Complicated Nationality Questions

[chris763]

Hi all, I got a difficult situation: I am German, my girlfriend is Kenyan. As you might know, Kenyans need a visa for every country. Soon we want to sail the world, but are worried about the implications of her passport. When we anchor or check in (Carribean, US etc.), does she need a visa for every country (= island) we set anchor or can she just check in like me, without a visa? As you can imagine, this is a very serious problem for us. Marriage doesn't help since we are not living in Germany and hence she can't get German citizenship. Any help in this matter is greatly appreciated!

[enovillo]

Chris,

There's no way around it. If Kenyan citizens need a visa to enter a country that you inted to visit while cruising, she's going to have to get one, regardless of what citizenship you hold.

Good luck!

[Unicorn Dreams]

Welcome Aboard Cruisers Forum

Go to Noonsite: The global site for cruising sailors, they will have general requirments for the countries. You may be able to get visas on arrivak, or you may have to apply in advance. They will have phone numbers also...

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, chris763.

Check out
➥ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_re...enyan_citizens

[yeloya]

Hi Chris,

If you can get international seaman certificate, you are exempted of any kind of visa. This is a document looking like a normal passport and the ones given in Turkey contain a chip and yr finger prints are taken.

We have got this certificate (in addition to my sailing license) with my wife because we are travelling often to Greek islands and I am fed up getting a Schengen visa every time..

With this document you are entitled to work on any wessel as a seaman and can enter any port without visa or even a passport.

Two problems:
-quite difficult to get, you pass severals exams on STWC (that covers everything on a large vessel, ie. fire fighting, nautical terms, mechanical, electrical, etc) both oral and written. This could be easier to get in Kenya, who knows..
-you can only use it on the ports, ie. you cannot enter to any country from any airport or by road.

Otherwise, you can try yr chance without visa and can get away in most of the cases, but if you get cought, depending on the country, the consequences will be anything from simply being deported to heavy fines or even jail.. Moreover, the stress that you will get everytime you approach a port will take away all of the joy of sailing together.

Couple of years ago I met with a couple from Ucraine in a mooring in Southern Turkeys. They built a very strange steel boat out of waste material in their garden and sailed all the way down to Rumania, Bulgary, Istanbul, Dardanelles, Aegean see and their plan was to go to Egypt. No passport , no visa, very little money. They said that they were prepared to anything and nothing could be worst than their life in Ucraine..
If you are so desperate, go ahead..
Otherwise, you can stay a while in Germany, for whatever it takes her to get a German passport, then you sail with a peace in mind.

Cheers

Yeloya

[Hud3]

Originally Posted by chris763

...As you might know, Kenyans need a visa for every country...

Chris,

I looked it up on the St Kitts and Nevis foreign affairs website. She will not need a visa to visit St. Kitts and Nevis. Kenya is considered to be a "Commonwealth Country", and so it's citizens are exempt from visa requirements for short visits. Your assumption may be incorrect for other countries as well--it may not be as bad as you think!

[jim767]

Good luck.

I and my wife are faced with the same problem re: Caribbean sailing.

I hold a US passport and my wife holds a Moroccan passport with a US residence card (green card).

Some of the islands will allow the wife entry based on the green card while others, (French, Netherlands) say a full visa application is the only way to enter.

We plan on checking locally while we are in the area this winter. Some times local application of the rules is different from the regulations printed on the websites.

I would not attempt bringing your wife into a US port without a US visa. We are afraid of all foreign nationals at this time.

Grusse.

[Eleven]

Get married, in Germany, (or your home country) then she's OK on your passport!
Just do the proposal like you mean it, not as an excuse to avoid paperwork!!!!!!!!

[chris763]

Originally Posted by Eleven

Get married, in Germany, (or your home country) then she's OK on your passport!
Just do the proposal like you mean it, not as an excuse to avoid paperwork!!!!!!!!

As I pointed out, this does NOT work unless you are living in Germany for 5 years, plus a stupid German test plus plus plus . We are living in Dubai, UAE, and are not planning on ever going back to Germany.

[chris763]

Guys and girls,
thanks so much for all your helpful replies, we do appreciate. So now we have to see and check how we gonna go about this stupid issue. What a nightmare, I thought sailing was about freddom...

[chris763]

Originally Posted by GordMay

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, chris763.

Check out
➥ Visa requirements for Kenyan citizens - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Thank you soooo much for this! We weren´t aware of all these countries that a Kenyan citizen doesn´t need a visa. This is awesome and makes our decision so much easier! Thanks again, great help!

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by chris763

I thought sailing was about freddom...

That's what a lot of people think, but that's only when you are actually at sea. Every time you make landfall you have to deal with the laws, paperwork, and bureaucrats of the particular country that you are visiting. In truth, as a world traveler, you will spend far MORE time dealing with these things than anyone who just stays home and deals only with the bureaucracy in their home country.

[atoll]

i would seriously investigate getting a seamans book,the stcw95 is not hard to do.

a friend had a nightmare rtw trip with a madagascan girl,not only did she require visas,also a lot of places insisted on a cash bond as well.

alternatively dump the wife.....

[chris763]

Originally Posted by atoll

i would seriously investigate getting a seamans book,the stcw95 is not hard to do.

a friend had a nightmare rtw trip with a madagascan girl,not only did she require visas,also a lot of places insisted on a cash bond as well.

alternatively dump the wife.....

Well, dumping is out of the question. Do you have any idea where we could get her a seamans book and how much that would cost?

[atoll]

speak to one of the shipping agents in dubai :: DUBAI SHIPPING AGENTS ASSOCIATION ::

who should be able to arrange stwc courses locally and kenyan embassy for the seamans book i would guess