Entering by boat: Madagascar
What to do to enter Madagascar by sea: the procedures, the papers to present and the ports where you can clear in.
Check with the authorities before you leave (last checked on 28 October 2026).
Before you arrive
- Online procedure: e-Visa Madagascar (visa aussi délivré à l'arrivée)
The steps
- Fly the Q flag and anchor off the main dock (officials rarely answer VHF).
- Go to police/immigration for stamps and visa.
- Visit Customs, then the port captain (APMF) for the cruising permit.
- Before leaving: maritime clearance form at the port captain, then police with the crew list.
Papers to have on board
- Passports for the whole crew
- Visas, if your nationality requires them
- Crew list
- Boat papers (registration certificate)
- Outward clearance from the previous country
Good to know
- Officials do not come aboard: visit each office (police/immigration, Customs, port captain, sometimes health).
- Clear in and out at each port, with a 'permis de circulation' to sail between ports.
- Variable fees and unofficial payment requests: ask for a receipt.
- Military transitional government since October 2025; the French foreign ministry strongly advises against night sailing and reports high crime.
- Noonsite information is old (2019-2021): confirm locally.
Ports of entry
The ports where you can clear in, and the services available there.
Île Sainte-Marie (Nosy Boraha)
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In the app, free: the map of every port of entry and its offices with their contacts, the crew list and the entry forms filled in for you, ready to print or send to an agent.
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- noonsite.com/place/madagascar/formalities
- noonsite.com/place/madagascar/hell-ville-nossi-be/view/clearance
- noonsite.com/?p=46645
- diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/conseils-aux-voyageurs/conseils-par-pays-destination/madagascar/
This information is gathered from public sources and sailors’ experience. It does not replace the country’s authorities, whose word is final: check before you leave.