Foreign sailor arriving in a Hawaii port.

[Helio]

Do a non US citizen needs to have an US VISA stamped on the passport to sail into Hawaii?
Or can he get the staying permit on his passport when he arrives there?

[boatman61]

Dunno about now with Covid but it's normally a B1/B2 visa that's required entering the US of A.

[Dsanduril]

With a few exceptions around Canada and Mexico (and their citizens) arriving by private boat requires a visa before your arrival - the waivers/exemptions do not apply - they are only available when arriving by commercial transit.

If you don't want to wade through the government verbiage, here's a sailor's perpective on the process Sailing Britican.

[JPA Cate]

You need a visa beforehand.

You should expect to quarantine, in any event, for at least two weeks. You may be allowed supervised quarantine aboard, but possibly not, so be prepared to pay for hotel accommodations, and be prepared to stay all day everyday in the hotel room.

Ann

[Discovery 15797]

Ann is correct, all foreigners arriving by yacht require a visa in advance. The visa waiver program does not apply when arriving by private yacht.

But, fortunately the time enroute qualifies for 'quarantine' time if you do not stop. (But really, there's no place to stop.)

See Noonsite and Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation | Covid-19 – DOBOR Response for more info

[CastawayCat]

And for what its worth here is a link that I have used for navigating (pun intended) the COVID situation by island in Hawaii---they are not all on the same page, even though its the same state. Visitors/arrivals have various requirements to follow.

https://www.hawaii-guide.com/hawaii-covid-testing

[Gudgeon]

You will have two sets of rules to follow, if arriving from a foriegn port.
1. US customs and Immigration
A. A negative Covid test with in 72 hours of arrival and a recommendation to self quarantine. Not sure if there is any credit for time at sea.
B. If you require a visa to enter the USA it will be required to enter the US via Hawaii.
2. Hawaii emergency orders.
A. Each island has different rules, but you must have a negative Covid test with in 72 hours of arrival to the state.
B. The state was counting the time at sea earlier.

One question I can not answer is the US boarder open to foreigners via private vessel. If I was thinking of arriving via a vessel I would arrive in Honolulu rather than one of the other islands.

[Scotty Kiwi]

I arrived by yacht this time last year - before Covid, 3 POB. The Canadian did not need visa - obviously. The Norwegian and I, Kiwi, had Visa waivers. Honolulu was intended to be bypassed enroute NZ to Vancouver, but we'd got the waivers "just in case". And plans changed for repair, so we stopped Honolulu.

We advised the Coastguard by VHF 3 days and 1 day out. Confirmed a specific marina berth at Waikiki YC through land based support person.
When off Waikiki, phoned customs, 8.00 am, Saturday morning I think, gave them the marina berth, made an appointment to see them there for Q, for 10.00 am. I'm pretty sure we dealt with airport customs, as the wharf office was closed for the weekend. At 9.55 we tied up. Customs and Q couldn't find the berth, so, after phone calls, they arrived around 11.30. These small vessels seem to make their day. None of the three of them had been to a marina before - it was a good break from the airport.

As usual, we supplied made tea and coffee and cold drinks available (which I think were declined). As stated in this thread, they informed us the Visa Waiver only applies for arrivals on commercial operations, and they issued the Norwegian and the Kiwi B1 visas on the spot, valid for multiple entry for 6 months, so we were then able to step off the yacht.

I think it was a long weekend, and they asked to complete the rest of the paperwork, incl vessel entry, when the Wharf Customs offices opened on the Tuesday. I hired a bike (credit card payment incl refundable $ 50 or so deposit) to get the 5km from the YC to the little white Customs office on the main commercial wharf.

Of course, I have no idea about changes to this process with Covid.

A very comfortable process. All officials were excellent to deal with, and did everything they could to be easy.

[Montanan]

To enter the country via a private boat you will need either a B1 or a B2 visa which visas are arranged for by making an appointment and then visiting an American Embassy or Consulate in a foreign country, preferrably in the country of your citizenship or permanent residency status.

A B1 or a B2 visa is not issued upon arrival to the USA, it is arranged and issued before you travel to the USA, long before because it takes considerable amount of time to go through the interview and security processes and the administrative issuance process.

Generally, a citizen of a foreign country who wishes to enter the United States must first obtain a visa, either a nonimmigrant visa for a temporary stay, or an immigrant visa for permanent residence. Visitor visas are nonimmigrant visas for persons who want to enter the United States temporarily for business (visa category B-1), for tourism (visa category B-2), or for a combination of both purposes (B-1/B-2).

Here are some examples of activities permitted with a visitor visa:

B1 Business Visa

Consult with business associates
Attend a scientific, educational, professional, or business convention or conference
Settle an estate
Negotiate a contract

Note one cannot be employed or compensated by the American business one is visiting with.

B2 Tourist Visa

Tourism
Vacation (holiday)
Visit with friends or relatives
Medical treatment
Participation in social events hosted by fraternal, social, or service organizations
Participation by amateurs in musical, sports, or similar events or contests, if not being paid for participating
Enrollment in a short recreational course of study, not for credit toward a degree (for example, a two-day cooking class while on vacation)

Reference: https://travel.state.gov/content/tra...t/visitor.html

[Scotty Kiwi]

All apparently true Monty.

However, in our case they bent those rules without question or hesitation. Our original intention was to be en-route, we had gone to the effort to get Visa Waivers (in "error"), just in case we had to change our en-route intention, and there was nothing funny going on.

So there are other rules, unpublished ones. It all worked out well and saved the $ 000's in pre-application. IMO ya can anticipate a certain amount of goodwill in some countries/ports. Not ones where there is corruption, poverty, or other issues (eg smuggling). But even in the kindest of places, Hawaii being one, only rely on it on an "own risk" basis.