100 Metre Motor Yacht

Fifty crew visas while the yacht crossed the Pacific

The problem: A superyacht crew visa needs the vessel to be approved as a sponsor first. Around ten crew needed medical checks and chest X-rays at approved clinics, many crew were on leave in their home countries, the government forms could not be signed electronically, and the yacht rotated three captains and two pursers.

What we did: We started in March, five months ahead. We obtained sponsorship through one captain on behalf of all three rotating masters, set up a shared folder for each crew member numbered to the crew list, issued medical referral letters pointing crew to approved doctors in their own countries or in Papeete, gave the crew a simple workaround for the locked forms, and lodged every application ourselves.

The result: Sponsorship was approved in early May. Within three weeks 44 applications were lodged and 34 granted, the medical cases followed as results came in, and by mid August the purser confirmed: “we now have visas for all crew”. New joiners were added as they signed on.

New passports after the visas were granted

The problem: Several crew renewed their passports mid-season. A visa is tied to the old passport, and airlines can refuse boarding when the numbers do not match. One crew member was due to fly into Australia within days.
What we did: We lodged passport updates with Immigration within a day, advised crew to carry the old passport or a copy to satisfy airline check-in, and drew on a near-identical case we had solved for another yacht a year earlier.
The result: All passports were updated in the system ahead of the yacht’s arrival.