Federated States of Micronesia - Facts
- ALERT: FSM are suffering severe drought conditions (March 2024) with a dire shortage of food and water.
- Important pre-arrival information: Prior to arriving in FSM an Immigration Permit and Vessel Entry Application must be submitted. See Formalities for all the details.
- The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) are Kosrae, Pohnpei, Chuuk (formerly Truk) and Yap, stretching over a vast expanse of Pacific Ocean just north of the equator. Geographically, these four small states are part of the Caroline Islands, consisting between them of over 600 islands, of which only 65 are inhabited. Also part of Chuuk state are the isolated Mortlocks, Hall Islands and Western Islands.
- The name “Falalop” means “big island” or “main island” Many atolls in the Outer Islands, like Woleai, have an island which is called Falalop, meaning it is the main island of that atoll.
- FSM has a population of around 105,000. The official language is English. There are also several local languages spoken including Chuukese, Kosraean, Pohnpeian, Yapese, Ulithian, Woleaian, Nukuoro, and Kapingamarangi.
- The currency of Micronesia is the United States Dollar. However, some islands such as the Yap Island use other currencies alongside the US dollar. Cash is required for most transactions here. Only in Chuuk is it possible to obtain money using a credit card.
- Time zones vary in the islands. Chuuk time is UTC +10. Pohnpei Standard Time and Kosrae Standard Time are UTC +11.
- Micronesia has a warm tropical climate with little change in temperature throughout the year. January to March is the dry season. See weather.
- For the cruising sailor the Federated States of Micronesia offer a chance to come in contact with a Micronesian society which has managed to preserve most of its traditions despite successive waves of foreign domination. Close links with the United States have brought a higher living standard, but also the social problems of modern life, which the islanders are making an effort to overcome by returning to more traditional way of life.
- Facilities vary widely across the Federation, with basic repair facilities in the main centres and very little in the outer islands. There are fisheries plants in several islands and wherever there is a base for fishing boats, one may be able to find at least a modicum of repair facilities. One should carry a good supply of essential spares as the only parts that may be available locally are those used in trucks or heavy plant in use on the islands. See Yachting Essentials for more information.
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SY Run to Paradise
Direct passage from Luganville to Kosrae November 2022. Re formalities breath easy folks if arriving On Kosraeor Pohnpei, all will be well as long as you have you FSM Vessel Entry Permit before you depart your last port. On arrival you should have hard copies of your crew list, manifest, sailing schedule all to hand. On Kosrae Mary-Lou Sigrah fmk.mallen@gmail.com is the field office for Immigration. On Pohnpei Eugene is at IMHQ ie head office contact eugenemarquez82@yahoo.com. Both are very helpful and prompt repliers. Expect to have missed something on your application and resubmit, for us we had an old pdf of the application form.
If arriving at Lelu anchor off the obvious concrete Wharf or tie to it with decent fenders. It’s no lobgervin use. Walk down to ACE Hardware and they will call Immigration who will attend, they will call customs and quarantine. Port Authority might get forgotten. Call them at Okat and they will probably get one of their employees who lives in Lelu to drop by for you details and $50 entry fee. If some random dude in no uniform rocks up and says he is from the port authority, he actually is. When we left they didn’t want an exit fee just issued the departure certificate. 24 hours before departure visit Customs above the Bank of Guam in Tofol for a custons clearance certificate. Ask them to please call Immigration who will meet you on the wharf at time of departure to stamp your passports. Also at least 24 hours before call Port Authority for Harbour Clearance of go around to Okat. All professional and friendly, there is no suggestion whatsoever of crime graft or corruption on Kosrae. Church attendance is very high, even if your a bit lapsed the big white congretionlist church would welcome you for Sunday service. 3 times if your extra devout!
Pohnpei is a very busy harbour. Call Port Control on CH 10 or 16 before entering the leads. For shipping the channel tight so you will be asked to stand off if there is shipping movement. Those Tuna boats on the AIS are Tuna ships. They also need to make sure there are no aircraft movement’s. Port Control will direct you to their wharf near the police patrol shifts. You will probably tie alongside their green pilot boat. After thing you up they will call Customs Immigration Quarantine AND the EPA who will all busy sequentially. Each state in FSM is like a whole new country. No fees for anyone but it takes about 2 hours, I think there us a quarantine fee but the wuarsntine chap just wanted to go home I think as it was getting late. Same again in reverse when leaving. Call Port Authority, Tie up, pay you $100 flat fee harbour dues
Please note that the email address on the Application form is not accurate. After it was rejected I called an immigration officer, Erwin, at the number on the form 691 320 5844 who informed me that the application should be sent to:
eugenemarquez82@yahoo.com
I did and got a prompt reply acknowledging my application request. In addition to all the documents listed above, he requested the vaccination certificate of each crew .
Stayed over 9 months in Pohnpei and left boat in mangrove bay marina. Contact Kumer Panuelo owner of marina, bar and restaurant he moved a few boats around to make room and we had a local guy named Robinson come aboard and run engine, vent etc. all went very well. Checking out is all about timing. Is a plane or ship is in it will take awhile 100$ departure fee and 60$ overtime fees on Saturday
Stopped in Oroluk atoll 4 days. Only 4 members of Kapinga tribe there. Incredibly generous with their local bounty. Coco crabs, papaya, green coconut, pandanus fruit, bananas, and more fish than we could use. We brought a load from the Kapinga village in Pohnpei
Arrived Chuuk and received immense help from Bill Stine at Truk stop restaurant and dive shop. They have a good mooring available and helped with logistics
Note on cruising permit for FSM now a 6 month permit is available. A new director of immigration is trying to change previously noted poor policy
Cleared into Chuuk yesterday. Had no answer on VHF so came in to the dock at the Truk Stop Hotel as we anchored in front of their dock. They called authorities for us and the police arrived instantly and had us go wait at the end of the dock. I guess we were not to come ashore because of the coronavirus quarantine. We waited an hour and health officials arrived and took or temperature and as we had been at sea for 2 weeks we got clearance. Customs and Immigration arrive before they were through and did their paperwork quickly. All very smooth. Cannot say enough about how helpful the staff at the Truk Stop Hotel has been
Update on time for processing the “Application for Vessel to Enter the Federated States of Micronesia” form.
It was surprisingly fast. I sent the form and Crew List, Copies of each crew member’s passport photo page
Copy of vessel’s current documentation, Brief description of vessel (hull color, type, Gr & Net tonnage)
Call Sign, MMSI etc. Three days later I received the Vessel Entry Clearance Certificate.
2019 Update on WiFi and ATMs and credit cards. FSMTC is the only provider of cell and internet services in the FSM. A $10 sim and lots of plans to pick from. 3G is common in the four major islands, with 4G just being rolled out in Pohnpei. We were generally able to use 3G at anchor in the state capitals with 4G in Pohnpei. Speeds were OK to Very Good. Chuuk is the one exception, hit or mostly miss. It was dismal even at the telcom main office! They did bring a new fiber cable to Chuuk last year, but so far it has not been hooked up.
There are at least two ATMs in each of the major islands. A Bank of Guam and FSM Bank. The Bank of Guam ATMs are co-located at the TelCom offices. Only USD are dispensed which is the sole currency used in the FSM. $300 seems to be the daily withdrawal limit everywhere.
Credit cards are widely used in all the places a cruiser might find themselves, in all four state capitals. The hardware and large grocery stores, fuel stations, and many hotels and restaurants accept CCs without a surcharge, but ask first.
A note on Diesel Fuel in 2019: fuel was just under $5US per gallon (which is how it is sold) in all the major islands. Gasoline is somewhat cheaper. None is available anywhere else in the FSM.
Report on our FSM clearance experience at each of the four states of the FSM. You must clear in and out of each one as though they were separate countries. The main island of each state, Kosrae, Pohnpei, Chuuk, and Yap are the only place you may check in/out. To make it somewhat more confusing a Cruising Permit aka Vessel Entry Permit is required and issued for the entire FSM. You must have this before arriving at the first port of entry. The Vessel Entry Permit is only issued in Pohnpei at the main immigration office, in person or via email and valid for 30 days. Renewals are free. When you reapply, send ALL the documents you supplied for the original application before your current Permit expires. You need only update the dates. Renewals can be made via email or at the local Immigration office of each island. If you are going to be delayed in arriving in the FSM after your permit has expired, reapply before arrival and keep your emails and docs.
As we previously commented, Kosrae in and out clearance could not have been easier, a grand total of $50US. The $25 quarantine fee was waived. Kosrae is working hard to make stopping there attractive to cruisers. In the past a corrupt official caused a lot of concern. He is long gone and a group of young, visitor-oriented officials are in place now. I can say I actually enjoyed checking in and out here. 24hr notice to depart.
Pohnpei clearance was also very easy. Contact port control BEFORE entering the port channel. You will need permission to pass the end of the airport runway, low flying aircraft and masts are not compatible.
Proceed to the dock as directed, all formalities are done there. No charge for using this dock for clearance in or out. Port Fees were $100US. No other fees, including departure. Like all the FSM states, they will want to see your entry permit and take copies of all your documents. 24hour departure notification required. This is also the port you can get your permit renewed in person, after a long taxi ride to the capital.
Chuuk clearance only required a bit of patience, the port control office does NOT monitor VHF, so its best to send emails or call immigration prior to arrival. We had several phone numbers for port control but they were never answered. (try Saileen Fango at 691-330-2242 or 691-930-4431 she was great on our check out) Tie along side the inside dock and wait for the officials, during working hours it will be a quick check in. Port fees were $25US, do NOT pay a dock use fee for check in/out. Anchorage fees are $25 for first 48 hours, then $10/day for the days you stay in Chuuk Lagoon. These two fees are paid on exit. The quarantine fee at check in was $25. No other fees for in/out clearance. 24 hr notice to depart.
Yap entry was very efficient. Send an email to YAP Port Control (Tino Sugwemal at pfsoyap@gmail.com or 350-2403 or cell 950-2283) at least 24hrs prior to your ETA. On arrival, on VHF 16, contact port control 8:30 to 17:00 prior to entering the channel. Tino will notify all the clearance officials of your arrival and direct you to the anchorage. You will be asked to come ashore for the formalities. Port fees were $50 paid on arrival. No other fees for departure. You may be asked to pay a quarantine fee of $25 if this is your first port of call in the FSM.
There are many atolls in between the state capitals, they welcome visitors like few other places we have been. Only Ant Atoll near Pohnpei required permission (and a fee) of it’s Paramount Chief, who lives in Pohnpei, to visit. With your valid Cruising Permit you are allowed to visit all the atolls along the way. Keep your Permit renewed, but be advised very few atolls have any internet, so you will have to use your SSB or Sat-phone to keep them current. Hopefully with the new president taking office, a longer duration permit will become available.
We began to issue a permit a few months before our planned arrival at the FSM. We received it only after the intervention of our friend Mr.Smith from Kosrae. When we arrived at Pohnpei, the migration officers told us that our permit was invalid and asked for a 1000 USD fine (they made an error in the dates themselves!). After we were detained for 3 days and did not allow us to go outside the closed territory, we decided to leave the FSM. It remains an extremely negative impression of the state bodies of Pohnpei. Be careful and attentive in obtaining permits!
Mar 04, 2019 10:09 PM
March 2019. After clearing Kosrae for Pohnpei, we just wanted to post the total fees we paid for arrival and departure in Kosrae. US $50, total. Add a taxi fare to the departure side since you will likely need to go out to the airport for Port Authority clearance, unless you are departing from Okat Bay. All of the officials we encountered in the departure process were very friendly and helpful and gave us tips and advice on our next destination Pohnpei. We asked and they did let their counterparts in Pohnpei know we were on our way. Instant recognition upon arrival, another first for us.
January 2019. Our arrival clearance in Kosrae was very easy and all four official agencies were very friendly and professional. Smith telephoned the officials to notify them of our arrival. There are currently no monitored Government VHFs in Kosrae. Clearance was done at Smith’s quayside, with all the agencies arriving within a few minutes of each other. Be prepared with adequate copies of all documents including your approved Vessel Entry Permit. Quarantine may wish to inspect your boat.
There has been some confusion in the past with proper documentation prior to arrival in the FSM. There are two official applications that need to be submitted, along with their supporting documents. Both application forms are linked above. The immigration form is straightforward and delineates the supporting documents required.
The Vessel Entry Application (form 5002) is required and will be the basis for your “cruising” permit. What is not stated on the form is the additional information that has been required lately for its approval, which should be sent at time of Application:
Copy of your Crew List
Copies of each crew member’s passport photo page
Copy of Your vessel’s current documentation
Brief description of your vessel, hull color, type, Gr & Net tonnage
Call Sign etc.
These items we sent as a separate application directly to imhq@mail.fm. Cc everybody including Smith. You may still need to send reminders to get your Approved Vessel Entry, and don’t be surprised if you are asked to resend all that stuff again, KEEP it all Ready to Resend.
Glen McConchie says:
Sep 05, 2018 05:09 AM
Glen here a Kiwi who is an offshore sailor but living on the island of Yap for the last 5 years, Just a quick note to tell all that it is VERY IMPORTANT to have a valid cruising permit before entering FSM.
Here in Yap, I have seen several boats be fined $1000 USD each for not having one, even after showing proof of having applied but not received one. If a serious bit of revenue collecting is to be avoided I recommend you get it sorted in advance.
The problem lies with head office in Pohnpei, I was witness to and tried to help a Korean sailor who lost everything he owned on the outer reef here at night after falling asleep and landing on the reef.
The boat was a total loss and it still cost him $1000 for not having a cruising permit and a bucket load of other fees on top of that for hitting the reef and getting picked up by the local police.
He was lucky that a lot of his good gear was taken from the ship with the pickup but unlucky most of it disappeared and the rest was confiscated. Still a great place to visit just be sure to have all in order BEFORE arrival.
Posted on behalf of SY ARIEL IV – Kosrae Updates:
This is the Swedish sailing vessel Ariel IV, out on our second circumnavigation. We did the Northwest passage in 2010 and were cruising in the Pacific the last year, and we now have some good news for all the boats going to Micronesia and especially Kosrae (FSM).
After a long time of both high port fees and confusions, we can confirm that yachts now only have to pay 30 dollars for 90 days and then 1 dollar a day after that. No Custom or Immigration fees! There is also a Quarantine fee of 25 dollars.
The port control were very helpful and nice.
There are now two ATM machines that do take VISA cards, and others!
Smith, who is the helpful man at ACE Hardware, has a car that we can use for all purposes.
New fantastic hike can be done down in the village of Tafonsak, ask for the Mayor, pay him 10 dollars per head and ask for Lasarus to take you on a fantastic hike and swim upriver and to the waterfalls!
We also stayed one night inside the Otwa anchorage bay and there are two red mooring buoys which are alright in normal weather conditions. Beautiful anchorage and close to the inland mangrove area which you can explore if you have kayaks or SUPs or with a local guide on an outrigger.