Bahamas visitors should check residence-card exemptions against their stay length

Match the passport, residence status and intended stay

Travellers to The Bahamas should check whether their nationality, residence document and proposed length of visit meet the same entry category. The official tourism guidance treats US and Canadian permanent residents separately from citizens of those countries. This guide checks existing arrangements on 29 October 2026; it does not announce a new visa waiver.

The Ministry of Tourism says a US permanent resident making a visit of no more than thirty days should carry the original Green Card and a national passport with the required remaining validity. For a visit exceeding thirty days, it identifies a Bahamian visa requirement. Canadian permanent residents likewise have a thirty-day visa-free arrangement and should carry the original residence card, passport and return ticket.

For illustration, someone holding a residence card who plans six weeks should not rely on instructions written for a two-week holiday. Check the longer-stay procedure before travelling rather than assume the card creates the same allowance as citizenship.

Check nationality-specific exceptions instead of applying a general shortcut

The tourism ministry separately describes concessions for Indian nationals holding qualifying visas or permanent residence documents from the United States, Canada, Britain or Schengen countries. The permitted period differs by document: its published conditions identify thirty days for US or Canadian permanent-resident cards and up to ninety days for specified other qualifying documents.

That is a nationality-specific provision. A visitor with a different passport should not assume that any US or Schengen visa removes their Bahamian visa requirement. Use the Foreign Affairs ministry’s eVisa nationality list and the appropriate exception together. The ministry expressly warns that visa-required passengers also need the necessary permission when arriving on a cruise from the United States.

Prepare the advance eVisa file where a visa is still needed

The Foreign Affairs ministry’s eVisa service supports self-sponsored leisure applications and a separate sponsored visitor category. Its self-sponsored checklist requests the signed form, passport personal-data and signature pages, recent photograph, employment or business evidence, bank reference, police report and medical certificate, together with intended accommodation and itinerary.

The checklist also asks for legal status in the residence country and relevant family or invitation documents. It requires foreign civil records and police certificates to be translated into English where applicable. Review document age requirements before lodging, because the ministry calls for current supporting material rather than an old file reused unchanged.

The application passport must have more than six months remaining under the published eVisa instructions. Keep that passport available with the Electronic Entry Visa when travelling. An approved eVisa permits travel for consideration at the border; the ministry does not guarantee admission.

Use the official photograph specification before uploading

The ministry’s separate eVisa photograph sheet calls for a recent colour photograph, no more than six months old, measuring two inches square at 600 dots per inch. It specifies a plain white or off-white background, a full frontal view and a neutral expression. Selfies are not accepted.

The sheet also describes special handling for medical or religious head coverings through the visa office. Check that requirement in advance where it applies. A recognisable image on a phone is not necessarily a compliant visa photograph; preparing the correct file avoids an avoidable request to replace it.

The ministry’s written checklist refers to a PDF photograph, while its portal preparation section refers to JPG. Follow the actual upload field and confirm with the visa office if it rejects the prepared image. Check clarity after conversion rather than assuming a changed filename makes the image acceptable.

Budget separately for visa processing and any later extension

The Bahamas High Commission in Canada publishes non-refundable visa charges effective from 1 November 2024, including a 160 single-entry charge and a 250 multiple-entry charge in its displayed schedule. Confirm the currency and current payable total with the issuing office before payment rather than assume every local transaction uses the same amount.

That mission gives a normal eVisa processing indication of seven to ten business days, excluding submission day, where the file is complete and no interview is required. It describes an additional USD 50 expedited service. Neither a paid fee nor a requested multiple-entry category guarantees the decision sought.

For a visitor extension, the High Commission directs applicants to the nearest Bahamian immigration office with financial evidence, a valid passport or travel document and a return ticket. The UK entry guide separately warns British visitors against overstaying and gives a passport requirement extending six months beyond planned departure. Use the actual period granted at arrival, and resolve additional time before it ends.