Checking out of BVI-

[rsotomayor]

Will be arriving to BVI by air and leaving by sailboat.

Does anyone know if one can do the customs checkout at airport customs ?

I have heard conflicting opinions.

Thank you.

RSotomayor

 

[JoyRide28]

As far as I know, if you are checking out on a boat you need to do it at one of 4 locations: Sopers Hole (West End) Tortola; Road Harbor, Tortola; Great Harbor, Jost Van Dyke or Virgin Gorda (I think the Customs House is in Spanish Town). Also I think the folks at the airport will just give you a blank stare if you attempt to check out there when leaving on a boat...

 

[rsotomayor]

Thank you for your reply, have a great weekend.

 

[Paul8807]

You should check with the airline. When I did that 5 years ago, I could not leave BWI without either a return flight ticket or a letter from the boat captain.

 

[Benny17441]

For immigration considerations, the letter from the Captain may be necessary in lieu of a return flight ticket for entering the BVI. They want to make sure that the person entering the Country has the means to also get out. It will be the Captain's responsibility to repatriate the crewmember if he is unable to depart with the boat. As far as clearing out of the BVI the Captain of the vessel needs to do so at any of the designated Ports of Entry. In the Bahamas you can just raise anchor and leave but in the BVI you need to check out. When entering the territorial waters of the USVI the vessel must clear into the US at the designated entry point in St Johns or St Thomas. If the vessel has a foreign registration it is customary to fly the quarantine flag upon entering US territorial water and then after making entrance to switch over to the US courtesy flag. It lets the USCG and other agencies know at a glance the status of the vessel and avoids unnecessary inconveniences.

 

[rsotomayor]

Great info, thank you.

 

[capta]

If you are going east or coming from the east, there is a new customs/immigration office at Gun Creek in Virgin Gorda Sound. Very easy and convenient; hooray for progress.
If you are leaving the BVI with no intention of returning on this trip, you will not need an air ticket out. It's no problem to fly in on a one way ticket if you are an American, as the USVI are so close; perhaps you'll need a ferry ticket, though.
There are very few places you can enter in the Caribbean, without your clearance papers from your last port, the French islands being the exception.
As mentioned above, the vessel or captain is responsible for repatriation of any crew who may be departing the vessel in any country other than their own, so always list crew as passengers on inbound clearance to avoid this problem. To cover my own as* though, I always require a cash bond equal to anyone's air ticket to their country of origin, if I don't know them and they are sailing with me.

 

[rsotomayor]

Ok, thank you. We will be checking out from Roadtown the day before. In terms of entry to the US waters , I registered w Customs using the LBO(Local Boater Option ) system. They also have a new system called SVRS- but it is internet based and somewhat confusing. They recommend to use the LBO to be able to call in when entering US.