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Send your details
We need the registration, who is aboard, the voyage either side of the BVI and your timing. Say how long the yacht is staying in the territory, because a longer stay changes what has to be set up at this office.
Road Harbour · Wickhams Cay · BVI port of entry
Road Town Yacht Clearance, Tortola
Road Town, the BVI capital on Tortola's south coast, is both a port of entry and the territory's Customs headquarters. Clearance is handled at the government dock in Road Harbour, beside the Wickhams Cay charter bases and the Sir Francis Drake Channel cruising grounds. It is also the office that handles the Customs business the smaller ports cannot complete, including temporary importation for a yacht staying on.
Road Town, Tortola
Tortola
Manual reviewEach request is assessed before an agent introduction.
Local assistance
How our Road Town clearance service works
Road Harbour is a commercial seaport first, and its clearance counter also serves the inter-island ferries. One submission from you becomes a complete instruction to an agent who works this office regularly and who can take on permit or licence business at the same visit, which is the part other ports cannot do for you.
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We brief a local agent
Your request goes to an agent who knows the Road Harbour office and the sequence it follows. They identify in advance whether the visit needs anything beyond arrival clearance, such as temporary importation or commercial licensing, both of which are handled at Road Town.
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The agent coordinates clearance
The agent assembles the documents, takes the Customs, Immigration and Ports Authority steps in the right order and settles what is assessed. Where the officers want the captain at the counter, or the passports produced, that is arranged around your timing.
Clearance checklist
What to have ready for clearance at Road Town
Send us these details and a local BVI clearance agent can prepare and coordinate the yacht's formalities with Customs and Immigration at Road Town. Keep the originals aboard, as personal attendance or passport presentation may still be required where the authorities request it.
✓A valid passport for everyone aboard, plus any visa required for your nationality
✓Crew and passenger list
✓Vessel registration papers and the registration number
✓Online ED Card completion email for each person aboard, showing the barcode
✓Proof of ownership, or written authority to operate the yacht
✓Valid yacht insurance
✓Clearance or zarpe from your last port, where one was issued
✓Your voyage either side of the BVI, your timing, and how long the yacht is staying
Local process
Clearing in step by step at Road Harbour
Road Harbour is large, deep and shared with ferries, cargo vessels and the cruise pier, so keep a good lookout on the way in and stay clear of the commercial berths.
Complete the pre-arrival reporting
The national pre-arrival submissions for the vessel and the people aboard are filed before you make the harbour, with the confirmations kept where you can produce them. The registration number is needed for the traveller submissions, so have it written down.
Enter Road Harbour and report
Raise the port office on VHF 16 for the entry permit and move to 17 when the Ports Authority asks why you are entering. Give the ferry berths and the cruise pier a wide berth on the way in, fly the Q flag, and keep the crew aboard.
Anchor off the government dock
The clearance dock itself is worked by ferries and commercial vessels and is often fully occupied, so yachts normally anchor off and come in by dinghy. A berth at one of the Wickhams Cay marinas is the alternative once clearance is arranged.
Customs and Immigration formalities
The captain, agent or a crew member carrying all the documents presents passports, completion receipts and the vessel papers. Customs determines whether the yacht is private or commercial and assesses the charges accordingly. The same counter processes ferry passengers, so allow time when a ferry is in.
Permits, licences and payments
Charges are settled at the Treasury and Ports Authority cashiers, and receipts are retained aboard for inspection. This is also where temporary importation for a yacht staying on, and commercial recreational vessel licensing, are dealt with, both of which need their own document set.
Clearing out when you leave
Outbound clearance is completed before an international departure, with the manifest presented and an inspection possible, and the vessel leaves within 24 hours of being cleared. You can clear back into the territory later at a different BVI port.
British Virgin Islands requirements
Rules that apply at Road Town
Where clearance happens
Vessels arriving from outside the territory clear at the government dock in Road Harbour. The dock is worked by ferries and commercial vessels and is frequently full, so yachts anchor off and come in by dinghy. Only the person handling clearance goes ashore until entry is granted.
The office for permits and licences
Road Town carries the Customs headquarters and the waterfront office, and is where a temporary import permit is obtained for a yacht remaining in the territory beyond a short visit. Commercial recreational vessel licence applications are also submitted here, in person or by email.
Immigration extensions
Immigration stamps the people aboard on arrival, and an extension to that stay is applied for at Road Town or Spanish Town rather than at Great Harbour. Apply before the original period expires, and bring the vessel papers as well as the passports.
A commercial harbour first
Road Harbour is the BVI's main seaport, deep enough for cruise ships and shared with cargo and inter-island ferry traffic. Expect movement on the way in and around the clearance dock. Berths are available at the Wickhams Cay marinas, with anchoring space in the harbour.
FAQ
Road Town, Tortola Yacht Clearance questions
Is Road Town a BVI port of entry?
Yes. Road Town, the capital on Tortola's south coast, is one of the four working BVI ports of entry. Clearance is handled at the government dock in Road Harbour, on Wickhams Cay, beside where the inter-island ferries berth.
Where do I clear in at Road Town, and can I come alongside?
The clearance dock is used by ferries and commercial vessels and is often fully occupied, so yachts normally anchor off and take the dinghy in. Come ashore to the office with the passports, completion receipts and vessel papers. An agent can prepare and coordinate the formalities, though the officers may still ask for personal attendance.
Why would I choose Road Town over the other BVI ports?
Because of what it can do as well as where it is. Road Town suits yachts based at or heading for the Wickhams Cay charter marinas and the Drake Channel islands, and it is the office that handles Customs business beyond arrival clearance. A temporary import permit for a yacht staying on in the territory is obtained here.
I want to leave the yacht in the BVI for a few months. What do I do?
The people aboard and the vessel are dealt with separately. Immigration stamps the crew on arrival, and the yacht itself is handled by Customs under a temporary importation arrangement, applied for at Road Town with its own document set, including a notarised agreement with a BVI agent or resident who accepts responsibility. Start that before you arrive rather than at the counter.
If I clear in at Road Town, do I have to clear out here too?
No. Outbound clearance can be completed at any working port of entry, so a yacht that cleared in at Road Harbour is free to clear out at West End, Great Harbour or St Thomas Bay, whichever suits the departure. The one thing to plan around is Customs business that only Road Town handles, such as a temporary import permit: settle that before you work your way west or east.
Personal clearance support
Send the voyage details once. We help route the request.
Use this page for clearing in or out at Road Town, Tortola and other BVI yacht-paperwork assistance.