How to fill in Jamaica's Online Immigration/Customs C5 Form

What you need before you start

• Your passport.
• An email address you can open: you verify it with a code sent to you.
• Your trip details and the address where you will stay in Jamaica.
• Answers to the customs questions about what you are bringing, such as currency, agricultural goods and restricted items.
• For each child travelling with you: the child's passport and personal details.
• About 5 minutes per form.

Step by step

1. 1Open the official site, enterjamaica.gov.jm.
2. 2Verify your email address with the code sent to you.
3. 3Enter your personal and passport details, your trip details and your intended address in Jamaica.
4. 4Answer "Yes" or "No" to the customs questions about what you are bringing, such as currency, agricultural goods and restricted items. Cash or travellers' cheques of US$10,000 or more must be declared.
5. 5Review your form. Check that your name and passport number are spelled correctly, accept the legal declaration and submit.
6. 6Your form is processed immediately and a confirmation is emailed to you. If it does not arrive, check your spam or junk folder. Keep a screenshot of the confirmation on your phone, as you may need to show it when you land.
7. 7On arrival, go to a kiosk and complete the entry process. Take your kiosk receipt to the Immigration Officer for verification, then, after baggage claim, show it to the Customs Officer.

When to submit

You can submit the C5 form up to 30 days before you arrive.

Jamaican government sources say to complete it before you reach the airport. The UK FCDO says to complete it online before you arrive "where possible". If you need help at the airport, kiosks and desk agents can assist.

You need a new C5 form for every trip.

Cost

The C5 form is free. Jamaica's Minister of National Security said: "The service is entirely free." The Jamaica Customs Agency says: "This service is free of charge to visitors and residents."

Other costs are separate. UK FCDO says arrival and departure taxes are usually included in the cost of your ticket. If your nationality needs a visa, you apply through a Jamaican embassy, high commission or consulate and PICA (pica.gov.jm). The C5 form is not a visa. Most US, Canadian and UK visitors need no visa for stays of up to 90 days.

Families and children

• Every traveller needs their own completed C5 form, whatever their age. There is no single form for a group.
• A parent or guardian completes a separate form for each child under 18, using that child's passport and personal details.
• A child under 18 can be listed in the Customs Declaration section of a parent's form. If two parents travel together, only one should list the children.
• Use the option to "add the number accompanying family members". Use one email address for the whole family so all confirmations go to one inbox.
• Unaccompanied minors need a C5 form completed by a parent or guardian before travel.

Fake websites: how to spot them

Jamaica's Minister of National Security has warned travellers to avoid websites that charge to complete the form: "Don't use any of these illegal sites." The Royal Cayman Islands Police Service has warned that c5jamaica.com is a scam that offers the C5 form for a fee.

• The official site is enterjamaica.gov.jm. It ends in .gov.jm, the Jamaican government domain.
• The C5 form is free. Avoid any third-party website that charges a fee to process it.
• Jamaica's Ministry of National Security advises not to trust sites that do not carry the official name of the Government's C5 form.
• PICA's site, pica.gov.jm, also links to the genuine C5 form.

Common mistakes

• Spelling your name or passport number wrong. The form cannot be edited after you submit, so you must submit a new form with the correct details.
• Paying a third-party site. The official form is free.
• Reusing a form from a previous trip. You need a new C5 form for each trip.
• Both parents listing the same children in their customs section. Only one parent should.
• Missing the confirmation email. Check your spam or junk folder.
• Not declaring cash or travellers' cheques of US$10,000 or more.