See Samoa/Clearance for full details. Clearance in Apia is reported to be slow but with friendly and nice officials.
Inward Clearance
Vessels are expected to call Apia Port Control two hours before entering the harbor on VHF Channel 16 for permittion to enter the channel. The VHF won't be answered before 09:00 and in fact, that frequency isn’t always monitored so you may not get a response.
You will be directed to anchor at the head of the bay (21 feet mud, decent holding). The anchorage can easily accommodate a dozen or more boats and is very well protected. No boats should come into the marina until directed.
All arriving boats may come into Apia Marina for official clearance, even if they are anchoring, without paying any additional fees for clearance. However, there is a fee for dinghy access to the marina.
Outward Clearance
Visit first Immigration (in the Prime Minister’s office building) where you will have to fill in two forms. They will provide a letter for you to give to Customs (located next to the marina).
Because of several cruising vessels departing without paying mooring fees, Customs now needs to see a receipt from the marina as proof of payment of dockage or dinghy fees before issuing an outbound clearance.
Last updated: September 2022
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