A new immigration form was introduced in 2015. Thank goodness! Those who have been to Jamaica before then will no doubt remember the almost painful experience of filling out the immigration form, especially that confusing bottom portion for the departure information. Well, no more!

 

Although this form is much easier to complete, you still have to pay attention to what you are doing to prevent mistakes. Mistakes hold up the lines … not a good thing when you have a few hundred people trying to get to the wonderful sunshine outside.

 

Use black or blue pen only. There are never enough on the airplane and people are always borrowing pens. Bring your own.

Don’t be intimidated by the form. Slow down. Make sure you answer the right question on the right line.

Complete both sides of the form as appropriate. The front of the form is the Immigration Form, whch is one per person. The back of the form is the customs form, which is one per family or household, including children under age 18.

The forms are included below in the post for your convenience. Please do not print them off and fill them out ahead of time thinking that you can use them on arrival. Sorry, you can’t. You would have to transfer the information to the real form that will be given to you during the flight.

 

 

 

The Immigration Form

 

Jamaica Immigration form - Side A

 

Each person, including children, will need a properly completed immigration form. If you want to be asked to leave the line and let others go ahead of you, have the form incomplete or do not have one for your child.

All dates are written day first, then month, then year. For example, November 23, 2015 is written 23/11/2015. Do not write month, day, then year as they do in the United States.

You must put a street address for your home address. Don’t put a P.O. Box number.

You must know your address at which you are staying otherwise they will hassle you. Our villa has had situations where Immigration has called to verify that we have guests arriving. If you are staying at a hotel it is a little easier because you could just say the name of the hotel and the town. Usually that is good enough.

Technically, tourists need a return ticket and proof of financial ability to take care of themselves in Jamaica. I have never been asked for proof of either.

Flight Number/Vessel Name is on your boarding pass.

“Port arriving from” is the airport at which you got on the airplane to get to Jamaica. This is not necessarily the first airport from which you started your trip to Jamaica. If, for example, you started your trip in Chicago then changed planes in Atlanta and flew to Jamaica, Atlanta would be the port from which you are arriving.

Question 11A asks about how many pieces of luggage you brought with you on the flight. Be sure to include hand luggage. If you have a backpack, include that in the count too. Generally, they don’t include a simple ladies’ handbag in the count. If your hand bag is as big as a carry-on, they might include it in the count. The agents generally don’t pay too much attention to this for people who are clearly tourists. My personal feeling is that they look at the amount of luggage that you have to help them determine if you might have things to declare that you aren’t declaring. If you have alot of luggage, chances are they will “randomly” send you for a luggage check.

Question 11B refers to items that you may have shipped, usually by a freight forwarder. This does not refer to luggage that is arriving on another airplane.

Question 12 is generally not referring to packaged food items. Usually it is the fresh fruit you brought with you as a snack that they are worried about. Do your part to keep Jamaica safe. Do not bring plant or animal material into the island. If they find you with undeclared food items, the items will be confiscated. If you are Jewish and are bringing in kosher meats, this should have been arranged ahead of time and a permit or a meat inspection certificate obtained from the Ministry of Agriculture. With notice, the Jamaica Tourist Board can assist with this process.

The immigration form asks about pharmaceuticals in question 12b. I just write “prescription medicines” and usually they don’t give a hassle. Make sure that your medicines are in the original prescription bottles, especially if they are narcotics. If you are on narcotic pain medicines, make doubly sure that you have enough for your trip because it is extremely difficult to get narcotic prescriptions filled in Jamaica. Repeat x 2. Also, they must be in the original prescription bottle bearing YOUR name.

If you answer “Yes” to any questions between #11A and 15, except for prescription medicines for your own use, you will need to go in the “Items to Declare” line.

 

 

 

The Custom Form

 

 

 

Jamaica Custom Form

 

Only one custom form, which is the back of the immigration form, is completed per family ...