stamp in your passport!
The customs offices keep standard business hours. If you arrive after hours, simply raise a yellow flag and and await the arrival of a customs agent before going ashore. You can also call ahead to any of the ports of entry to get permission for a late arrival if necessary.
Visitors can stay in British waters for up to one month after clearing customs on a “visitors pass.” Longer stays require application at the Immigration Office for an extension. Most folks just visit for the day and return to the US Virgin Islands in the afternoon. If this is the case, you must clear back into the U.S. through the customs office in either St. John or St Thomas no later than 5pm. There is no fee for return to the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the process takes only a few minutes.
While the act of clearing customs is pretty simple in the British Virgin Islands, knowing where the customs offices are and the procedures for mooring or docking at those offices isn’t. That’s a big reason to rent a captained day boat charter as opposed to a bareboat charter where you are the captain. The best Virgin Islands boat charter, Pirate’s Paradise Adventures, can make your customs experience very easy and your visit to the British Virgin Islands one of the best days of your life.
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