Sail Chandelle

Pacific Coast at Baja Naval in Ensenada

Our sailing travels were delayed while we sat at anchor in San Diego harbor waiting on our insurance carrier to provide approval for our plans to spend the coming year in Mexico. I spent some of this extra time researching for a list of required documents for checking in to Mexico – and found many varied opinions on whether it’s easier or more beneficial to obtain some of the required paperwork online prior to entering the country or to wait and do everything in person on arrival. There was also the latest ongoing issue with expired TIPs (Temporary Import Permits – which are required for any boat entering Mexico) to consider. We knew our boat had been to Mexico in the 80s and hoped this was well before the time frame of the current TIP issues and on arrival we learned the TIP process didn’t start til 1992!! For more info on this problem, check out this great explanation article from Latitude 38: https://www.latitude38.com/lectronic/the-situation-on-tips-explained/ We also found this search tool to check for an old TIP on your boat: https://portalsat.plataforma.sat.gob.mx/aduanas_cpitv_internet/index.aspx?fbclid=IwY2xjawGzZa1leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHQKzl55pqHqJ_fEfNDWTqk-pUnx9er1oQtJ9Bt0rQXseGTTmaanQ9nbXdg_aem_rLIZl9WAw0kHb5zIWDXGOg

We opted not to apply for any documentation ahead online (Tourist Visas or TIP) as we didn’t know exactly how soon we’d be crossing the border and we didn’t want to risk having to pay again once we did check in, if something hadn’t processed correctly. We did prepare multiple copies of our passports, our USCG (United States Coast Guard) boat document and templates of a crew list. We did not end up needing our copies, however, as the Harbormaster at Baja Naval, the marina where we arrived in Ensenada, automatically prepared all of these things for us after requesting our documentation via email, in order to make the reservation. As there is no safe place to anchor in Ensenada, you must tie up to one of the 3 marinas in order to check in to the country there. We were charged a fee for the assistance with all of the paperwork and checking in – we felt the cost was reasonable enough and appreciated the help – though it would’ve been convenient if the fees were spelled out ahead of time since doing any of it ourselves was not an option we were given.

For what it’s worth, this was our experience and what we’d suggest being prepared for, if you’re looking to check in to Mexico by boat in Ensenada. When we were finally insured and the weather was right for leaving San Diego, I made a reservation at Baja Naval Marina in Ensenada using the form request on their website. Within a couple hours I received an email reply from the dock master saying they had room to accommodate us if we could email back the following documents: boat documentation, boat insurance, copies of passports for all crew and our TIP if we had it already (we did not). Along with these documents I let them know we were planning to travel overnight from San Diego and arrive early in the morning. The reply came back again quickly with our slip assignment and said if we arrived before her office hours we could find the security guard for a gate key.

While we did arrive before 0800, we spent some time getting the boat cleaned up and sails packed away after the passage and as we were finishing up, the dock master came down to the boat and requested one of us go with her to the office to fill out some forms. They first had me fill out a health status questionnaire – though the form was actually pre-filled with “no” circled for all of the questions regarding illnesses and they just had me fill in our personal information at the top and sign. I then filled in their crew list form and she made a number of copies. (If you’re interested in the crew list template for the information required, post a comment below!) She’d also made several copies of our boat documentation and our passports and had several stacks of these copies for other arriving boats – all very well organized. Finally, she handed me a list of goods and equipment which I was to check mark anything we had on the boat – this paper was collected when we applied for our TIP, and I assume it’s also used to determine if you need to declare anything through customs.

Once finished with the forms, she asked us to meet her back in the office an hour later to walk to the port captain with her. We quickly showered and changed into clean clothes to look decent for the check-in process. The walk from Baja Naval Marina to the immigration offices was easy and took less than 10 minutes. Here is a rough breakdown of how the process went once we arrived at the offices:

Approach the first window ahead on the left – “Secretaria de Gobernacion Institute de Migracion with:

Passport & Crew list copies

They provide a visa form for you to fill out.

After you pay the fee – credit cards are preferred – they stamp your crew lists which end up going to the port captain to become your check-in/check-out papers.

Then they stamp your passports which serves as your FMM visa and states the date in which it expires.

For visas – we did the standard tourist visa FMM good for 180 days

Next for the TIP for your boat – approach the window across/behind you – “Banjercito” with:

Boat Documentation

Captains Passport or a copy of it

Your engine serial number

List of goods and equipment – I received this from the dock master at the marina and had filled it out ahead of time, otherwise they would provide it for you at the counter.

Once they have entered all of your information and you’ve paid the fee they will print copies of the TIP and have you verify line by line that all information is correct and then have the captain sign copies. They stamp these and keep one and give you one – the form also includes your email address in which they will send you an electronic copy. They will then stamp and have the captain sign the list of goods & equipment.

Finally, at the “Aduana” (customs) window to the left of the entrance (facing it from the inside) – Yajahira, the dockmaster, handed them a few of the completed papers, mainly the list of goods and equipment, again I assume to make sure we don’t owe any import fees – unfortunately I didn’t see exactly what else she handed them, but they just looked everything over and then handed them back.

During this process we did not go to the port captains window where you obtain the Mexican “Check-in and check-out” papers – it seems they have an agreement with the marina and the port captains office prepares this paperwork after you’ve cleared customs and immigration, but it takes some time and they would not let us personally pick up these papers once completed – the harbormaster had to go herself to pick them up for us.

List of required documents to check-in to Mexico at Ensenada:

• Passports for all crew members
• Boat documentation: USCG Certificate or Boat Registration – if there is a company or bank listed on your documentation (i.e. you still have a loan on your boat, additional documentation will be required)
• Crew list – 5 copies, likely to be provided by the marina in which you tie up, here is a link to a template: https://www.spanishforcruisers.com/sfc-cheatsheet-crewlist.htm
• Your engine serial number – this can be written down on a copy of the captains passport for ease of use at the Banjercito
• Knowledge of your goods & equipment to fill out form at Banjercito (see copy below)
• Boat Insurance – this is required by the marina, I don’t believe it was used for the actual checking in process. We had not yet purchased Mexican liability insurance and Baja Naval did not ask for it. We wanted to make sure we did not have any issues with our TIP or checking in before we paid for this insurance, though it is relatively inexpensive depending on the age of your vessel.

If you’re a cruiser planning on heading to the Baja side of Mexico in the near future and have questions or if you’ve had a different experience checking in to Mexico – please leave a comment below!