What documents do I need to travel to Jamaica?
Jamaica is visa-free for many nationalities for up to 90 days, but everyone must file the online C5 immigration and customs form before arriving.
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Entering Jamaica - what you need
Jamaica's requirements are simple once the online form is out of the way. Have your passport, your C5 confirmation and your trip1 booking confirmation ready before you get to the airport.
- A passport valid for the whole of your stay, with two blank pages for the entry and exit stamps. Six months of validity is the safe target.
- A completed C5 immigration and customs declaration, submitted online before you travel.
- A return or onward ticket.
- The name and address of where you are staying in Jamaica.
- A yellow fever certificate if you are arriving from a country with transmission risk, and documents for any children travelling with you.
Do you need a visa for Jamaica?
Many nationalities, including US, UK, Canadian and EU passport holders, do not. You are usually granted up to 90 days, and the date you must leave by is stamped into your passport.
The stamp is what counts, not the 90-day figure. Officers can grant less, so read it before you leave the arrivals hall.
To stay longer you apply to Jamaica's Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency while you are still in the country. Visa-free lists change, so check the official list for your own passport before booking.
The online C5 immigration and customs form
Jamaica moved its arrival paperwork online. The C5 rolls the immigration form and the customs declaration into one submission that you complete on Jamaica's official entry portal before you travel.
Treat it as required rather than optional. Border officials may not let you through without pre-approval, and the form asks for your flight details, your Jamaican address and the usual customs questions.
You also declare cash on the C5 if you are carrying the equivalent of 10,000 US dollars or more in cash or travellers cheques.
Use the official government site only. Look-alike pages charge money for a form the government provides for free.
Travelling to Jamaica with children
Carry a copy of each child's birth certificate, or other evidence of your legal relationship to them. This is a standard check rather than an unusual one.
Important: If one parent travels without the other, bring a notarised consent letter from the absent parent or proof of sole custody. Without it you can be refused entry at the border.
Hotel check-in in Jamaica
Bring the passport you entered on. Jamaican hotels and resorts ask for photo ID at check-in and record guest details.
Your trip1 booking confirmation is where you copy the hotel name and address from when you fill in the C5, and it doubles as proof of accommodation if an officer asks where you are staying.
Download the confirmation before you fly. Airport wifi queues are not the place to discover you cannot open your email.
Entering Jamaica - FAQ
Many nationalities, including US, UK, Canadian and EU passport holders, do not need a visa for visits of up to 90 days. Check Jamaica's official list for your own passport before you travel.
The C5 is Jamaica's combined immigration and customs declaration. You fill it in online before you travel and show the confirmation at the border.
Yes, the online form asks where you are staying in Jamaica. Have your trip1 booking confirmation open when you fill it in so you can copy the hotel name and address exactly.
Your passport must stay valid for the whole of your stay, and you need blank pages for the entry and exit stamps. Six months of validity is the safe target.
Only if you are arriving from a country listed as a yellow fever transmission risk. Travellers coming straight from Europe or North America do not need one.
