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Bahamas

Mixed results; a meaningful share of registrants have been refused.

Based on 10 reports. Score −0.12 on a scale from −1 (always refused) to +1 (always admitted), with recent reports counting most. How scoring works

What to expect

Reports split sharply by arrival mode: both air arrivals in April 2026, including one at Nassau, ended in refusal and return to the US, one despite a filed 21-day advance travel notice.12 Cruise arrivals have gone differently, with four travelers between March 2025 and March 2026 going ashore without problems, and earlier sea arrivals in 2020 and 2022 reporting little or no immigration check.3–578 One 2025 traveler was refused boarding by a major cruise line after it collected passport data, and an older 2019 air arrival was questioned about their conviction in secondary before being admitted.69

Written by an AI model from the reports below on September 19, 2026. The numbers link to the reports each sentence is based on. Read those before you decide.

Law restricts entry for people with criminal records

Officers may refuse leave to land to anyone convicted anywhere, since age fourteen, of murder or an offence punishable in The Bahamas by three or more years, if deemed undesirable. The Director may still permit entry.

Immigration Act, Ch. 191 (The Bahamas), s. 22(1)(g) (consolidated LRO 1/2017; Act No. 25 of 1967) · discretionary · waiver available

We haven't confirmed this citation against the official text yet.

Last checked against official sources on September 19, 2026.

Common questions

Can registered sex offenders enter Bahamas?

It's rated Difficult: Mixed results; a meaningful share of registrants have been refused. Of 4 trips reported in the last two years by people on a US registry, 2 ended in entry and 2 in refusal.

Do Bahamas's border officers know about US registrants in advance?

None of the reports on file describe officers appearing to know in advance.

How do travelers usually arrive in Bahamas?

Reports on file describe 4 by sea or cruise, 3 by air. Outcomes can differ by how travelers arrive; each report below says which.

Reports

Been to Bahamas? Share your trip
  1. 1Apr 2026

    Refused entry · By air, Nassau

    The traveler was refused entry upon landing and sent back to the US, despite having filed the required 21-day advance travel notice and not being on probation or parole. On return to the US, the traveler was handcuffed as the first passenger taken off the plane.

    ACSOL (Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws) · archived copy · Forum post · Firsthand

  2. 2Apr 2026

    Refused entry · By air

    The traveler, who had won a prize trip, was turned away on arrival and concluded this destination is not viable for registrants.

    ACSOL (Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws) · archived copy · Forum post · Firsthand

  3. 3Mar 2026 (reported)

    Admitted, no issues · By sea or cruise

    The traveler took a cruise to the Bahamas and reported no issues going ashore.

    ACSOL (Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws) · archived copy · Forum post · Firsthand

  4. 4Jul 2025 (reported)

    Admitted, no issues · By sea or cruise

    Within the past year the traveler took two cruises to the Bahamas with no reported entry problems.

    ACSOL (Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws) · Forum post · Firsthand · Former registrant

  5. 5Mar 2025

    Admitted, no issues · By sea or cruise

    On the same cruise, the traveler went ashore in the Bahamas with no issues.

    ACSOL (Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws) · archived copy · Forum post · Firsthand

  6. 62025

    Not allowed to board · By sea or cruise

    Although no longer required to register and holding an unmarked passport, the traveler was refused boarding by a major cruise line after it collected passport information.

    ACSOL (Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws) · archived copy · Forum post · Firsthand · Former registrant

  7. 72022

    Admitted, no issues · By sea or cruise

    About four years earlier the traveler visited on a cruise ship and simply walked ashore with no passport or immigration check of any kind.

    ACSOL (Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws) · archived copy · Forum post · Firsthand

  8. 82020

    Admitted, no issues · By sea or cruise

    The traveler entered the Bahamas by cruise ship about four years earlier with no problems.

    ACSOL (Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws) · archived copy · Forum post · Firsthand

  9. 92019

    Admitted after questioning · By air

    The traveler flew to the Bahamas after filing the required 21-day advance travel notice. Officers pulled them aside and asked about their conviction, then cleared them and indicated they should not have problems on future visits.

    ACSOL (Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws) · archived copy · Forum post · Firsthand

  10. 10By 2022

    Refused entry

    Row from the RTAG Travel Matrix, an undated summary last maintained around 2021.

    Registrants turned away
    Yes
    Law bars sex offenders
    No
    Law bars people with felonies
    No
    Has its own offender registry
    No
    Notes
    Maybe turned away, expect to be interrogated.

    Registrant Travel Action Group (RTAG) · Legacy matrix · Summary