Clear Your Yacht into Vanuatu
Step by Step

Follow these steps in order and start at least a week before you arrive. The official Customs website carries the latest forms and notices.

Step 1: Choose your port of entry

Yachts clear in at one of four official ports of entry:

  • Port Vila, Efate (most yachts clear in here)
  • Luganville, Santo
  • Lenakel, Tanna
  • Sola, Vanua Lava (one Customs officer covers Sola and may be away at Santo or Vila, so send your notice early)

Do not stop at any other island or anchorage until Customs has cleared you in. Penalties are severe. Port Resolution on Tanna needs written permission from the Director of Customs before you arrive. Customs has not granted permission to clear into Aneityum (Mystery Island) since 2020.

Step 2: Email Customs with your forms

Pick the page for your port. Each page lists the forms and photos to attach and opens a ready-made email in Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo or Apple Mail.

Official port: Port Vila, Luganville, Lenakel or Sola
Send at least 24 hours before you arrive. Sooner is better.

Port Resolution, Tanna: ask for special permission
Customs asks for a week's notice. Copying the officers listed on the page has brought quick replies.

No internet at sea? Send your email as soon as you clear out of your last port.

Tip: Use Gmail, because some private email addresses are not received. Customs may not reply. You may still enter an official port when you can prove you sent your email, so keep it in your Sent folder, add your own address to CC and screenshot the sent email showing the date and time.

Step 3: Complete Immigration pre-clearance online

At the same time, go to the Immigration website. Click Seaport Clearance, then Apply Now under Arrival Pre-Clearance. Set up an account and fill in the forms before you arrive.

Step 4: Fly the yellow quarantine flag

Raise the yellow flag when you enter Vanuatu's Exclusive Economic Zone (200 nm offshore of any island). Keep it flying until both Customs and Quarantine have cleared you in.

Step 5: Arrive and clear in

Customs works Monday to Friday, 07:30 to 12:00 and 13:00 to 16:30. Call Customs on VHF Channel 16 (Port Vila and Lenakel at the moment).

Port Vila

  • Anchor in the quarantine zone near the yellow quarantine buoy at 17°44.275 S 168°18.597 E, just north of the lead markers in 8 to 20 meters.
  • Call Customs on Channel 16. If they do not answer, call Port Vila Harbour Control (radio watch 07:30 to 16:30), or Yachting World. Yachting World will contact Customs and Quarantine for you.

Port Resolution

  • Customs, Immigration and Quarantine officers travel from Lenakel after Customs grants permission.
  • You pay a 6,000 Vatu displacement fee plus the officers' expenses, in cash. Yachts arriving together can share the cost.
  • The Commodore of the Port Resolution Yacht Club can drive you to Lenakel for an ATM and a mobile SIM card. Port Resolution has 4G internet.

Fees and Cash

  • Customs: free during working hours. Per officer, Monday to Friday 06:00 to 07:30 and 16:30 to 18:00 costs 1,000 Vatu an hour, 18:00 to 06:00 costs 1,500 Vatu an hour, and weekends and public holidays cost 2,000 Vatu. Out-of-hours visits carry a 3-hour minimum.
  • Quarantine: 5,000 Vatu per yacht, plus 3,000 Vatu for a pet inspection.
  • Immigration: 10,000 Vatu per yacht for 120 days.
  • Port dues: 7,000 Vatu plus 12.5% GST (7,875 Vatu) for the first 30 days, then 100 Vatu a day plus GST. Pay in cash at your final port when you clear out.
  • Officers take cash only: Vatu, Australian, US or New Zealand dollars. They do not take cards or cheques. Lenakel has an ATM.

While You Cruise

  • Inter-island cruising: after you clear in, tell Customs where you plan to go and collect an inter-island clearance. Download the Inter-Island Cruising Permit Form.
  • Length of stay: Immigration gives each crew member a 120 day permit. A yacht may stay duty free for 18 months in any 24 months for personal use only.
  • Crew changes: anyone leaving the crew needs a return air ticket. Use the Crew Arriving or Departing by Air Plane Authorization Form.
  • Quarantine: do not take live animals, fresh meat, fruit or vegetables ashore. Ask the Quarantine Service before landing foreign garbage.
  • If you have a pet aboard you need to contact a vacht agent to get the required import permit. We suggest Vanuatu Yacht Agents. You will need to contact them at least one month before you leave.
  • Firearms: declare all arms and ammunition on arrival. Customs seals or holds them until you leave. Automatic and semi-automatic weapons are prohibited.
  • Port Vila: an overhead cable crosses the channel east of Iririki. Masts taller than 25 meters cannot pass, and the maximum clearance is 28 meters near the Vila side. Show anchor lights from sunset to sunrise.

Clearing Out

Clear out with Customs and Immigration at your final port: Lenakel, Port Vila, Luganville or Sola. Fill in the Outward Clearance Form for Yachts.

Customs can allow you to leave from another port, for example Port Resolution for New Caledonia. Email customsborder@vanuatu.gov.vu at least 24 hours before you plan to depart andbe prepared to pay officer attendance and travel fees.

For anything not covered here, see the Vanuatu Customs yacht clearance page.