US citizens are granted 90-days stay in St.Maarten
The Immigration Department has stated that it will strictly enforce the Revised Instructions on Immigration Policy for the Netherlands Antilles sent to the Lt. Governors by the Minister of Justice in June 2006. All rules on Admittance and Expulsion will have to be adhered to by visitors to the island. According to Chief of the Immigration Department Police Commissioner Ademar Doran, this means "things will be done by the book and we will not be reinventing anything."
Regarding a recent incident reported in this newspaper involving American citizens who traveled to the island and were stopped by Immigration officers at Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA), Doran said the officers had acted correctly in that they had requested that the visitors produce return tickets, which they had not had in their possession.
He told The Daily Herald in an interview at the Philipsburg police station Tuesday, "Chapter 5.4 of the Revised Instructions on Immigration Policy stipulates that a visitor needs to produce a valid passport, travel documents, (if they are coming from a visa-restricted country, a valid visa), a return ticket to their country of origin or any other country outside the Netherlands Antilles, information about their purpose for visiting the island and the address at which they intend to stay."
Doran said visitors should also be able to prove, if asked, that they have the means to sustain themselves for the duration of their visit. Doran said visitors coming from countries that are Kingdom partners have a six-month maximum stay. Tourists with a three-month stay can extend that to a maximum of three more months, which is called an extended short stay. Citizens of the European Union (EU), the USA, Canada, Australia, New days.
Citizens traveling from countries for which a visa is not required to enter St. Maarten have a maximum of 30 days and those who are required to have visas may stay only as long as the visa permits. Doran said a procedure had been put in place for persons from countries for which there were no visa restrictions who were interested in requesting extensions of their stay. To extend their stay, these persons must collect request forms at the Philipsburg police station, complete them and submit them to the Immigration Office within five to seven days of the expiration of their stay.
They will next be called and interviewed by the Chief Immigration Officer, who will evaluate each request and then take a decision. Doran said it must be made clear that if one had entered the island on a visa, the time allotted by that visa could not be extended. Once that time expires, the person must leave the Netherlands Antilles. Some persons claimed to have also been told that they had a maximum of 30 days to stay on the island.
Doran said the law permitted US citizens to stay up to 90 days (three sets of 30 days) without requiring an extension. However, he stated that all visitors needed return tickets to show that they would be returning to their country of origin or entering another island outside the Netherlands Antilles after then-stay in St. Maarten expired. He said this information was provided as part of a general Immigration Information and Education process to ensure that all persons were fully aware of procedures and that they were fully compliant.
» US citizens are granted 90-days stay in St.Maarten
