The island is divided between two jurisdictions — Dutch Sint Maarten and French Saint-Martin — each with its own clearance process. They are completely separate. You clear into the side you arrive on. If you subsequently move your boat to the other side, you must clear out of the first and into the second.
If you anchor on one side and cross to the other by dinghy, bus, or foot — without moving your boat — you do not need to clear again. This is how most cruisers operate day-to-day.
Bridge times and arrival logistics →
Dutch side (Sint Maarten)
The Dutch-side process is done in person at one of two ports of entry.
SLAC / Immigration office — Police Station, west of the Simpson Bay Bridge
Mon – Fri
08:00 – 12:30 · 13:30 – 16:30
Sat – Sun
07:30 – 15:30
Immigration office — entrance to the commercial port
Mon – Fri
08:00 – 12:00 · 13:00 – 16:30
Sat – Sun
09:00 – 12:00
Offices are closed on public holidays. Clear out from the same port you cleared into — the two offices are administered separately and fees must be settled at the correct office.
What to bring
- Ship's registration papers
- Last clearance / zarpe from previous port
- Passports for all crew and passengers
- Crew list (bring multiple copies)
- Proof of insurance
Arriving from the USA? You need a clearance document (zarpe) from US Customs and Border Protection before departure. Do not arrive at SXM without one.
Fees
There are fees for clearance, bridge transit (if entering via Simpson Bay), and anchoring/mooring. Pay the SLAC fee at the lagoon authority office before completing immigration. The total varies by vessel tonnage — expect roughly $30–60 for a typical cruising yacht.
Current fee schedules: noonsite.com — Sint Maarten clearance
Online ED card — current status (early 2025): Sint Maarten introduced an online Embarkation/Disembarkation card system in late 2024, initially for air travellers. Yachts are still clearing in with paper forms at the office, but this may change — check current practice with Noonsite or recent cruiser reports before arrival.
Maximum stay: Generally 90 days, though this varies by nationality. Enquire when clearing in if you plan a long stay.
French side (Saint-Martin)
The French side changed its clearance process significantly in September 2024. Under a prefectural decree dated August 2024, all vessels must now clear in and out of the French Antilles — including Saint-Martin — electronically:
demarche.numerique.gouv.fr — French clearance portal
The online process: Clearance is completed online via the French customs system and can in principle be done before arrival. You will receive a clearance confirmation with a digital signature from French Customs — print this and keep it aboard. However, the digital signature has not been universally accepted by all neighbouring Caribbean nations. To be safe, get the form physically signed and endorsed at an approved clearance point before departing for other French territories.
Approved clearance points
Following an amendment by Martinique in December 2025, the approved clearance points are:
Current approved clearance points — saint-barth-saint-martin.gouv.fr
The Marigot mooring situation
The Collectivité of Saint-Martin undertook a largely unsuccessful mooring ball project which has taken up a large part of the anchorage in Marigot Bay, managed by the Port of Marigot. Users of the mooring balls pay a fee; the Port is attempting to recover costs from the poor uptake of the project.
As shown on their website, fees are for mooring balls only and vary by boat size and duration. Anchoring on the French side is free. There is no fee payable for anchoring.
Port Authority patrol boat: Some cruisers at anchor on the French side report being approached by a Port Authority boat and told to come ashore to "check in." The
Port of Marigot clearance page attempts to impose a slightly different process to the nationally decreed one. If you have completed online clearance and are not on a Port of Marigot mooring, the legal requirement to visit their office is disputed. Carry your clearance printout as documentation.
Fees
Clearance itself is currently free under the new online system. Getting your clearance endorsed at a clearance point will incur a fee as listed on the relevant website. The marinas (Marina Fort Louis, Anse Marcel) will assist with yacht clearance for approximately €15.
Heading to St Barths? New arrivals in St Barths are being told that a physical signature on their outbound Saint-Martin clearance is mandatory. Make sure your form is endorsed before departing — even though St Barths falls under the same national decree. Despite being a French territory, also make sure you clear out of St Barths and back into Saint-Martin when returning.
Maximum stay: French Saint-Martin follows EU customs rules. EU-flagged boats can stay up to 18 months for tourism purposes. Non-EU visitors should enquire when clearing in.
Anchorages — where do you anchor? →
The two sides — understanding the two jurisdictions →
