Passport to Bahamas?

Odd question, my husband and I have been invited to go to Bimini tomorrow with friends on their boat to spend a couple of nights and I just realized my husband's passport expired several months ago!

Does anyone know if we can go to Bimini without a passport?

Yes, you can go to the Bahamas without passport. The problem may be when you return, if you go through customs, identification is required to re-enter the U.S.

Just take his expired passport and government issued ID (DL)...This should be enough.

Thanks! We decided to postpone for a couple of weeks so we are expediting a new passport!

Just want to update this thread.

If you are leaving the US on a private vessel to go to another country, you have to take your passport to the customs office on Eller Drive in Fort Lauderdale and go fill out paperwork.

When you return to the US, you have 24 hours to check back in to the customs house.

You also must take your passport with you for any foreign countries.

Thanks for the info.

Just take his expired passport and government issued ID (DL)...This should be enough.

According to whom?

BlueHerons, as usual great information.

Keith

Just take his expired passport and government issued ID (DL)...This should be enough.

Are you stating that the WHTI applies to travel other than on closed loop cruises?

Are you stating that the WHTI applies to travel other than on closed loop cruises?

The WHTI regulations apply to all land and sea travel within the defined area, not just closed loop cruises. There are 12 exceptions within the regulations and of course the closed loop exception is only one of those. For a sea port of entry as taken by the OP I believe a passport card or Enhanced Drivers License would also meet the requirement, but I have not verified that since I don't have a need to travel to any of the islands on a pleasure vessel other than a cruise ship.

If you had simply typed "passport required to visit Bahamas" into Google, you could have found the answer by yourself.

DON

Google Bahamas entry/exiting policies. The site (stated as official Bahamas) appears to indicate that passports are required if entering by private boat - it makes no mention of BC, drivers license or expired passport.

Google Bahamas entry/exiting policies. The site (stated as official Bahamas) appears to indicate that passports are required if entering by private boat - it makes no mention of BC, drivers license or expired passport.

Very well could be, as I said I have no need to research the issue and the regulations pertain to re-entry into the US, and of course the other side of the coin is complying with the laws of the country being visited.

I love passport questions. There is another post where the couple left their passports at home, flew east coast to west coast to board in San Diego, CA and were RIP ROARING P.O.'d that they could NOT get on the ship withOUT their passports for a Panama Canal cruise. Oh the entitlement is .... is .... beyond hysterical. : ? )

I love passport questions. There is another post where the couple left their passports at home, flew east coast to west coast to board in San Diego, CA and were RIP ROARING P.O.'d that they could NOT get on the ship withOUT their passports for a Panama Canal cruise. Oh the entitlement is .... is .... beyond hysterical. : ? )

Way to be sympathetic to a fellow human being who made a simple error that anyone can make. Yes, there was a touch of entitlement in their post but they were still processing their situation.

I, for one, appreciate the information.

If you had simply typed "passport required to visit Bahamas" into Google, you could have found the answer by yourself.

 

DON

Actually, no Donald. That is not the case.

I googled every combination I could think of for the requirements of traveling to another country by private vessel and nothing useful came up.

It is impossible to actually speak to someone inside the passport agency to I eventually reached out to my yachtie friends (people who are employed on private mega yachts who leave the US from Fort Lauderdale on a regular basis) and got correct info.

My friend, whose boat we traveled on was traveling quite a bit before we left and didn't want to bother him.

So I just wanted to put this out there in case the situation arises for someone else.

Just want to update this thread.

 

If you are leaving the US on a private vessel to go to another country, you have to take your passport to the customs office on Eller Drive in Fort Lauderdale and go fill out paperwork.

 

When you return to the US, you have 24 hours to check back in to the customs house.

 

You also must take your passport with you for any foreign countries.

The only thing that I would correct is that the location you have to go in the US depends on where you are sailing from, if you are leaving from Charleston, you go to the CBP office there, not in FLL.

Actually, no Donald. That is not the case.

 

I googled every combination I could think of for the requirements of traveling to another country by private vessel and nothing useful came up.

 

It is impossible to actually speak to someone inside the passport agency to I eventually reached out to my yachtie friends (people who are employed on private mega yachts who leave the US from Fort Lauderdale on a regular basis) and got correct info ...

Try googling Bahamas entry/exiting policies for the official Bahamas requirements. I think their official site might be more reliable than someone else's "yachtie friends"

Try googling Bahamas entry/exiting policies for the official Bahamas requirements. I think their official site might be more reliable than someone else's "yachtie friends"

If you would bother to finish out the quote, it is my ''yachtie friends people who employed on private mega yachts who leave the US from Fort Lauderdale on a regular basis''.

Yachtie is slang term for yachting professionals. Just like I may ask my doctor friend who is a specialist about a particular situation he is an expert in.

The only thing that I would correct is that the location you have to go in the US depends on where you are sailing from, if you are leaving from Charleston, you go to the CBP office there, not in FLL.

Correct, my information is Fort Lauderdale specific. However, we are the location where the majority of private vessels leave from to head to the Caribbean and the islands so I thought it may be helpful to others.

If you would bother to finish out the quote, it is my ''yachtie friends people who employed on private mega yachts who leave the US from Fort Lauderdale on a regular basis''.

 

Yachtie is slang term for yachting professionals. Just like I may ask my doctor friend who is a specialist about a particular situation he is an expert in.

The rest of the quote is immaterial to my point - it is better to rely on an official Bahamas web site than on a CC poster’s yachtie friends

Odd question, my husband and I have been invited to go to Bimini tomorrow with friends on their boat to spend a couple of nights and I just realized my husband's passport expired several months ago!

 

Does anyone know if we can go to Bimini without a passport?

My brother-in-law and I have made the Bimini run numerous times out of Miami, and never took, or were asked for a passport, nor were inspected or passed through any customs check points. Its not like disembarking a Cruise Ship.;)

My brother-in-law and I have made the Bimini run numerous times out of Miami, and never took, or were asked for a passport, nor were inspected or passed through any customs check points. Its not like disembarking a Cruise Ship.;)

Of course many people come into the U S every year without "being inspected or passed through any customs check points." But this does not answer OP's question.

Just wanted to update again.  Customs and Boarder Patrol now has an app where you punch your information into, leaving time, destination, and return.  The customs officer will facetime the captain upon return to the US and they ask you who you are etc. and then they clear you.

The app is CBP Roam.  It's amazing how quickly we cleared coming back from Bimini.

Yes, technically you can go to the Bahamas and back on a private charter without checking in with US CBP but with us, it is an ethical issue.  Besides, if you get caught, the fines are pretty steep.