New Caledonia - Customs entry by plane - departure by boat

[JasonAUS]

Hi Forum,

First post here so apologies is this has been raised / discussed previously.

I am flying into New Caledonia next month with a crew to sail back to Sydney on recently purchased sailboat. One of the country entry requirements is a return air ticket which we won't have. Does anyone here know what documentation we should have available (or anything we need to do prior) to help us get through the customs entry process in this situation? I wasn't able to find anything in the government travel websites or in the forum discussions.

Thank you in advance for any suggestions or recommendations.
Jason

[PNWSalmon]

Buy a refundable ticket , once you clear customs, cancel the ticket. Done

Having said that, and while that’s what we did in the same situation, the immigration official at New Caledonia airport did not ask about our return nor did he check our return ticket. Your mileage will surely vary.

[nightowle]

Why not ask a boat broker in New Caledonia? Surely they would know.

[chrisr]

in french polynesia (which expect is a similar system to new cal), you can have an agent issue a guarantee / bond letter whereby the agent effectively guarantees your legal departure

you will then usually use the same agent to clear out

i'm sure the broker can put you in touch with such an agent if you ask

cheers,

[Sailingallday]

Onwardticket.com

$14. No hassle worrying about refunds or scrambling to find the right flight. Works fantastic


Or have the captain write and certify a captains letter that you will be leaving on a boat.

[JasonAUS]

Originally Posted by PNWSalmon

Buy a refundable ticket , once you clear customs, cancel the ticket. Done

Having said that, and while that’s what we did in the same situation, the immigration official at New Caledonia airport did not ask about our return nor did he check our return ticket. Your mileage will surely vary.

Hi PNWSalmon - Thanks for the response. I have one additional (hopefully only one) question. It seems you have managed the process in New Cal previously so hoping you may have some insights on the clearance / exit procedures. Based on what we are reading, you need to clear Customs in one location, Immigration at another and then the Harbour Master at another. Many / all of these look to close at 11am on weekday (not open on weekends). Do you recall the process and if it's feasible to navigate this in a single morning? We are working through logistics on flights and what days each of the crew are available to depart and need to arrive back in SYD. Ideally we were hoping to get all this sorted in a single morning but it seems like the process could take much longer. Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks!

[PNWSalmon]

Originally Posted by JasonAUS

Hi PNWSalmon - Thanks for the response. I have one additional (hopefully only one) question. It seems you have managed the process in New Cal previously so hoping you may have some insights on the clearance / exit procedures. Based on what we are reading, you need to clear Customs in one location, Immigration at another and then the Harbour Master at another. Many / all of these look to close at 11am on weekday (not open on weekends). Do you recall the process and if it's feasible to navigate this in a single morning? We are working through logistics on flights and what days each of the crew are available to depart and need to arrive back in SYD. Ideally we were hoping to get all this sorted in a single morning but it seems like the process could take much longer. Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks!

Ah, I’m so sorry, I was just crew on this voyage, which is why I had to deal with the ticket madness. Plus, so much has changed post Covid, hopefully you can find someone that’s done it recently.

I will add however, arriving in Australia was a real pain in the ass. The bio security requirements were off the charts. Plan to have a perfectly clean boat inside and outside and a clean bottom. Take pictures if you can and have a really good vacuum and use it, a lot.

[JasonAUS]

No worries...thanks anyway and appreciate the bio security heads up!