Going to Florida on a Business trip. Thinking of a break in Bahamas. Any advice?

LiveOnce

Hello,

I am going to Florida on a business trip and was thinking of using the opportunity to go to the Bahamas for a week.

Are there any travel restrictions I should be aware of?

I have a British passport.

Just wondering with the US authorities being strict whether there would be anything I need to take into account.

My plan was:

1. Fly to Florida from UK
2. Business meetings
3. Fly to Bahamas for a week From Florida
4. Return to Florida and fly back to the UK

theonlywayisup

Nothing that springs to mind but it depends when you are going. If you are going imminently you may want to check if Irma did any damage (it skirted the lower islands and lots of people were taken to Nassau, I don't know what damage it did. Likewise, the hurricane season is still current and doesn't end officially until 30 November.

The Bahamas are part of the Commonwealth.

LiveOnce

Thanks theonlywayisup

Do you know if it would cause an issue to enter back into Florida from a holiday break there?

theonlywayisup

Presumably you have your Esta so I can't think of any issues you would have.

I naturally assumed your trip to the Bahamas would be short, I should not have and therefore you should know that you would need a Visa to visit for longer than 3 weeks. Your passport needs to be valid for 6 months past your exit date from the Bahamas.

I'm not sure if the US will count your Bahamas stay as part of your US entry - but if it's a short hop then it isn't an issue.

Edit - I just found this, which will be moot if you are on a short trip.

If you are travelling via the USA, you may need to apply for an ESTA. The Bahamas counts as part of the ‘contiguous territory and islands’ for US visa waiver purposes and time spent in The Bahamas counts towards the 90 day maximum permitted stay in the US under this waiver. If you travel to The Bahamas via the USA under US visa waiver arrangements and are in any doubt about your US visa status, you should seek advice from either the US Immigration and Naturalisation Service or any US diplomatic mission before starting your return journey.