can i arrive to antigua with out a visa?

[sailor Martin]

Hello.
I am corrently in guadeloupe and planning to leave my boat in a facility in antigua for six mounths while i will be in israel.
As an israely i need to apply for a visa to be able to visit antigua.

Anybody knows what will happen if i just show up in the border controll without a visa? Or perhaps i should first dry dock my boat and then go to the border controll? If anybody have some advice itll be nice

Thanks
Gal

[FamilyVan]

Probably depends where your from. Canadians do not require a Visa to enter Antigua. If you happen to be Iranian, then I'm guessing you probably do.

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[sailor Martin]

Let me sey this agein to make ut clear. I did not ask if i need a visa becouse i know i do. I askd if someone kniws what will happen if i get there with my boat without a visa. Please read before you answer. Thank you

[msponer]

Be careful. I would characterize the officials in Antigua as very by the book. Willing to enforce small rules. Some people have called them petty and officious, but I think that's a bit unfair.

When we were there a young French family tried to check in from the wrong harbor. They anchored on the other side of the island and Dad took a bus to English Harbor. The Antiguans sent a squad of uniformed dudes with assault rifles to board the boat and accompany it to the right harbor. The Dad does not speak perfect English, and is French, after all, so he may have pushed back or not understood if they tried to work something out with him that did not involve dudes with assault rifles.

We heard of two boats last year who were fined a large amount because the crew came ashore with the captain while he was checking in. I believe there was a letter or article in the Caribbean Compass about this. The gentleman wrote that the fine was for an obscene amount and that the whole situation was arbitrary and felt like a shakedown. Then again, he also mentioned something about flights and etc -- maybe the whole story is that he tried to check in while the crew were already on their way to the airport. I don't know.

My limited experience with the Antiguan officials was very easy and pleasant. I saw a few crew come ashore with the captains when I was checking in, and it wasn't a problem for them. I am one of those people who dresses up to do paperwork and plays up my American cultural stereotype of being friendly and stupid.

Of course strictly enforcing the rules is their right. It is their country. However most countries in the Caribbean are not uptight. So it's easy to develop bad habits and start to think that the officials on every island you visit will be casual and easy going. Some are not.

For your situation, I would be more careful about breaking rules there than the French islands.

[sck5]

My experience with Antiguan officials is that if you cheerfully try to follow their rules then they will cheerfully try to help you do it. One of their rules is that only the captain comes ashore for clearance. They are far from the only country in the world to have such a rule. In many other parts of the Caribbean they are very relaxed about rules like this but not in Antigua. It is their country so just do it.

In my experience the USA is far more strict than any other country I have been to. Why should anyone expect to be able to ignore clearly stated and quite common rules like having only the captain come ashore for clearance?