Sailing crews who want to sail in the Lesser Antilles this spring may be in for a nasty surprise shortly before setting sail. It was only at the end of December that the immigration authorities of a whole series of small Caribbean states surprisingly announced that a temporary visa requirement for tourists would be introduced from 1 January to 15 May this year.
While an exemption applies to German citizens, Austrians and Swiss citizens must actually be in possession of the document. However, this is more difficult than expected: the visa can only be ordered via the joint office of the Caribbean states in London. Each crew member's passport must be sent in for this. As there is a huge rush for the visas, there are already warnings of possible waiting times of one month, and the visa is also comparatively expensive at 100 US dollars per person.
For crews who wanted to fly in January or February, the trip is likely to be cancelled. Charter companies such as VPM are already reporting a noticeable drop in bookings for this part of the Caribbean and are planning alternative routes for affected customers - Martinique and Guadeloupe are possible alternative destinations.
The obligation was introduced at short notice because the Cricket World Cup is taking place in the Caribbean until 15 May, which, according to the organisers, will be the third largest sporting event in the world after the Olympic Games and the Football World Cup - almost unimaginable for Germans.
The visa requirement applies to the islands of Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago and Dominica.
Information about the Office of the Caribbean States ( www.caricomimpacs.org ) or the Austrian Foreign Ministry ( www.bmaa.gv.at ).
Andreas Fritsch
Editor Travel
