BlueHerons Posted March 5, 2017 #1 Share Posted March 5, 2017 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? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Husky61 Posted March 5, 2017 #2 Share Posted March 5, 2017 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashland Posted March 5, 2017 #3 Share Posted March 5, 2017 Just take his expired passport and government issued ID (DL)...This should be enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueHerons Posted March 12, 2017 Author #4 Share Posted March 12, 2017 Thanks! We decided to postpone for a couple of weeks so we are expediting a new passport! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueHerons Posted December 9, 2017 Author #5 Share Posted December 9, 2017 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul929207 Posted December 9, 2017 #6 Share Posted December 9, 2017 Thanks for the info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRF Posted December 10, 2017 #7 Share Posted December 10, 2017 Just take his expired passport and government issued ID (DL)...This should be enough. According to whom? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Keith1010 Posted December 10, 2017 #8 Share Posted December 10, 2017 BlueHerons, as usual great information. Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navybankerteacher Posted December 10, 2017 #9 Share Posted December 10, 2017 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? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare sparks1093 Posted December 10, 2017 #10 Share Posted December 10, 2017 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donaldsc Posted December 10, 2017 #11 Share Posted December 10, 2017 If you had simply typed "passport required to visit Bahamas" into Google, you could have found the answer by yourself. DON Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navybankerteacher Posted December 10, 2017 #12 Share Posted December 10, 2017 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare sparks1093 Posted December 10, 2017 #13 Share Posted December 10, 2017 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiseGal999 Posted December 11, 2017 #14 Share Posted December 11, 2017 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. : ? ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare sparks1093 Posted December 11, 2017 #15 Share Posted December 11, 2017 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdvmd Posted December 12, 2017 #16 Share Posted December 12, 2017 I, for one, appreciate the information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueHerons Posted December 12, 2017 Author #17 Share Posted December 12, 2017 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zqvol Posted December 13, 2017 #18 Share Posted December 13, 2017 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navybankerteacher Posted December 13, 2017 #19 Share Posted December 13, 2017 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" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueHerons Posted December 13, 2017 Author #20 Share Posted December 13, 2017 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueHerons Posted December 13, 2017 Author #21 Share Posted December 13, 2017 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navybankerteacher Posted December 14, 2017 #22 Share Posted December 14, 2017 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmdchiefthom Posted December 17, 2017 #23 Share Posted December 17, 2017 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.;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navybankerteacher Posted December 17, 2017 #24 Share Posted December 17, 2017 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueHerons Posted November 19, 2018 Author #25 Share Posted November 19, 2018 (edited) 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. Edited November 19, 2018 by BlueHerons Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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