Caribbean News
What you need to know, New rules for Pleasure Crafts entering and leaving the TCI
#TurksandCaicos, February 7, 2023 – As of 1st February 2023, the owner or master of a pleasure craft (like a yacht or other vessel for recreational use) before sailing to or from the Turks and Caicos Islands MUST use SailClear (www.sailclear.com) to submit information about their voyage to the Customs and Immigration at least 24 hours before arrival or departure.
SailClear is an online yachting clearance system designed to facilitate the clearance requirements of Customs and Immigration throughout participating regional territories. Registering for a user account is simple. Once an account has been activated a user can begin entering his voyage details and other information related to crew, passengers, weapons and stores. This submitted information is immediately available to Customs and other authorities.
SailClear allows the user to edit the information if travel plans change.
Arrival
On arrival, display the International Pratique Q-flag and travel directly to the port of entry to satisfy the face-to-face requirement.
Whether you are a returning resident or a visitor, you need to comply with the following entry requirements;
- All persons onboard MUST have a valid passport and visa; if required;
- You MUST have the relevant permits for the importation of certain foods, animals and prescribed medicinal products, firearms and ammunition and explosives. TCI have strict laws to protect its citizens and the natural environment. Penalties may be imposed if you breach those laws by illegally importing prohibited or restricted items including cannabis-infused products, products containing cannabidiol derivatives, and any oils containing cannabidiol
- You MUST declare cash or other negotiable instruments with a value over USD 10,000
- You MUST stay onboard until clearance is given. No person other than a Port Health, Customs and/or Immigration officer is allowed to board the vessel, nor can any person, animal or article leave the vessel until full clearance has been granted. It is an offence to go ashore without prior clearance. Depending on the arrival
time, occupants of the vessel may be required to remain on board overnight before being cleared the following day.
In case of an emergency; medical, mechanical or adverse weather conditions, a notification must be submitted IMMEDIATELY on arrival by a crew member, passenger or agent. This will help in expediting the clearance process.
If there is a notifiable illness on board, the Department of Environment Health MUST be contacted via email at thinds@gov.tc and occupants of the vessel must comply with any instructions given.
Departure
Customs clearance is required before a pleasure craft can depart. This is available at any designated port. The owner, master or agent must submit a notice in advance through SailClear to avoid unnecessary delay. It is an offence to depart without clearance.
If you want to extend your stay in the Turks and Caicos Islands, it is the master, or agent’s responsibility to update the outbound notification in SailClear. You must also file a request with the Immigration Department to extend/change your leave to enter before your authorized stay expires.
Charges
The master must pay an inbound fee of USD 50.00 to Customs on arrival and an outbound fee of USD 50.00 to Customs for departure. An overtime Fee is charged if clearance is needed outside of working hours.
Overtime Fees
Weekdays 6:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m. $10.00 per hour
Weekdays 12:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. $10.00 per hour
Monday – Thursday 4:30 p.m. – Midnight $10.00 per hour
Friday 4:00 p.m. – Midnight $10.00 per hour
Weekdays Midnight – 6:00 a.m. $12.00 per hour
Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays $15.00 per hour
The Customs department encourages using credit/debit cards to pay fees as a swipe machine is available.
Failure to Report
The Customs Department and its law enforcement partners are actively monitoring Turks and Caicos Islands waters. Failure to submit an advance notice for arrival or departure to Customs may result in detention, seizure or forfeiture of your boat and/or monetary penalties.
If you fail to report, even if your purpose is non-discretionary (non-optional) such as to refuel, you may face severe penalties.
If you carry any goods for industrial or commercial purposes, your boat becomes a commercial vessel and is no longer a pleasure craft, for that entry. Different customs rules will apply.
For further information visit www.customs.gov.tc/travel
By Deandrea Hamilton | Magnetic Media
October 14, 2025 – It’s being called political theatre — but for citizens, constitutional watchdogs, and democracy advocates across the Caribbean, it feels far more serious. Within a single week, two national parliaments — in Trinidad and Tobago and St. Kitts and Nevis — descended into turmoil as opposition members stormed out in protest, accusing their Speakers of bias, overreach, and abuse of parliamentary procedure.
For observers, the walkouts signal a deeper problem: erosion of trust in the very institutions meant to safeguard democracy. When Speakers are viewed as political enforcers instead of neutral referees, parliaments stop functioning as chambers of debate and start performing as stages for power and spectacle — with citizens left wondering who, if anyone, is still accountable.
October 6: St. Kitts Parliament Erupts
The first walkout erupted in Basseterre on October 6, 2025, when Dr. Timothy Harris, former Prime Minister and now Opposition Leader,
led his team out of the St. Kitts and Nevis National Assembly in a protest that stunned the chamber.
The flashpoint came as the Speaker moved to approve more than three years’ worth of unratified parliamentary minutes in one sitting — covering 27 meetings and three national budgets — without individual review or debate.
Dr. Harris called the move “a flagrant breach of the Constitution and parliamentary tradition,” warning that the practice undermines transparency and accountability. “No serious parliament can go years without approving a single set of minutes,” he said after exiting the chamber.
The Speaker defended the decision as administrative housekeeping, but critics were unconvinced, branding the move a “world record disgrace.” The opposition’s walkout triggered renewed calls for the Speaker’s resignation and sparked a wider public discussion about record-keeping, accountability, and respect for parliamentary norms in St. Kitts and Nevis.
October 10: Trinidad Opposition Follows Suit
Four days later, on October 10, 2025, the Opposition United National Congress (UNC) in Trinidad and Tobago staged its own walkout from the House of Representatives in Port of Spain.
The UNC accused the Speaker of partisan bias, claiming she had repeatedly blocked urgent questions, ignored points of order, and allowed government members to breach standing orders without consequence.
“The Speaker has failed in her duty to act impartially,” the Opposition declared in a statement. “Parliament is not the property of any political party or Presiding Officer.”
The dramatic exit was seen as a culmination of months of rising tension and frustration, with opposition MPs arguing that parliamentary rules were being selectively applied to silence dissenting voices.
Political analyst Dr. Marcia Ferdinand described the twin walkouts as “a warning sign that parliamentary democracy in the Caribbean is teetering on the edge of performative politics.”
“When chairs become political shields rather than constitutional referees,” she said, “democracy becomes theatre, not governance.”
A Pattern Emerging
While St. Kitts and Trinidad are very different political environments, both incidents point to the same regional fault line: the perception that Speakers — the guardians of parliamentary order — are no longer impartial.
In Westminster-style systems like those across the Caribbean, the Speaker’s authority depends not on power but on public confidence in fairness. Once that credibility erodes, parliamentary control collapses into confrontation.
Governance experts say the implications are serious: eroded trust between government and opposition, declining public confidence in state institutions, and growing voter cynicism that “rules” are flexible tools of political advantage.
Why It Matters
Parliamentary walkouts are not new in the Caribbean, but what makes these recent events different is their frequency and intensity — and
the regional echo they’ve created. Social media has amplified images of lawmakers storming out, with citizens from Barbados to Belize questioning whether the same erosion of decorum could be happening in their own legislatures.
Analysts warn that if this perception takes hold, it risks diminishing the moral authority of parliamentary democracy itself.
“Once opposition MPs believe the rules are rigged, and once citizens believe Parliament is just performance,” said one Caribbean governance researcher, “you’ve lost the most valuable currency in democracy — trust.”
Restoring Balance
Political reformers across the region are calling for tighter Standing Order enforcement, independent parliamentary service commissions, and training to strengthen Speaker neutrality. Civil society leaders say the public must also play its part by demanding transparency and refusing to normalize partisan manipulation of parliamentary procedure.
Whether these twin walkouts become catalysts for reform — or simply another episode of Caribbean political theatre — will depend on what happens next inside those chambers.
For now, democracy watchers agree on one thing: when opposition leaders feel the only way to be heard is to walk out, the entire democratic house — not just its Speaker — is in danger of collapse.
Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.
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