Biosecurity regulations are in place to reduce the risk of new species arriving in Ascension that could negatively affect public health, the environment and the economy. Ascension Island is a unique and special place and with everyone’s help it can be safeguarded.
This webpage provides guidance for people travelling or importing goods to Ascension Island. Import Health Standards (IHSs) are biosecurity requirements that certain items must meet before they can be imported. Some higher risk articles may also need a licence to be imported. For a breakdown of which imports require extra measures, visit the Requirements tab. The Documentation tab contains all the documents you will need to understand and comply with the import requirements.
Incoming vessels and aircraft that intend to land cargo or baggage, or disembark passengers or crew, must meet the relevant specification and complete a declaration form prior to arrival. These can be found in the Documentation tab. Passengers will also be asked to fill out a personal biosecurity declaration when they arrive alongside the existing customs declaration. These forms will be provided upon arrival.
To find out more you can view Ascension Island’s biosecurity strategy and relevant biosecurity legislation.
To view biosecurity information for our sister Island of St Helena, visit their government website.
In order to import certain items to Ascension, importers will either be required to meet certain Import Health Standards (IHSs) or possibly apply for a licence. The table below summarises the IHSs that need to be followed by importers for all imports in these categories and also highlights where a licence to import is required.
If a licence is required, it must be applied for in advance.
For all other imports listed below, it is the importer’s responsibility to ensure that the IHSs are met and any necessary documentation is in place, but they do not need to contact Ascension Island Government in advance.
For other types of import which are not listed below, there are no additional requirements.
A full list of IHSs, guidance and licence application forms can be found in the Documentation section.
Import Health Standards (IHSs) are biosecurity requirements that certain higher risk items must meet before they can be imported. Guidelines have been developed to accompany the relevant IHS and should be used in junction with each of these. If the consignment you are importing needs a licence (this will be stated in the IHS) an application must be filled out and a licence granted before shipment takes place.
The master of an incoming vessel or aircraft, who intends to land cargo or baggage, or to permit the disembarkation of passengers or crew members, requires biosecurity landing clearance in order to do so. These declarations are necessary to ensure compliance with protocols designed to reduce the biosecurity risk posed to Ascension by the arrival of a vessel or aircraft to an acceptable level.
We recognise that individuals will want to understand how the biosecurity system will affect them and as such answers to the most common questions we receive are below. If anyone has further questions or would like more detail, please call into the Conservation Office in Georgetown or contact us by telephone on 00 247 66359 or by email through biosecurity@ascension.gov.ac.
Only in exceptional circumstances. The primary aim is to control the threat posed by the item and then work with the importer to stop it from happening again. If somebody is sent a bag of muddy potatoes, the response will be to wash them and to ask the individual to get in touch with the person who sent them to make sure they clean them first next time. If that happens multiple times for the same person and they are clearly taking no action to try to follow the rules, then it may be necessary to take firmer action.
The response to finding something will depend on what it is and what cargo it is on. Treatment varies from spraying with insecticide to full fumigation. At all times authorities will be trying to make sure the threat is destroyed without damaging any goods, but this will not always be possible.
Some inspections need to be carried out to ensure that the rules are being followed, but not everything that comes in is inspected. Inspections are done in a similar way to customs inspections and often at the same time, by the same people, to make it more efficient.
The only licences which attract a charge are those to bring in cats, dogs and other animals. There is no cost for any other licences required.
Items of low risk, which is most goods, do not need any special action and individuals just need to follow the standards with no need for paperwork. However the highest risk imports, such as live animals and plants, will require a licence application.
Yes. They will just need to make sure they meet the standards that are on the website for certain types of goods and ensure that they declare these. For example, someone sending a package of clothes or frozen food would not need to follow any import health standard as these items are not controlled articles. However, if they were sending fresh produce (a controlled article) they would need to make sure it was clean of mud and pests, packaged and clearly labelled. If people are sending live plants or plant cuttings, they would need a licence in advance.
Yes. St Helena prohibits the import of honey because they want to protect their bee hives from diseases that can be spread through honey. Ascension has no beekeepers and no native bees so there aren’t any restrictions on importing honey.
Other than parrots or monkeys very few other imports which are prohibited completely. There are other things that can only be brought in with a licence, such as live animals for example, and whilst the import of cats, dogs and freshwater fish are permitted, it is unlikely the import of other animal species will be.
Yes. Fresh food is precious and we don’t want to stop anyone brining it in. There is a risk that animals like spiders, flies and ants will arrive with the fruit, but by taking sensible steps this risk can be reduced. If individuals are bringing in less than 50kg of common fruits and vegetables, all that is required is that it is clean of any dirt and mud, that it doesn’t have any pests on it, and that it is labelled and declared on the form when they arrive in the same way they would for alcohol and tobacco. For companies that will be bringing in more than 50kg, proof that they have treated the produce so that it is free of pests will be required.
[wp_rss_retriever url="https://rss.app/feeds/MNrgI5Ybn5Se8Pg6.xml" items="1" excerpt="0" read_more="true" title="true" source="false" credits="false" new_window="true" thumbnail="false" date="true" ajax="false" cache="3600"]