Airlines will not deviate from entry requirements unless St. Maarten removed from entry database

GREAT BAY--Immigration services at Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) are reporting an increasing number of calls from U.S.-based visitors who are being denied boarding because of conflicting instructions about St. Maarten’s entry form via entry.sx and St. Maarten's requirements in the international recognized "Timatic" database system. Residents are also being affected and the numbers are increasing.

The Peoples' Tribune was explained on Monday that this issue goes beyond the information displayed on entry.sx. Airlines operate under strict international rules and rely on a system known as Timatic, often described as their “bible.” Timatic, developed by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), is the global database used by all airlines, travel agents, and ground handlers to verify a country’s official entry requirements. It covers passports, visas, health and vaccination rules, customs information, and more.

Currently, Timatic lists the Sint Maarten entry form as a mandatory requirement. This means airlines must enforce it. Regardless of how many messages are sent by local tourism officials assuring carriers that the form is not required, as long as Timatic continues to display it, airlines are bound by international compliance rules to deny boarding to passengers without a completed form. As such, this is an issue that the Ministry of Justice primarily has to address as it deals with immigration services and entry to the country.

The impact is growing. It is not only visitors who are being denied boarding, but also residents of Sint Maarten, who find themselves stranded abroad because they cannot produce the form. Each week, more passengers are being affected, and frustration is mounting. Immigration officers at Princess Juliana International Airport are increasingly fielding complaints, despite having no authority to override Timatic or change the rules airlines are required to follow.

The solution is clear: the entry form requirement must be formally removed from Sint Maarten’s Timatic listing. Until that happens, the boarding denials and confusion will only increase.

Calls from stranded or delayed travelers first reach PJIA’s information lines before being transferred to immigration officers, who are left to handle complaints and frustrations. Immigration staff emphasize that this forces them into roles outside their official mandate, as they attempt to mediate disputes between passengers and airlines instead of focusing on their core responsibilities at the border.

The problem originates from inconsistent messaging and the fact that the airlines will not deviate from regulations. The St. Maarten Tourist Bureau has informed carriers that the entry form is not currently mandatory for boarding. However, when airlines refer to the official government portal, entry.sx, the instructions are unambiguous:

“Complete your official entry form prior to arrival in Sint Maarten. This digital entry form is the official Embarkation Disembarkation (ED) card for traveling to (Dutch) Sint Maarten. All travelers residing, transferring through or visiting Sint Maarten and St. Martin (French side) are required to fill out this form. Each traveler in a group or family are required to complete this form.”

Airlines say that when passengers challenge staff at check-in counters, they simply point to the official entry.sx notice, which clearly states the form is required. As a result, and with the requirements listed in Timatic, carriers act accordingly and deny boarding to travelers without a completed form, regardless of what St. Maarten’s tourism officials say locally. The Ministries of TEATT and Justice are aware of the issue and have been for some time, but it persists.

This contradiction has created a patchwork of enforcement. Some airlines allow travelers to board without the form, while others, citing the official online instructions, refuse them. Passengers also report technical issues when attempting to complete the form on entry.sx, with applications failing to process or showing false approvals, leaving them stranded abroad.

The digital Embarkation Disembarkation (ED) card is intended to modernize immigration processing. However, while tourism officials maintain the form is not mandatory for boarding, the government’s official portal continues to instruct that it is required, leading to confusion.

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