This is a Port of Entry. For full details on clearance formalities for entering and leaving Papua New Guinea, see the Formalities.section.
Hire a taxi to go to Immigration, Customs and Biosecurity which are not far away from the anchorage - but a bit of a walk.
It is advisable to pre-arrange Customs and Immigration clearance first by email and then on arrival officials will come to your boat. After their visit you will have to go to their offices to complete the paperwork.
E-mail Customs 24-48 hours in advance of your arrival.
Contact Greg Piawe at PNG Customs - piaweg@customs.gov.pg who has been extremely helpful to cruisers who have undertaken clearance formalities here or Patrick Kinavai - kinavaip@customs.gov.pg. Phone: 457 1192.
Customs are out of town, close to the airport in a little trading complex across the street from the airfield. Take a taxi to get there, as it is too far to walk (about 2 km) and usually very hot. Alternatively, you can try asking the Harbour Master if he can request for Customs to come to you.
If you go to Customs first, they may stamp your passports for you, avoiding a trip to Immigration.
If you have not had customs clearance from each internal port, you may run into issues, but officials here are reported to be very helpful.
Immigration is at the airport (but not always!). Ask the Harbour Master or Customs to try and contact him first. A departure card is all that is needed and your passports will be stamped.
The Indonesian Consulate is about a ten minutes walk from the dock.
If getting an Indonesian visa here, the Indonesian consulate accepts passport-sized photos printed in the copy shop on the other side of the road. The visa is supposed to take 24 hours to process, but if you apply with all the documents and pay the fees early in the morning, you may get your passports returned with the visa by the afternoon.
They are closed on Friday afternoon so time your arrival Monday to Thursday if you want to leave in one day. Open at 09:00. This 2016 report from Yacht Adina may still be useful:
Notes on Papua New Guinea: Obtaining Indonesian Visas and Checking out of PNG
Last updated: May 2024
If you have information for this section, or feedback on businesses used, please let us know at editor@noonsite.com. We also welcome new information about businesses you have used (see Related Businesses).
As a free user of Noonsite you are restricted to viewing 3 country formalities per month. You have viewed 0 formalities this month – but can view the countries you have accessed to date as many times as you want.
Become a Noonsite Member and you can view unlimited formalities each month and enjoy additional member benefits. Membership fees help our team keep country formalities information up-to-date in support of cruisers worldwide.
Find out more about membership levels and Become a Noonsite Member.
