What if you want to stay longer?

French Polynesia is a dream destination, which is why so many cruisers plan to sail at least a year in the area and some never leave. Cruisers in French Polynesia tend fall into one of the following four visa options:

• Option 1: They did not apply for a long stay visa before arriving, so after 90 days they are moving West. They are ineligible to change their mind.
• Option 2: They received a long stay visa and plan to stay a full year. Two months prior to their long stay visa expiring, they apply for a CDS. The extension allows them the freedom to explore the Society Islands prior to moving West. They only use 3-6 months of the CDS and only have 3-4 months before cyclone season starts again.
• Option 3: They received a long stay visa and plan/decide to stay two full years. Two months prior to their long stay visa expiring, they apply for a CDS. If the CDS expires after 1 May, they are free to head West. The advantage of this is that they have already explored the Society Islands, providing six months of sailing West before cyclone season starts on 1 December. If the CDS expires prior to 1 May, often the Head Commission will grant a month extension until the end of cyclone season. For these cruisers, it’s much better to arrive in French Polynesia AFTER 1 May.
• Option 4: They decide they want to remain in French Polynesia. After two years, they apply for a second CDS and pay 7% import tax on their boat value. Every year they have to re-apply for a CDS, but their boat is only imported once.

We arrived in French Polynesia thinking we would be on the Option 3 plan, but after eight months we decided we wanted to stay for the full two years. Unfortunately, our long stay visa expires at the end of March so we will be in limbo for a month after our CDS expires.

But, we will worry about that next year. The first step was to apply for the CDS for this year and while we dreaded the process, we were pleasantly surprised that it was both straight forward and much easier than we anticipated.

Agent or No Agent?

There are two agents available for helping with the CDS process: Tahiti Crew (located in Tahiti) and Kevin Ellis (located in Nuku Hiva). We chose Tahiti Crew because we could physically walk into their office, which made it easier to ask questions and hand in our documents. The cost quoted for Tahiti Crew was 16,000XPF per person (approx. USD$141), not including taxes and fees. I think Kevin Ellis is less expensive.

We chose to work with Tahiti Crew for several reasons. First, we are not fluent French speakers. Second, we wanted an advocate if there was an issue with our application. Third, we wanted the freedom to leave Tahiti and know that we had support on the ground. Fourth, their written communication and timeliness was excellent.

CDS Process – First Steps

To start the process, we sent an email to Tahiti Crew with photos of our passport pages, visas, and entry stamps. Tahiti Crew responded with a clear letter of procedure and cost, list of documents required and blank application forms.

To collect the Fiscal Stamp, they charged a 6,000XPF service fee (approx. USD$53) and for document translation 3,300XPF (approx. USD$29) + 12% of the translators final invoice. We only hired Tahiti Crew for document collection and submission. We bought the Fiscal Stamp and had our documents translated independent of our agent.

It took about 15 minutes for us to buy the Fiscal Stamp at the post office in Papeete. It cost 9,000XPF (approx. USD$80) for one stamp and the teller knew exactly what we needed. As a married couple, we only needed one stamp, but then our marriage certificate would have to be translated and submitted. For translation, we priced out a number of official government French translators, and they all charged the same amount: 1800XPF per page (approx. USD$16).

CDS Process – Collection of Documents

Applications can be printed in black/white and front to back; we printed them in Papeete. Using a black (blue is fine too) pen, I completed both mine and my husband’s application. I used regular print, not block letters. I uploaded our passport photos, entry stamps, customs declaration of entry, long stay visas, birth certificates, boat registration, health insurance, and bank statement onto a Google drive and emailed the link to Kuuipo, our contact at Tahiti Crew.  I physically handed to Kuuipo our two sets of application forms, two photo IDs, 1 fiscal stamp, and filled out the attestation in the Tahiti Crew office with her support.

Kuuipo is perfectly fluent in several languages, organized and incredibly patient. For each applicant, she has a checklist stapled to a file folder. As you hand in documents, she checks off what has been completed. Documents can be turned in piecemeal.

While with Kuuipo, I asked specifically what part of the documents needed to be translated. On some pages, it was just a couple of things. If a bank statement or insurance document was 10 pages long, they often did not require anything beyond the first page if the first page included our names, dates of birth, and amount of coverage. The same for bank statements. It was very simple.

CDS Process – Payment

After completing the submission of our documents, Kuuipo sent us an online payment link. Our invoice was $300US. We also spent $150 on translations and $90 for the fiscal stamp for a total of $540. Our other American friends who had Tahiti Crew do it all had a bill of $670.

• TIP 1: Make sure when you check into French Polynesia, you get a hard copy of customs entry (front page of the entry application that is filled out electronically) signed, dated and stamped upon arrival. You can use this to reduce the cost of boat work and you need it for the CDS Application.
• TIP 2: Be mindful of your arrival date to French Polynesia especially if you are planning Option 3, staying for a full two years.

Eileen Councill
SV Blown Away

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About the Authors

Eileen and her husband Brown have lived onboard their Leopard 44 Catamaran, Blown Away, since November 2020. They bought their boat sight unseen in St. Lucia, having never sailed before. Their first four years consisted of traveling the Caribbean, Bahamas, East Coast, and then to Guatemala, Colombia, and Panama. They transited the Panama Canal in January 2024 and crossed the Pacific Ocean to French Polynesia in March 2024. Their plan is to remain in the land of cheese and wine until April 2026.

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Related Links:

• Noonsite – French Polynesia – Immigration – Applying for a Long Stay Visa
• Jacaranda Journey – Other Good Stuff – Applying for a Long Stay Visa

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The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the view of Noonsite.com or World Cruising Club.

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