Seychelles - Clearance
SEYCHELLES ARRIVAL FORMALITIES
Note: Travel Authoristation is not required if arriving in Seychelles by boat.
Seychelles Ports of Entry:
All vessels visiting the Seychelles are reminded that Port Victoria on Mahé is the only port of entry and exit, and both on arrival and departure for a foreign port, vessels must call at Port Victoria to complete clearance formalities.
Advance Notification:
Contact Port Control on VHF Ch.12, 2 hours before arrival, and fly the “Q” flag. Port Control keeps a 24-hour watch on VHF Channel 12 for yachts arriving. Channel 16 is monitored by Seychelles Radio and the Coastguard for emergencies.
Seychelles General Clearance Process:
Customs and Port normal working hours are 0800-1200 and 1300-1500, Monday to Friday.
On arrival boats are generally directed to anchor in the Quarantine Area in the boat basin. Holding is good here. Fly the “Q” flag until you have been cleared.
The Health, Customs, Immigration and security officials usually board the boat for clearance and will be brought out to your yacht in a pilot boat. There is a charge for this (see Fees). Have plenty of copies of the crew list and other paperwork.
Immigration will want to see all crew passports and all crew members will need to fill out a disembarkation card. A visitor’s permit will be issued. See Immigration for more details.
The Entomological Department may require the boat to be sprayed (fumigated) on arrival.
Once free practique has been granted, the “Q” flag can be lowered and vessels will be directed into the inner harbor to an allocated anchorage.
Port Authority: Within 24 hours the captain must report to the Port Office, Mahé Quay, through the Port Security Gate on Latanier Road. An arrival form must be completed and the boarding fee paid. Three crew lists and the ship’s papers should be taken, and the latter will be held until departure.
Immigration: The captain must also report to the Immigration office, Independence House, Victoria, with crew lists and passports.
It is possible that the passports will be held until departure from the islands.
The authorities recommend having at least ten copies of crew lists, as other departments will also ask for it.
You will be given a useful information pack on rules for visiting boats when you check-in.
Visitors are granted a free 30 day permit (See Immigration for more details) and boats can visit for 30 days before having to apply for temporary importation (see Customs for more details).
Seychelles Domestic Cruising:
There are plenty of islands to visit close to Mahé as well as beautiful beaches on Mahé itself and for a week or two the “inner islands” offer an abundance of anchorages. The Inner Islands are bordered by the private Bird Island to the north (54 NM from Mahé), Mahé to the south, Silhouette Island to the west and Grande Soeur to the east.
All persons in command of a vessel shall inform tower control whenever going out or coming in or of any other movements within the Port on VHF Radio Channel 16/12 (24 hours). Often, boats are asked to come to the commercial wharf for a security check before being allowed to leave and when coming back.
There are designated anchorages on a number of the islands – see anchorage co-ordinates here – and some islands are only open certain days of the week. Check prior to departing Mahé for the up-to-date opening days. Landing fees (20-30 Euros per person) are applicable on most islands.
Visits to any privately owned or managed island must be cleared with the respective owners or managers in the first instance if crew or passengers intend to go ashore. This can be obtained via http://www.idcseychelles.com/landing-permit-for-visiting-yatchs.html. This permission must be passed to SMSA with the departure application (see next paragraph).
Yachts of 10 metres or more, wishing to visit any inner or outer islands, must apply to the SMSA for departure approval 2 days prior to leaving. Use the following form:
Advance Notice of Departure Form – Outer/Inner Islands [SMSA]
Email to director@smsa.sc
A fee of Rs 200 must be paid before approval can be granted. Pay by cash at the SMSA office (see their website for location of office).
Once approval has been received, skippers should clear out with the port authority (see clearing out below). Port clearance is needed to visit any of the other islands. There is a charge for this (see Fees below). Clearance must be made within working hours (08:00-12:00, 13:00-16:00 Monday to Friday).
If anchored elsewhere, it is not necessary to check in and check out each time the vessel returns to Victoria for provisions. There are other suitable places to anchor without incurring fees.
On the other islands, one must check in with local police or the Island Manager, who will sign the clearance form which must be returned to the port office within 24 hours of one’s return to Victoria. At weekends and public holidays the form can be left at Mahé Quay police station.
CLEARING OUT
At the time of departure from the Seychelles, an official will likely visit the boat. This means departure times must be kept to 06:00 – 18:00 on weekdays. The immigration officer will sign off on the departure, at which time the boat must depart Victoria Harbour within one hour. The boat should proceed to its next port (as declared) and may not stop in any other Seychelles port unless in case of emergency.
If you are using an agent, be sure to advise them well in advance the date of your departure so they can pick up the Bill of Exit (approx. 2-3 days before departure).
Customs and Port normal working hours are 0800-1200 and 1300-1500, Monday to Friday.
Seychelles Departure Process:
- Call Immigration 2 days prior to leaving to advise them of your plans and to book an appointment for the day before departure. You will need to go with all passports and permits. Schedule with them to collect the letter of clearance.
- Contact the port authority with your departure date and ask for fees owed. Fees must be paid in cash.
- Advise Customs of departure and they will arrange for an inspection of your boat.
- E-mail completed Advance Notice of Departure form [SMSA] [to director@smsa.sc] no later than 48 hours prior to departure (working days only 08:00-16:00). Once they have this form, plus the Bill of Exit, they will notify the Harbor Master to clear your yacht for depature.
- One day before leaving, visit Immigration and pick up the clearance letter. Go to the Harbor Master/Port Authority and pay fees. Collect original boat documents (provided on entry) and take all paperwork to Customs.
- At the time of departure from the Seychelles, a Customs official will likely visit the boat. This means departure times must be kept to 06:00 – 18:00 on weekdays.
- The immigration officer will sign off on the departure, at which time the boat must depart Victoria Harbour within one hour.
- The boat should proceed to its next port (as declared) and may not stop in any other Seychelles port unless in case of emergency.
Note: Not all these regulations are enforced, but it is best to be prepared.
Seychelles Port Authority Website: http://www.seyport.sc/
Last updated: March 2024
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We had a fabulous 5 month stay here in Seychelles and used Eden Island Marina as a base. We also left the boat herer whilst we had a 3 week trip. I cannot praise the team at the marina enough. Always happy and super friendly and helpful. There was a very good level of security and we were very confident leaving our boat here.
Left our yacht at the Eden Island Marina, Seychelles for two months while we were back in the US. Had other yachties keep an eye on it. When we returned we found it had been broken into. Stole cameras, lenses, cash, liquor, etc. Police were quick to investigate and take a report.
Seychelles General Info June 2018
We visited the Republic of Seychelles April until July 2018 and would like to share, in no particular order, observations that may be useful to other yacht owners crossing the Indian Ocean.
1. Visiting Seychelles is not as expensive as we were led to believe. There is a fee for checking into the country, but it’s less than we’ve paid in many other places, around US$20.00. There are fees payable each time one checks in and checks out of Victoria Port, but it is not necessary to check in and check out each time the vessel returns to Victoria for provisions unless one wishes to anchor in the inner harbor. There are other suitable places to anchor without incurring fees. It is possible to visit many of the “inner islands,” the granitic islands around Victoria, without paying National Parks mooring fees.
Those fees are approx. US$15 per night, the marine park perimeters are clearly marked by large white buoys, and there are plenty of lovely anchorages outside the park boundaries. Upon arrival, one receives a free 30-day visitor permit, which is renewable for an additional 60 days at no charge. A further extension is expensive at approx. US$360 per person. In our first month in Seychelles, we paid less than US$125 in fees including check-in formalities, park fees, and mooring fees.
2. Restaurants and bars are very expensive and Creole cuisine is far less impressive than that of India or Southeast Asia, so we eat most of our meals on board as do other cruisers in Seychelles. Most resorts serve mediocre buffet meals to their guests as part of an all-inclusive accommodation plan. Those who welcome outside guests and many do not charge very high prices for the buffet. A good cocktail in a nice establishment can cost US$20.00. If you like to eat all your meals in tourist-oriented restaurants you will find Seychelles exorbitantly expensive.
If you like spicy flavors you will be disappointed. A bottle of Seybrew, the local beer, served at Marine Charter or the SYC, costs US$2.20. The same beer will cost up to US$10.00 at a resort or at a restaurant with an ambiance. Local eateries are more modestly priced and generally of average quality.
3. Anchoring is very slightly restricted. We came prepared with detailed information on where to find the few mooring buoys installed by the Marine Parks and Tourism Board, the limitations for their use, the associated fees, and fines for overstaying the 1-night limit. In fact, there are no mooring buoys at all for public use anywhere around the inner islands. No one monitors the length of time a yacht remains in one place and no one comes to collect any kind of fees except in the National Marine Parks where overnight anchorage (no moorings) costs less than US$15.00. Pleasant and courteous park rangers come to your yacht to collect fees if you overnight in a Marine Park.
There are strict prohibitions against anchoring in some locations clearly expressed in the helpful information packet given to us by officials at the time we checked in. However, yachts anchor freely in those places without penalty and without time restriction. These mooring/no anchoring policies may have been a good idea and may have been enforced in the past, but the moorings simply don’t exist and the restrictions are universally ignored by both yachties and officials. Only the National Marine Park regulations are enforced and even their one may anchor as long as desired at a rate of US$15.00 per day.
4. The information packet provided upon arrival is comprehensive and helpful, but it fails to inform yacht owners that they must apply for temporary importation of the yacht at the expiration of the initial 1-month visitor permit. We did not understand this and only learned of the regulation from another yacht owner who had made the same mistake. Upon submission of the proper forms to the Customs Inland Revenue Department, temporary import is generally granted, together with a firm lecture and possibly a fine. You’d think this would be explained in the 20-page information packet, but it is not even mentioned.
5. There is an excellent shipyard in Victoria, Taylor Smith Shipyard, which has been in operation for about 4 years. It’s run very professionally, management and most of the skilled tradesmen have been hired from outside Seychelles and quality work, though expensive, can be expected. The yard has a 150-ton Travelift, plans to buy a larger one, and can lift just about anything, including large catamarans.
6. We are sorry to report that security is a problem in Seychelles. Our yacht was burglarized during the night while we were asleep at anchor, our own fault for leaving the companionway open in the hot weather. We know of three or four other yachts that were burglarized in the same way in recent months. Thefts occur at multiple locations. The thief approached our yacht in a stolen sailing dinghy.