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Pre-arrival notice

If a ship or aircraft wants to dock or land at a port or airport of Bonaire, Saba, or Saint Eustatius, the captain or pilot will report this to Customs well before the arrival.

The following periods must be observed for this notice:

  • ships: at least 4 hours before the expected time of arrival;
  • aircraft: at least 2 hours before the expected time of arrival.

If the travel time is shorter, the notice will be sent no later than the moment of departure to the port or airport of the island in question.

Which information must I provide to Customs in the pre-arrival notice?

The pre-arrival notice must at least include:

  • the name of the ship/aircraft and the country of registration;
  • the number of crew members;
  • a description of the cargo (general trade names are sufficient);
  • the last port/airport of departure;
  • the expected time of arrival on Bonaire, Saba, or Saint Eustatius;
  • the location of arrival on one of these islands.

Where do I have to submit the pre-arrival notice, and how?

On Bonaire, you must submit the pre-arrival notice to the customs offices (port or airport) of the Physical Supervision Department (refer to the details in the Contact section). On Saba and Saint Eustatius, you must submit the pre-arrival notice to the local customs offices (refer to the Contact section for the details).

Usually, regular line services are used for the transport of goods, and standing agreements on submitting the pre-arrival notice will have been made with Customs. A simple method for submitting the pre-arrival notice is the customs application Asycuda World. 

Do all ships and aircraft need to submit a pre-arrival notice?

No, the following ships and aircraft do need to submit a pre-arrival notice:

  • military ships and military aircraft;
  • leisure vessels and sports aircraft;
  • ships returning from fishing activities with a designation of their home port;
  • towing ships;
  • vessels used for piloting activities;
  • rescue craft;
  • ships and aircraft of the Coastguard of Aruba, Curaçao, and Saint Martin, as and that as of the public entities of Bonaire, Saint Eustatius, and Saba.

Please note! The exemption from submitting the pre-arrival notice for the ships and vessels set out above will not apply if:

  • import taxes are due for the ship, the aircraft, or the goods present on board;
  • prohibitions or limitations apply to the ship, the aircraft, or the goods present on board;
  • certain statutory formalities must be met for obtaining an exemption from taxes;
  • certain statutory formalities are required to obtain a certain customs-approved treatment for the vessel, the aircraft, or the goods present on board;
  • the ship or the vessel is not used in accordance with its destination.