Cruising Permits and Entry Fees by Country

A cruising permit is the document a visiting yacht buys on arrival, and every country prices it differently. This table gives each country's requirement, its fee where the authority publishes one, the government page the figure came from, and the date it was checked. Where no fee is published, the row says so.

Twenty cruising countries, checked against customs, immigration and maritime-authority pages in August 2026, with the insurance consequence of each cruising ground stated beside it.

Costas MatheouLicensed insurance agent11 min readChecked 24 August 2026

A cruising yacht lying to a courtesy flag off a customs dock at first light, waiting to clear in

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20: Cruising countries in the table
12: Publish a fee on a government page
4: Publish the procedure but not the price
4: Publish neither, on any page we could find

Counted from the dataset below on 24 August 2026. Every figure is re-verified annually.

First, two different things are called a cruising permit

In United States search this phrase usually means the inbound document, and that is a different question from the one most of this page answers. Both are below.

The inbound US cruising licence

A licence issued to a FOREIGN-flag yacht so it can move between US ports without formally entering and clearing each time. It carries no fee, runs for a stated period not exceeding one year, and is available only to yachts of the countries listed at 19 CFR 4.94(b). A US-flag yacht cannot hold one, because it does not need one.

The outbound cruising permit

The document a yacht buys when it arrives in another country. This is what the country table covers. The name changes by jurisdiction: a cruising permit in the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos, a transit log in Turkiye, a vignette in Croatia, and in the European Union a customs procedure rather than a permit at all.

What the table shows

There is no international rule. Each country sets its own document, its own price and its own validity, and several change them between seasons without republishing the old page.
The Bahamas is the outlier that publishes properly: a full fee schedule by length and duration, on the Customs Department's own site.
Most Eastern Caribbean states publish the procedure and not the price. That is not a gap in this table; it is the finding.
Inside the European Union the question is not a permit but customs status. A non-Union boat runs on temporary admission for 18 months and moves between member states with no further formalities.
Cuba, Colombia, Venezuela and Haiti are placeable on modified terms rather than excluded, which is the part most write-ups get wrong.

Cruising permits and entry fees, country by country

Each row names the document as the authority names it, the fee where one is published, how long it lasts, where you clear in, and the government page it came from with the date it was checked.

North America & Bermuda

Country	Document required on arrival	Fee	Validity	Where you clear in	Insurance consequence	Source
United StatesFee published	Arrival report to CBP on every foreign arrival (19 U.S.C. 1433, 19 CFR 4.2). Annual user fee decal for vessels 30 ft and over. A cruising licence is for FOREIGN-flag yachts only (19 CFR 4.94).	Arrival report: no fee. Annual user fee decal (30 ft and over): $36.94 per calendar year. Cruising licence: no fee.	Decal: calendar year. Cruising licence: a stated period not exceeding one year.	Report immediately to the nearest CBP facility. In-person inspection unless enrolled in CBP ROAM or a Verified Traveler programme; LBO enrolment does not waive the decal.	Florida, the Gulf and the US East Coast south of Cape Hatteras sit in the Atlantic named-windstorm rating area. A US domestic policy's navigational limits are measured in miles offshore and stop at the border, so limits are extended by agreement before departure.	eCFR, 19 CFR 4.94; CBP pleasure boat reporting; CBP DTOPSChecked: 2026-08-24

Bahamas & Turks and Caicos

Country	Document required on arrival	Fee	Validity	Where you clear in	Insurance consequence	Source
BahamasFee publishedCover for this cruising ground	Temporary Cruising Permit (inward declaration C2A, permit C39), filed in Click2Clear before or on arrival. Frequent Digital Cruising Card (FDCC) is the two-year alternative.	30-day permit: $150 to 30 ft, $250 30-50 ft, $350 50-100 ft, $600 over 100 ft. 6-month: $300 to 50 ft, $750 50-100 ft, $2,000 over 100 ft. 12-month: $500 to 50 ft, $1,000 50-100 ft, $3,000 over 100 ft. Fees include Customs and Immigration attendance and transport. Passenger arrival tax $20 per non-resident beyond three aged six or over. Outbound clearance certificate $75 where the next port needs one.	30 days, 6 months or 12 months. The 30-day permit carries no free re-entry; 6-month carries one; 12-month carries two. A second voyage within 30 days is exempt from the permit fee but not the passenger tax.	A designated Customs port. Payment must clear in full before an officer can approve the permit; only the captain may go ashore before clearance.	Atlantic named-windstorm rating area. Named-windstorm cover runs with a signed hurricane plan and a 10% deductible on the scheduled hull value.	Bahamas Customs DepartmentChecked: 2026-08-24
Turks and Caicos IslandsFee publishedCover for this cruising ground	Cruising Permit, issued by the Proper Officer as part of clearance at the first port of arrival.	Cruising permit USD 300. Inbound clearance USD 50, outbound clearance USD 50. Overtime outside working hours: $10/hr weekday shoulder, $12/hr midnight to 6 a.m., $15/hr weekends and public holidays.	90 days. Renew at expiry to stay beyond three months.	First port of arrival. No person, animal or article may leave the vessel before full clearance.	Atlantic named-windstorm rating area. Named-windstorm cover runs with a signed hurricane plan and a 10% deductible on the scheduled hull value.	TCI Border Force; TCI Customs DepartmentChecked: 2026-08-24

Leeward Islands

Country	Document required on arrival	Fee	Validity	Where you clear in	Insurance consequence	Source
British Virgin IslandsFee publishedCover for this cruising ground	Cruising permit under the Cruising and Home Port Permit Act, 2021 (No. 29 of 2021), as amended by the Amendment of Schedule 2 Order 2024 and the Amendment Act 2025 (in force 1 June 2025).	Statutory Schedule 2 rates are per person per day and are set by vessel category, not by hull length: foreign-based charter boats $16, home-based charter boats $4, approved cruise ship $8. Home Port Permit $1,500 a year; Special Permit $500 per cruise. Exemptions include a legitimate tender of a vessel that already holds a permit, vessels under 15 ft rented with or as a bareboat, and recreational sailing vessels under 26 ft.	Charged per person per day; the Home Port Permit runs a year.	A designated port of entry.	Atlantic named-windstorm rating area. Named-windstorm cover runs with a signed hurricane plan and a 10% deductible on the scheduled hull value.	Virgin Islands Attorney General's Chambers, laws.gov.vgChecked: 2026-08-24
Antigua and BarbudaProcedure published, fee not	eSeaClear notification before arrival, then clearance at a legal port of entry.	not published. The customs page publishes only the Embarkation Sea Port Tax, XCD 75 (about USD 30) per departing passenger who has been in the country more than 24 hours. Ask the Comptroller of Customs at the port of entry for the current cruising permit rate before you arrive.	not published	A legal port of entry. Only the captain may disembark to clear, unless a language barrier requires a crew member.	Atlantic named-windstorm rating area. Named-windstorm cover runs with a signed hurricane plan and a 10% deductible on the scheduled hull value.	Antigua and Barbuda Customs and Excise DivisionChecked: 2026-08-24

Windward Islands

Country	Document required on arrival	Fee	Validity	Where you clear in	Insurance consequence	Source
Saint LuciaFee published	Customs clearance within 24 hours of arrival, plus pratique. A mooring permit is needed to lie anywhere that is not a designated port of entry.	Clearance EC$5 under 40 ft, EC$15 over 40 ft. Pratique EC$10 under 100 GRT. Navigational aids EC$15 up to 740 GRT. Mooring permit EC$25. Stay extension EC$100 per 21-day period. Overtime EC$10 Saturdays and weekday overtime, EC$15 Sundays and public holidays, three-hour minimum. The Occasional and Annual Licences (EC$200 to EC$400 by length) are for COMMERCIAL yachts, not private cruisers.	Visitors may remain up to three months; extensions in person at the Immigration Office in Castries.	A designated entry and clearance port; Customs also collects SLASPA fees. No one leaves the yacht before clearance.	Atlantic named-windstorm rating area. Named-windstorm cover runs with a signed hurricane plan and a 10% deductible on the scheduled hull value.	Saint Lucia Tourism Authority, published clearance scheduleChecked: 2026-08-24
Saint Vincent and the GrenadinesProcedure published, fee not	Clearance at a designated port of entry, Q flag flown, captain ashore alone with the previous port's clearance and passports. Clear out before departing.	not published on any government page. Ask the Customs officer at the port of entry for the current rate.	not published	A designated port of entry, before stopping at any other anchorage.	Atlantic named-windstorm rating area. Named-windstorm cover runs with a signed hurricane plan and a 10% deductible on the scheduled hull value.	Ministry of Tourism, Saint Vincent and the GrenadinesChecked: 2026-08-24

Mediterranean

Country	Document required on arrival	Fee	Validity	Where you clear in	Insurance consequence	Source
GreeceFee publishedCover for this cruising ground	TEPAI, the cruising fee for recreational and daily tour cruise ships, paid through the eTEPAI application. Applies to every flag, over 7 m overall.	Per month: EUR 16 over 7.00 m to 8.00 m; EUR 25 over 8.00 m to 10.00 m; EUR 33 over 10.00 m to 12.00 m; over 12.00 m, EUR 8 per metre per month counted from the first metre. A 10% deduction applies to a single annual advance payment.	Charged per month of stay in Greek territorial waters; payable monthly or for several months at once, before the month begins.	TEPAI is a fee rather than a clearance; a non-EU boat also needs the EU temporary admission procedure.	Not an Atlantic hurricane basin, so no hurricane box and no 10% named-windstorm deductible. The meltemi is rated as ordinary storm damage.	Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE); Art. 13 L.4211/2013Checked: 2026-08-24
CroatiaProcedure published, fee notCover for this cruising ground	Vignette, the navigation safety and pollution-protection fee, obtained through e-Nautics (e-Vignette payable online) on entry at a port open to international traffic.	not published on the government's nautical page; the rate is set by Ordinance and paid through the e-Fees system. Obtain the current figure from e-Nautics at the point of payment.	Held on board until leaving Croatian territorial waters.	Foreign vessels must take the shortest route to a port open for international traffic and obtain the vignette. They must not anchor before obtaining it, except in force majeure.	Croatia carries doubled deductibles. Not a hurricane basin; the bora is rated as ordinary storm damage.	Government of Croatia, Ministry of the Sea, Transport and InfrastructureChecked: 2026-08-24
TurkeyProcedure published, fee notCover for this cruising ground	Transit log (yacht registration form). Customs, passport, health and crew details are recorded once, then checked in and out of each port with no further processing until leaving Turkiye.	not published on the Ministry's yacht pages. Ask the agent or harbourmaster at the port of entry for the current transit log charge.	Runs until the yacht leaves Turkiye. Winter lay-up is processed at the harbour where the yacht stays.	Any port where the transit log is opened; once the form is complete the yacht may enter.	Not a hurricane basin. Turkiye is outside the EU customs union, so an EU-flagged boat leaving for Turkiye is leaving the customs territory of the Union.	Republic of Turkiye, Ministry of Culture and TourismChecked: 2026-08-24
SpainFee publishedCover for this cruising ground	No national cruising permit for a Union-status boat. A non-EU boat uses the EU temporary admission procedure.	No cruising fee. The matriculacion tax is a registration tax on certain owners, not an entry fee for a visiting yacht.	EU temporary admission: 18 months for a non-Union boat in private use.	First port of call for a non-EU arrival.	Not a hurricane basin. Spain sets three compulsory liability sublimits under Real Decreto 607/1999 and separately requires accidental-pollution cover under Ley 14/2014.	European Commission DG TAXUD, Guidance Note for Pleasure Craft, 30 April 2026Checked: 2026-08-24
ItalyFee publishedCover for this cruising ground	No national cruising permit for a Union-status boat. A non-EU boat uses the EU temporary admission procedure.	No cruising fee for a private Union-status boat.	EU temporary admission: 18 months for a non-Union boat in private use.	First port of call for a non-EU arrival.	Not a hurricane basin; the sirocco is rated as ordinary storm damage.	European Commission DG TAXUD, Guidance Note for Pleasure Craft, 30 April 2026Checked: 2026-08-24
FranceFee publishedCover for this cruising ground	No national cruising permit for a Union-status boat. A non-EU boat uses the EU temporary admission procedure. The French overseas departments sit outside the EU VAT territory and are handled by Douane Antilles-Guyane.	No cruising fee for a private Union-status boat. The droit de francisation is a tax on French-flagged vessels, not an entry fee.	EU temporary admission: 18 months for a non-Union boat in private use.	First port of call for a non-EU arrival; in Martinique and Guadeloupe, the Antilles-Guyane customs declaration.	Metropolitan France is not a hurricane basin. Martinique and Guadeloupe ARE in the Atlantic named-windstorm rating area, on the same signed-hurricane-plan and 10% deductible basis as the rest of the Caribbean.	Direction generale des douanes et droits indirects (France)Checked: 2026-08-24
PortugalFee published	No national cruising permit for a Union-status boat. A non-EU boat uses the EU temporary admission procedure.	No cruising fee for a private Union-status boat.	EU temporary admission: 18 months for a non-Union boat in private use.	First port of call for a non-EU arrival, mainland, Madeira or the Azores.	Outside the Atlantic named-windstorm box. The Azores are a common transatlantic waypoint and navigational limits are agreed before departure rather than assumed.	European Commission DG TAXUD, Guidance Note for Pleasure Craft, 30 April 2026Checked: 2026-08-24
MaltaFee publishedCover for this cruising ground	No national cruising permit for a Union-status boat. A non-EU boat uses the EU temporary admission procedure.	No cruising fee for a private Union-status boat.	EU temporary admission: 18 months for a non-Union boat in private use.	First port of call for a non-EU arrival.	Not a hurricane basin.	European Commission DG TAXUD, Guidance Note for Pleasure Craft, 30 April 2026Checked: 2026-08-24
CyprusFee publishedCover for this cruising ground	No national cruising permit for a Union-status boat. A non-EU boat uses the EU temporary admission procedure.	No cruising fee for a private Union-status boat.	EU temporary admission: 18 months for a non-Union boat in private use.	First port of call for a non-EU arrival.	Not a hurricane basin.	European Commission DG TAXUD, Guidance Note for Pleasure Craft, 30 April 2026Checked: 2026-08-24

Four-country clause

Country	Document required on arrival	Fee	Validity	Where you clear in	Insurance consequence	Source
CubaNot publishedCover for this cruising ground	Clearance at a designated port of entry. Entry formalities are handled at an international marina on arrival.	not published on an open government page. Confirm the current charge with the port office on arrival, and budget for the insurance terms below rather than the entry fee.	not published	A designated port of entry.	Placeable on modified terms rather than excluded, which is the point most write-ups get wrong. All deductibles are doubled in these waters. Confiscation by any Authority is excluded. Piracy of, and taking of, the insured vessel is excluded. Theft is excluded absolutely unless the vessel is moored in a commercial marina agreed in writing by underwriters beforehand.	No open government page foundChecked: 2026-08-24
ColombiaNot publishedCover for this cruising ground	Clearance at a designated port of entry. Entry is by zarpe and arribo through the maritime authority.	not published on an open government page. Confirm the current charge with the port office on arrival, and budget for the insurance terms below rather than the entry fee.	not published	A designated port of entry.	Placeable on modified terms rather than excluded, which is the point most write-ups get wrong. All deductibles are doubled in these waters. Confiscation by any Authority is excluded. Piracy of, and taking of, the insured vessel is excluded. Theft is excluded absolutely unless the vessel is moored in a commercial marina agreed in writing by underwriters beforehand.	No open government page foundChecked: 2026-08-24
VenezuelaNot publishedCover for this cruising ground	Clearance at a designated port of entry. Entry is by zarpe through the maritime authority.	not published on an open government page. Confirm the current charge with the port office on arrival, and budget for the insurance terms below rather than the entry fee.	not published	A designated port of entry.	Placeable on modified terms rather than excluded, which is the point most write-ups get wrong. All deductibles are doubled in these waters. Confiscation by any Authority is excluded. Piracy of, and taking of, the insured vessel is excluded. Theft is excluded absolutely unless the vessel is moored in a commercial marina agreed in writing by underwriters beforehand.	No open government page foundChecked: 2026-08-24
HaitiNot publishedCover for this cruising ground	Clearance at a designated port of entry. Entry is at a designated port of entry.	not published on an open government page. Confirm the current charge with the port office on arrival, and budget for the insurance terms below rather than the entry fee.	not published	A designated port of entry.	Placeable on modified terms rather than excluded, which is the point most write-ups get wrong. All deductibles are doubled in these waters. Confiscation by any Authority is excluded. Piracy of, and taking of, the insured vessel is excluded. Theft is excluded absolutely unless the vessel is moored in a commercial marina agreed in writing by underwriters beforehand.	No open government page foundChecked: 2026-08-24

Which flags can be issued a US cruising licence

A US cruising licence may be issued only to a yacht of a country the Secretary of the Treasury has found grants the same privileges to US yachts. The list is short, it is closed, and it is the part of 19 CFR 4.94 most summaries leave out.

A yacht flagged anywhere not on this list must formally enter and clear at each US port rather than cruise on a licence. Several popular flags are absent, so read the list rather than assuming.

Argentina
Australia
Austria
Bahama Islands
Belgium
Bermuda
Canada
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany, Federal Republic of
Greece
Honduras
Ireland
Italy
Jamaica
Liberia
Marshall Islands
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey

United Kingdom and its listed dependencies

United Kingdom
Anguilla
Isle of Man
British Virgin Islands
Cayman Islands
Turks and Caicos Islands

19 CFR 4.94(b), eCFR · Checked: 2026-08-24

What happens inside the European Union

There is no EU cruising permit. A boat with Union customs status moves freely; a non-Union boat is placed under temporary admission and may stay 18 months, moving between member states with no further customs formalities.

Temporary admission is into the European Union as a whole, not into one member state, which is why a boat can cross from Spain to Italy to Greece without repeating the procedure.
The 18-month period is for privately used means of sea and inland waterway transport. An extension of reasonable duration is possible in exceptional circumstances, on a justified application.
If the boat has not left when the period ends, import duty and VAT fall due.
Several member states still charge their own cruising fee on top, which is a tax rather than a permit: Greece's TEPAI and Croatia's vignette are both in the table above.

European Commission, Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union, Guidance Note for Pleasure Craft, 30 April 2026

One pre-arrival notification covers much of the Caribbean

SailClear is the pre-arrival notification system run by the Caribbean Customs Law Enforcement Council, and most Caribbean customs administrations accept it. It does not replace clearing in, and it does not pay any fee. It files the vessel, crew and voyage details before you arrive so the paperwork on the dock is shorter.

Caribbean Customs Law Enforcement Council · 9 of 20 cruising countries in the table

What the cruising ground does to the cover

Entry formalities and underwriting terms are two different systems, and they do not agree with each other. A country can wave you in and still sit inside a rating area that changes your deductible, and a country that charges nothing to enter can carry the tightest terms on this page.

The Atlantic named-windstorm rating area

The Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos, the whole Eastern Caribbean chain and the French Antilles sit inside it. Named-windstorm cover runs with a signed hurricane plan as a condition and a 10% deductible calculated on the scheduled hull value rather than on the claim. The Mediterranean is not an Atlantic hurricane basin, so there is no hurricane box and no 10% named-windstorm deductible there; the meltemi, bora and sirocco are rated as ordinary storm damage.

Cuba, Colombia, Venezuela and Haiti

The clause we hold names four countries, and it does not exclude them. Cover is placeable on modified terms, and the terms are these: all deductibles are doubled while in those waters, confiscation by any Authority is excluded, piracy of and taking of the insured vessel is excluded, and theft is excluded absolutely unless the vessel is moored in a commercial marina agreed in writing by underwriters beforehand.

Written up elsewhere as restricted or excluded, which overstates it and turns away business that can actually be placed. A narrower variant of the clause covers Colombia and Haiti only, for US-flag insureds.

First-hand

We built this table the way we read a policy: off the document, not off what the market repeats about it. Cruisers kept telling us those four countries were simply shut to them, and the clause we hold does not say that, so the row states the terms as written and lets an owner plan a season around them.

Costas Matheou · Licensed insurance agent

This page states entry formalities and general policy terms. It is not financial or legal advice, and it does not replace your own Confirmation of Cover, which is the only document that decides what you hold.

Why some rows say the fee is not published

Because it is not. Where an authority publishes the procedure and not the price, this table says so and names what to ask, rather than repeating a figure from a blog or a forum thread.

The alternative is worse than a blank. Fees in this category change between seasons, old figures stay online for years, and a table that fills its gaps with someone else's guess joins the noise instead of settling it. Where a row says the fee is not published, ask the customs officer at the port of entry for the current rate before you commit to a season.

What to ask at the port of entry

1The current permit or clearance fee for a vessel of your length, and whether it is charged per vessel, per foot or per person per day.
2How long the permit runs, and what a re-entry costs inside that period.
3Whether overtime applies to the hour you plan to arrive, and what the minimum charge is.
4Whether any departure or embarkation tax falls due per person when you leave.

How this table is maintained

Every row carries the date it was checked. The whole table is re-verified once a year, and a row whose government page has moved or gone dark is marked rather than quietly carried forward.

Sources

Every fee in the table above links to the government page it came from. The sources below are the ones the page relies on beyond a single row.

World Yacht Insurance is a yacht-insurance introducer arranging hull and liability cover up to $5M for sail and motor yachts worldwide, including the Caribbean, placed in the London market through London Marine Insurance Services Ltd, a Lloyd's-accredited broker. The full chain, and who pays a claim, is on how it works.

Cover is arranged and placed in the London market by London Marine Insurance Services Ltd, authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority under firm reference 308599. World Yacht Insurance is not an insurer and does not carry risk.

Questions cruisers actually ask

How much is a Bahamas cruising permit?

Bahamas Customs publishes a full schedule. A 30-day permit is $150 up to 30 ft, $250 from 30 to 50 ft, $350 from 50 to 100 ft and $600 above 100 ft. A 6-month permit is $300 up to 50 ft, $750 from 50 to 100 ft and $2,000 above 100 ft. A 12-month permit is $500, $1,000 and $3,000 on the same bands. Those fees include Customs and Immigration attendance and transport. A passenger arrival tax of $20 applies to each non-resident beyond three aged six or over.

Do I need a US cruising licence for my own boat?

No, if your yacht is US-flagged. The cruising licence exists for foreign-flag yachts so they can move between US ports without formally entering and clearing each time, and it is available only to yachts of the countries listed at 19 CFR 4.94(b). What a US-flag owner does need is to report arrival to Customs and Border Protection on every return from a foreign port, and an annual user fee decal if the vessel is 30 ft or more.

What documents do I need to clear into Grenada by boat?

Grenada takes a pre-arrival notification through SailClear, then clearance at a designated port of entry with the previous port's clearance, the ship's papers and passports for everyone aboard. We could not find a Grenadian government page that publishes the fee, so this table does not state one. Ask the customs officer at the port of entry for the current rate rather than budgeting from a figure found on a forum.

Is there a cruising permit for the European Union?

No. The EU question is customs status, not a permit. A boat with Union status moves freely inside the customs territory. A non-Union boat is placed under temporary admission and may stay 18 months, moving between member states with no further customs formalities, after which duty and VAT fall due if it has not left. Some member states charge a separate cruising fee on top, such as Greece's TEPAI and Croatia's vignette.

Can I insure a cruise to Cuba, Colombia, Venezuela or Haiti?

Those waters are placeable on modified terms rather than excluded, which is the opposite of what most write-ups say. Under the wording we place through, all deductibles are doubled while in those waters, confiscation by any Authority is excluded, piracy of and taking of the vessel is excluded, and theft is excluded unless the vessel is moored in a commercial marina agreed in writing by underwriters beforehand. Tell us the itinerary before you sail rather than after.