Entering by boat: Trinidad and Tobago
What to do to enter Trinidad and Tobago 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).
The steps
- Call the Coast Guard (VHF 16), Q flag up.
- Report to Customs with general declaration (form 10), crew list (form 11), zarpe and registration certificate.
- Clear Immigration (all crew) within 24 h.
- Declare your itinerary; get Customs permission before moving port.
Papers to have on board
- Passports for the whole crew
- Visas, if your nationality requires them
- General declaration
- Crew list
- Outward clearance from the previous country
- Boat papers (registration certificate)
Good to know
- Ports of entry: Chaguaramas (Trinidad), Scarborough and Charlotteville (Tobago); Port of Spain is for commercial traffic and emergencies only.
- Call the Coast Guard on VHF 16 when approaching; report to Customs immediately even if Immigration is closed, and all crew within 24 h.
- Overtime is counted from the time you enter the waters, not when you land; it is expensive.
- Clearance required between Trinidad and Tobago; in Tobago, Customs asks for a float plan with dates.
- After clearing out, Customs gives only 4 h to leave.
- noonsite information dates from 2018-2019: no recent official source found.
- Charlotteville (Tobago, Man-o-War Bay) is also a port of entry (08:00-16:00 weekdays, about 2 h of formalities in 2023), but no sourced position was found: not mapped here.
Ports of entry
The ports where you can clear in, and the services available there.
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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.