Antigua / Barbuda Customs and Immigration

[NWCouple]

I just finished reading the posts from the archives regarding antigua and barbuda. We're heading out in a couple weeks chartering a 36ft monohaul for a 6 week sail from BVI's to St. Martin/Bart's then on to Antigua and Barbuda and back. My question is, can you check in and out for both Antigua and Barbuda in one location or do you have to go through the procedure in both countries?

[Cormorant]

I've never been there (sadly) but Noonsite.com is a good resource for this sort of info.

Noonsite: Antigua & Barbuda

Also from Noonsite:
The Comptroller of Customs
Customs Department, Church & Thames Streets, St. John's, Antigua
Tel809) 462-0829, (809) 462-1241, (809) 462-2400, Fax809) 462-2767

[Cormorant]

Curse of the emoticons . . .

The Comptroller of Customs
Customs Department, Church & Thames Streets, St. John's, Antigua
Tel 809-462-0829, 809-462-1241, 809-462-2400,
Fax 809-462-2767

[s/v Moondancer]

One country but we had to check in and out at both islands. The immigration at Jolly Harbor are reported to have levied large fines when crew went to the bar before checking in.

[estarzinger]

Originally Posted by s/v Moondancer

One country but we had to check in and out at both islands.

Really . . . certainly not our experience. We get a cruising permit when we check into Antigua, which explicitly states it is good also for Barbuda, and so have never cleared into Barbuda or on return to Antigua.

Edit: The Antigua and Barbuda marine assocuation website agrees with me: "A valid cruising permit entitles a vessel to cruise anywhere in Antigua and Barbuda waters"

[Hud3]

Ditto what Evans said. Antigua and Barbuda are one country, and your cruising permit is good for the whole shebang.

Cruisers normally clear in in Jolly Harbour or Nelson's Dockyard in English Harbour. As s/v Moondancer noted, you risk a very heavy fine if you or your crew go ashore before clearing in. The crew should stay on the boat until the Captain returns with the clearance papers. Antigua is one of the strictest countries on this sort of thing.

If you clear in in Antigua and sail up to Barbuda, intending to leave from there to sail to another country, you'll need to clear out in Codrington, which is not a very convenient place to get to from a boat. You'll need to arrange a land or water taxi, unless you can drag your dinghy across the sand at Nine Mile Beach on the west coast and putt-putt across the lagoon to town. Don't do this if a swell is running. We had planned to clear out there, but a northerly swell was running, so we couldn't land the dinghy. The swell was forecast to continue for several days, so we just left without clearing out, since we needed to be up in the BVI to meet someone. Caught hell from C&I in St Maarten for not have outbound clearance papers, but managed to avoid boat confiscation, fines, and jail time by smiling, nodding and appearing suitably contrite.

[sck5]

what Hud said about only the captain going ashore. We were there last April/May and the people in customs asked in an offhand way where my wife was. Fortunately she was on the boat. Another cruiser got fined a major amount of money for giving the wrong answer. I seem to remember something more than 1,000 EC. This was at the customs in English Harbour ( we were anchored in Falmouth harbour)

[callistov42]

Clear in at Jolly Harbor (or English) and you can go to either island. There really is no place to clear in at Barbuda unless you drag your dinghy across the beach and go into Codrington (like we did). I have heard that you can now clear in at Codrington. Kids were staring at us like we were from outer space. Barbuda may be the prettiest place I have ever been. Pink sand. Sailing up I thought I was seeing four wheeler tracks coming down the sand. It dawned on me that there were no four wheelers where we were, it was huge turtle tracks going back to the sea after laying their eggs. In the morning we saw a mare and her foal running down the beach at waters edge. It looked like something out of a movie. Absolutely BEAUTIFUL. Open roadstead, no place to run for cover. Check weather!

[BojanglesIV]

You're supposed to check in at both. (It is ONE country - called Antigua and Barbuda - but they are totally different places!)

[donradcliffe]

Last year the admiral went with me to check in at English Harbor. She had a nice chat with C&I while I was doing the paperwork. No problem.

Next time I will check in at Jolly and avoid the fees.