Bringing Your Belongings to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Answer
The general rule applies to you
No exception is recorded for citizens of Saint Kitts and Nevis on this topic. That is the answer, not a gap - everything below is the rule you get, unchanged.
81 exceptions recorded across 33 countries · none match Saint Kitts and Nevis to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines · Bringing your belongings
For an ordinary arrival the allowance is small and old-fashioned: a quart of wine or spirits, half a pound of tobacco or fifty cigars or two hundred cigarettes, and a declaration for currency over EC$10,000. Beyond that, duty is payable. Two groups do better. A Vincentian coming home after ten continuous years abroad can import household and personal effects and tools of trade free of import duty, excise tax and VAT, plus one vehicle per family at a 75% waiver - but has to apply, be interviewed, finish within a year, and keep the vehicle four years. And since October 2025 a national of Barbados, Belize or Dominica exercising full free movement may import tools of trade, within six months of being granted indefinite stay.
At a glance
- Duty-free alcohol allowance
- One quart of wine or spirits in all
For a passenger aged 18 or over.
- Duty-free tobacco allowance
- Half a pound of tobacco, or 50 cigars, or 200 cigarettes
The three are alternatives, not a combined allowance.
- Maximum personal importation before goods become cargo
- 5 lb of tobacco, 4 gallons of spirits, 10 gallons of wine
Duty is payable on everything above the free allowance; above these quantities the goods are treated as cargo.
- Currency declaration threshold
- EC$10,000 or the equivalent
Failure to declare may result in seizure.
- Returning national: years abroad
- 10 continuous years
- Returning national: vehicle waiver
- 75% of import duty, excise tax and VAT, one per family
Vehicle surtax and customs service charge are paid in full, and the vehicle may not be disposed of for 48 months.
- Returning national: deadline
- One year from the date of return
- Tools of trade under full free movement
- Within 6 months of the grant of indefinite stay
For nationals of Barbados, Belize and Dominica. The note does not say what relief applies, only that the right to import exists.
- A general settler's effects relief for foreigners
- Not published
The concession published by Customs is for returning Vincentians. Nothing equivalent for an arriving non-national appears on the department's pages.
Requirements
- Declare to Customs anything in your baggage obtained outside the country, produce travel documents and baggage for examination, and answer the officer's questions
- Declare currency over EC$10,000 or its equivalent
- For the returning national concession: a written application on the prescribed form to the Comptroller of Customs and Excise, and an interview in person at the department
- For tools of trade under full free movement: registration with the Ministry of National Security and importation within six months of the grant of indefinite stay
In detail
The ordinary allowance is small
A passenger over eighteen may bring in, free of duty, a quart of wine or spirits and one of three tobacco options: half a pound of tobacco, fifty cigars or two hundred cigarettes. Above that, duty is payable up to five pounds of tobacco, four gallons of spirits and ten gallons of wine, and anything beyond those quantities is treated as cargo. Currency over EC$10,000 or its foreign equivalent must be declared, and failing to declare it may cost you the money. The department also reminds passengers to keep prescription medicines in their original labelled containers.
The concession is for people coming home
The substantial relief is the returning national concession, and it is expressly for Vincentians: a citizen by birth, or a citizen by descent who has formerly resided here, returning after at least ten continuous years abroad and intending to stay permanently. It covers household and personal effects and tools of trade, new or used, free of import duty, excise tax and value added tax, and one vehicle per family at a 75% waiver of the same three. The customs service charge is payable on everything and the vehicle surtax in full. Applications are made in writing to the Comptroller and decided after an interview in person; imports must be finished within a year of return; the vehicle cannot be disposed of for four years; effects cannot be sold at all; and leaving again for more than three continuous months makes all the waived duty repayable. A person who has already been resident here for more than twelve continuous months does not qualify.
What an arriving foreigner gets
Nothing comparable is published. There is no settler's effects relief on the Customs and Excise Department's pages for a non-national moving here, and the Customs Duties Act and the Customs (Control and Management) Act - both of which the department does publish - were not read for this page. The one new entitlement is regional: a national of Barbados, Belize or Dominica exercising full free movement is entitled to import tools of trade, within six months of the grant of indefinite stay. The Government's note states the entitlement and the deadline and does not say what duty is charged.
Country-level policy
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines publishes the fact of its laws and not their text. The Ministry of Legal Affairs puts every weekly Gazette online back to 2016, and each Gazette names the Acts and statutory rules and orders published that week - then says they can be purchased at the Government Printing Office at Campden Park. The House of Assembly publishes a table of every Act passed since 1993, with its long title, its short title, the dates of its readings, assent, publication and any proclamation, and its number. Neither publishes a section of an Act. The Immigration (Restriction) Act, the Immigration (Caribbean Community Skilled Nationals) Act, the Citizenship Act, the Employment of Foreign Nationals and Commonwealth Citizens Act and the Aliens (Land Holding Regulation) Act are all unreadable from outside the country, and every one of them governs something on this site.
What applies to you
Nothing changes for a citizen of Saint Kitts and Nevis
We have no rule recorded that treats your citizenship differently here, so the general rule above is the one that applies to you. That is an answer, not a gap.
What the law says
«The following articles, if duly declared by an adult passenger (age 18yrs & over), shall be
admitted free of duty namely;
1. wine or spirits not exceeding one quart in all; and
2. tobacco, not exceeding half pound; or
3. cigars not exceeding fifty in number; or
4. cigarettes not exceeding two hundred in number»Note the conjunctions as printed: the alcohol is "and", the three tobacco lines are "or".
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
Publishes passenger baggage allowances and the currency declaration threshold, the returning national concession in full with its conditions and time limits, and the texts of about thirty customs and revenue statutes including the Customs (Control and Management) Act, the Customs Duties (Amendment) Act 2022 and the Common External Tariff Order 2022.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: The returning national concession is described as a Cabinet decision and the department publishes no order or regulation behind it, so its conditions are the department's account rather than a citation. The baggage allowances are likewise stated without reference to a section of the Customs Duties Act. The department publishes nothing on the household effects of an arriving non-national, and its exemptions and fiscal incentives pages are empty of substance.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«- Tobacco, cigars and/or cigarettes, five pounds weight in all;
- Spirits, four gallons in all; and
- Wines ten gallons in all;»Above these, the goods are deemed cargo and reported as such.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
Publishes passenger baggage allowances and the currency declaration threshold, the returning national concession in full with its conditions and time limits, and the texts of about thirty customs and revenue statutes including the Customs (Control and Management) Act, the Customs Duties (Amendment) Act 2022 and the Common External Tariff Order 2022.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: The returning national concession is described as a Cabinet decision and the department publishes no order or regulation behind it, so its conditions are the department's account rather than a citation. The baggage allowances are likewise stated without reference to a section of the Customs Duties Act. The department publishes nothing on the household effects of an arriving non-national, and its exemptions and fiscal incentives pages are empty of substance.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«Currency exceeding $10,000.00 (East Caribbean Dollars) or its equivalent in any foreign
currency must make a declaration to the proper Customs Officer.»About this source
Publishes passenger baggage allowances and the currency declaration threshold, the returning national concession in full with its conditions and time limits, and the texts of about thirty customs and revenue statutes including the Customs (Control and Management) Act, the Customs Duties (Amendment) Act 2022 and the Common External Tariff Order 2022.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: The returning national concession is described as a Cabinet decision and the department publishes no order or regulation behind it, so its conditions are the department's account rather than a citation. The baggage allowances are likewise stated without reference to a section of the Customs Duties Act. The department publishes nothing on the household effects of an arriving non-national, and its exemptions and fiscal incentives pages are empty of substance.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«- A returning national may be permitted to import free of Import Duty, Excise Tax and
Value Added Tax, household and personal effects, and tools of trade new or used.»About this source
Publishes passenger baggage allowances and the currency declaration threshold, the returning national concession in full with its conditions and time limits, and the texts of about thirty customs and revenue statutes including the Customs (Control and Management) Act, the Customs Duties (Amendment) Act 2022 and the Common External Tariff Order 2022.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: The returning national concession is described as a Cabinet decision and the department publishes no order or regulation behind it, so its conditions are the department's account rather than a citation. The baggage allowances are likewise stated without reference to a section of the Customs Duties Act. The department publishes nothing on the household effects of an arriving non-national, and its exemptions and fiscal incentives pages are empty of substance.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«- The concession allows for a seventy five percent (75%) waiver of Import Duty, Excise Tax
and Value Added tax.»On the vehicle only, and one vehicle per family rather than per person.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
Publishes passenger baggage allowances and the currency declaration threshold, the returning national concession in full with its conditions and time limits, and the texts of about thirty customs and revenue statutes including the Customs (Control and Management) Act, the Customs Duties (Amendment) Act 2022 and the Common External Tariff Order 2022.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: The returning national concession is described as a Cabinet decision and the department publishes no order or regulation behind it, so its conditions are the department's account rather than a citation. The baggage allowances are likewise stated without reference to a section of the Customs Duties Act. The department publishes nothing on the household effects of an arriving non-national, and its exemptions and fiscal incentives pages are empty of substance.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«A vehicle granted the concession shall not be
sold, exchanged or in any way disposed of within four years (48 months) from the date of
importation.»About this source
Publishes passenger baggage allowances and the currency declaration threshold, the returning national concession in full with its conditions and time limits, and the texts of about thirty customs and revenue statutes including the Customs (Control and Management) Act, the Customs Duties (Amendment) Act 2022 and the Common External Tariff Order 2022.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: The returning national concession is described as a Cabinet decision and the department publishes no order or regulation behind it, so its conditions are the department's account rather than a citation. The baggage allowances are likewise stated without reference to a section of the Customs Duties Act. The department publishes nothing on the household effects of an arriving non-national, and its exemptions and fiscal incentives pages are empty of substance.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«An incoming National who chooses to reside or work in St. Vincent and the Grenadines will be entitled to import their tools of trade. These items must be imported within 6 months of being granted indefinite stay.»An entitlement with a deadline and no stated relief. What duty, if any, is payable is not said.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The ministry that holds the CARICOM and CSME portfolio and the national CSME focal point. Publishes the Government's CARICOM Free Movement Regime information note of October 2025, which is the only published statement of how full free movement actually works here - indefinite stay on arrival, registration with National Security, schooling, health care, National Insurance, tools of trade and driving licences. Also hosts the Government's own copies of the Revised Treaty of Basseterre with its Protocol and the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, and an undated CSME skills brochure.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: The information note and the CSME pages describe a regime; they are not the implementing instruments, which are Acts 15 and 16 of 2025 and S.R. & O. 18 and 19 of 2025 and are not published. The skills brochure is undated, names the ministry under a former title and lists skills categories that may no longer match the law. Its visa requirements PDF of July 2020 is about Vincentians travelling abroad and must never be cited for who may enter Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
We re-read it every 45 days. More about this source
Practical notes
The allowances and the currency threshold are the Customs and Excise Department's published statements rather than quotations from the Customs Duties Act. The department publishes the texts of the Customs (Control and Management) Act, the Customs Duties (Amendment) Act 2022 and the Common External Tariff Order 2022; none of them was read for this page.
The returning national concession is described by Customs as a Cabinet decision. The order or regulation giving effect to it was not found, so the conditions here are the department's own account of what it applies.
No relief for the household effects of an arriving non-national was found on any Government page. That is an absence in what is published, not a finding that none exists.
- administersCustoms and Excise Department - Baggage Allowances
Customs and Excise Department, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
About this source
Publishes passenger baggage allowances and the currency declaration threshold, the returning national concession in full with its conditions and time limits, and the texts of about thirty customs and revenue statutes including the Customs (Control and Management) Act, the Customs Duties (Amendment) Act 2022 and the Common External Tariff Order 2022.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: The returning national concession is described as a Cabinet decision and the department publishes no order or regulation behind it, so its conditions are the department's account rather than a citation. The baggage allowances are likewise stated without reference to a section of the Customs Duties Act. The department publishes nothing on the household effects of an arriving non-national, and its exemptions and fiscal incentives pages are empty of substance.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
- administersCustoms and Excise Department - Concession granted to returning nationals
Customs and Excise Department, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
About this source
Publishes passenger baggage allowances and the currency declaration threshold, the returning national concession in full with its conditions and time limits, and the texts of about thirty customs and revenue statutes including the Customs (Control and Management) Act, the Customs Duties (Amendment) Act 2022 and the Common External Tariff Order 2022.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: The returning national concession is described as a Cabinet decision and the department publishes no order or regulation behind it, so its conditions are the department's account rather than a citation. The baggage allowances are likewise stated without reference to a section of the Customs Duties Act. The department publishes nothing on the household effects of an arriving non-national, and its exemptions and fiscal incentives pages are empty of substance.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
- administersCustoms and Excise Department - Customs Legislations
Customs and Excise Department, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
About this source
Publishes passenger baggage allowances and the currency declaration threshold, the returning national concession in full with its conditions and time limits, and the texts of about thirty customs and revenue statutes including the Customs (Control and Management) Act, the Customs Duties (Amendment) Act 2022 and the Common External Tariff Order 2022.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: The returning national concession is described as a Cabinet decision and the department publishes no order or regulation behind it, so its conditions are the department's account rather than a citation. The baggage allowances are likewise stated without reference to a section of the Customs Duties Act. The department publishes nothing on the household effects of an arriving non-national, and its exemptions and fiscal incentives pages are empty of substance.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
- administersCARICOM Free Movement Regime - Information Note, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade, Foreign Investment and Diaspora Affairs, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
About this source
The ministry that holds the CARICOM and CSME portfolio and the national CSME focal point. Publishes the Government's CARICOM Free Movement Regime information note of October 2025, which is the only published statement of how full free movement actually works here - indefinite stay on arrival, registration with National Security, schooling, health care, National Insurance, tools of trade and driving licences. Also hosts the Government's own copies of the Revised Treaty of Basseterre with its Protocol and the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, and an undated CSME skills brochure.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: The information note and the CSME pages describe a regime; they are not the implementing instruments, which are Acts 15 and 16 of 2025 and S.R. & O. 18 and 19 of 2025 and are not published. The skills brochure is undated, names the ministry under a former title and lists skills categories that may no longer match the law. Its visa requirements PDF of July 2020 is about Vincentians travelling abroad and must never be cited for who may enter Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
We re-read it every 45 days. More about this source