Travelers to Sint Maarten, a popular Caribbean destination, are being warned about fraudulent websites posing as the official portal for completing entry forms. These scam sites charge fees, sometimes up to $139.99, for the Embarkation/Disembarkation (ED) card, which is actually free on the official government site. Sint Maarten officials emphasize that no fees are required for this form, urging visitors to use the legitimate website, www.entry.sx, to avoid any unnecessary charges.
May-Ling Chun, Sint Maarten’s Director of Tourism, advises travelers to verify the website’s authenticity before providing personal information or making payments. Gabriella Ribeiro from TRU Marketing points out that these third-party sites often appear as sponsored results in search engines, misleading travelers into thinking payments are necessary. While not all these sites are outright scams, they exploit travelers’ haste and urgency by charging for a service that is otherwise free.
Ribeiro stresses the importance of carefully checking URLs to ensure they lead to the official government site. With high tourist numbers, including nearly 400,000 visitors and over a million cruise passengers in 2023, Sint Maarten seeks to safeguard travelers from these online schemes.