B1/B2 Visa to work on yachts
Today I will cover the visa issue many crew have from a Yacht Captains point of view, to help yacht crew and future crew to get the right visa for yacht crew.
- If I have crew on board and we the yacht is scheduled to travel and cruise US water and Caribbean I simply write a supporting letter to the crew to use for their Visa application. The B1/B2 visa application is filled out at the US embassy website and nowhere else.
- If you are new yacht crew or have joined Yachtiecareers you need to follow these simple steps to get a US B1/B2 Visa
- Join Yachtiecareers for free and fill in your online profile here
- Complete your US B1/B1 visa application form with one of our Instructors
- Pay the VISA Fee
- Bring our supporting letter to your interview and add B1/B2 to your Super yacht CV.
Schengen Visa to work on yachts
For Crew that needs to work on Europe it can be more straight forward to get the right visa for yacht crew. If you are a non EU Yacht crew, you can get a Schengen Visa for yacht crew on arrival for 90 days. Once you start working on a yacht we use our Yacht agent to sign you on to the Yacht and out of Europe, that means your Schengen Visa will not keep running !
To work in Europe as Yacht crew for the Med-season you need:
- Valid passport:
- Seaman’s book (Big Bonus) Apply free here
- 90 days allowance: per any 180 days running period.
- Prior stamp request in ports: Most immigration offices can stamp with 24h notice or even less. Some immigration points will ask for 5 workdays notice which is the maximum legal notice time.
So how do you get a b1/b2 visa to work on Yachts ?
When you join Yachtiecareers we build you an online profile and plan that includes all your visa for yacht crew such as Schengen Visa or B1/B2 visa. You get this included in both our Yacht Training options
After you sign up you simply get an Instructor to get you a Personal plan for free. In this plan we include the Visa service. You can apply for a B1/B2 in your home country or a different location depending on your travel plans.
We give you the best advice we can to maximise your chances to get the right documentations and visa to work as yacht crew. Sometimes even if you do everything right you might be denied your B1/B2 visa if you are not currently employed on a yacht. This is why we help you with supporting letters to take to the embassy with your application. You should also include with your application:
- A passport (6 months valid at least)
- Printed visa application form
- Application fee 160 USD (This fee is the US Embassy, we do your consultation for free)
- Photo
At anytime if you need help during your application simply get in touch with us in the live chat and we will assist you, and we can will also introduce you to some free banking options for yacht crew using USD and EUR accounts.
Best locations to get a B1/B2 visa for Yacht crew ?
We have found the greatest success getting a visa for yacht crew in the following 3 locations:
- Madrid
- Belfast
- Florence
We have been not as lucky in the following locations when we started our careers and did not have the right paperwork and we were at the time not employed on a yacht.
- Stockholm
- London
- Paris
APPLY FOR A VISA AND COMPLETE YOUR PROFILE FREE HERE
1. Sign up with Yachtiecareers and we complete the Form DS-160.
2. Schedule an interview with our supporting letter.
3. Pay the visa fee.
