The following is the UNOFFICIAL protocol for clearing into Majuro, the capital of the Marshall Islands.
Please note that the Immigration division requests that you notify them by email well in advance of arrival (rmi_majuro@rmiimmigration.org).
Majuro is one of the easiest places in the Pacific to clear in, with everything often achieved within an hour of picking up a mooring. On approaching the pass, or shortly after coming through, you are required to attempt to contact the port control on VHF Channel 16. Generally, however, there will be no response. After trying on 16, call the cruising fleet on VHF Channel 71 (hailing frequency) and then move to Channel 68 or 72 for conversation and ask for assistance from a fellow sailor.
Their recommendation will most likely be to pick up a suggested mooring (it is allowed for another yacht to assist you onto a mooring but not to board, nor are any items allowed to be handed over). The easiest way to contact Customs and Immigration is to have a fleet member call Customs. After a time has been decided on, you will be asked to meet the officials at the pilot steps inside Uliga Dock (which is the government’s domestic dock for its field trip ships). The dock is next to the mooring field. Take your paperwork with you and then stay in your dinghy next to the steps until a Customs officer arrives. He will have arranged for an Immigration officer to also meet you at this location. After completing the paperwork, the Immigration office will want you to take him to your yacht so he can take a photo of it. They normally don’t want to board your boat. And you’re done.
Absolutely the best time to arrive in Majuro is during business hours Monday to Friday and not on a public holiday (of which there are quite a number). If you arrive out of hours or on a holiday the officials clearing you in may charge you a fee that is to be paid to the Secretary of Finance. The overtime fees are usually: Immigration $100, Customs $100, and Quarantine $75.
Follows are a few more UNOFFICIAL items related to Immigration/visa rules and the clearing in process (in no particular order):
It’s recommended you contact Immigration at least 72 hours in advance of your arrival: rmi_majuro@rmiimmigration.org
All American citizens can live and work in RMI without the need of a visa.
There are some varieties on the following theme, but generally non-American cruisers pay $200 for a year’s visa, which is not renewable.
If you have telephone capability, the country’s area code is 692. Customs: 625-8606. Immigration: 625-8633.