Bermuda Visa & Immigration Laws

Tickets

A return or onward ticket is required for entry into Bermuda. Persons arriving with a one-way ticket will not be admitted into Bermuda unless prior approval from the Bermuda Department of Immigration has been obtained.

Passports

Visitors from all countries must present a valid, machine-readable passport to ensure entry into Bermuda.

Married women whose identification documents are in their maiden name but who are travelling under their married name should also carry their marriage certificate or certified copy as further proof of identity.

Bermuda Visas

The Bermuda Department of Immigration states that nationals of the following countries require visas (list issued May 1 2010):

'Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bolivia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Bolivia, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, China*, Columbia, Congo, Croatia, Cote d'Ivoire, Cuba, Cyprus, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, India, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Korea, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Macedonia, Malawi, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Myanmar (Burma), Nepal, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestinian Authorities, Panama, Phlippines, Qatar, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Soviet Union (former), Sri Lanka, Sudan, Swaziland, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkish Rep of N Cyprus, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Venezuala, Vietnam, Yemen, Yugoslavia, Zimbabwe.'

* Holders of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Passports or British National (Overseas) Passports do not need a visa to enter Bermuda.

Exceptions to the visa rules above will be made for visitors to Bermuda having a valid passport and proof of right of abode in the United States, Canada or the United Kingdom. This means for:

US Residents: a Permanent Resident Card
Canada Residents: a Permanent Resident Card
UK Residents: must be able to show no limit has been placed on their stay in the UK

Visitors travelling on to another country after Bermuda and requiring a visa for that country must be in possession of the relevant visa before entry into Bermuda.

Visas to enter Bermuda may be obtained from any British Embassy or Consulate overseas.

Length of Stay

Visitors are permitted to stay for up to 21 days (giving you 1 day to explore each square mile of the island). Extensions are only granted by the Bermuda Department of Immigration and are the exception rather than the rule.

Warning: Like all immigration regulations these days, the rules above are subject to change. We try to keep as up to date as possible but recommend that you download the Department of Tourism's latest guidelines.

Reviews / Comments / Additional Information

Guys, we were screwed. We had cruise scheduled on May 8th and had planned 3 months ago for the trip. At that time there was no visa requirements for Indian Citizens and other 100 or so countries. All of a sudden things changed from May 1st without any notice 100 additional countries now require visa. Cruise Lines nor travel agency inform us regarding this. Now we are fighting out how to get the money back.

Editor

We've now updated the visa requirements list. To be fair to us the Bermuda government didn't publicise the fact that the rules had changed for citizens of many countries such as India etc. As I'm writing this (14/5/2010) the new rules haven't even been updated on the Department of Tourism website. If they can't keep up with their own regulations, I don't think it's fair to criticise us.

shanthi

I really have to agree to Lo. I just arrived from the US after being in Bermuda for the last 1 month. I was refused entry visa on the pretext that the rules have changed from may 1st for Indian citizens. I was lucky to have been given the visa because the US did not check on this. However my daughter who is to arrive in Bermuda on the 14th will not be allowed. This has caused so much inconvenience as her connecting flights have all got to be cancelled with no refunds. In such conditions where the traveller has purchased the tickets one month ago they should be considered and given a visa on arrival with a grace period of 1 month.

This site needs to be updated on a timely and regular basis.
The new visa requirements that came into effect on May 1st are not reflected here and have therefore prevented me from travelling to Bermuda as a Philippine citizen.
Thus, I now have a useless and non-refundable cruise ticket.
You will have to apply for a UK overseas territory visa through the UK visa website. Give plenty of time as processing takes much too long.

Hello

Editor is correct. Owing to the fact that the UK has the most complicated immigrations law in the world (there are 5 classes of British Nationality) not even normal British citizens have the right of abode in any overseas territory. Right to live/work in a British Overseas Territory without a visa is based on having a status known as belonger status. This can only be acquired if you were born there or have lived there for a long time as a visa national (usually 10 years). So no.

Editor

Heather. The short answer is no. Even British citizens need a work permit and don't have any advantages over any other nationality.

Heather Pert

What if I have British patriality? Does that give me any special permission to work in Bermuda?

Editor

Angel. You are wrong. The information is not outdated. Bermuda doesn't have any embassies abroad. It is represented by Britain. If you need a visa (see the list) you need to go to a British embassy. You won't find a Bermudian one.

Angel

"Visas to enter Bermuda may be obtained from any British Embassy or Consulate overseas."
This information is obviously outdated.

Tom Parry

It's worth emphasizing that US citizens arriving by air now need a passport. Cruise passengers still have until 2008.