British Virgin Islands Facts

• Telephone: top
  
  From North America, dial 1 + 284 + the seven-digit local number. From elsewhere, dial your country's direct dialing prefix + 1 + 284 + the seven-digit local number.

• Marriage Licence: top
  
  Application must be made to the Attorney General's Chambers for a marriage licence. Processing the application and granting the licence takes three working days, and the licence is valid for three months. Documents required include:
  
  
  
  - passports;
  
  - if there has been a previous divorce, a certified copy of the divorce decree; and
  
  - $110 in postage stamps, purchased at the Post Office, which is the licensing fee.
  
  
  
  The Registrar General performs a civil marriage at the Registry office for a fee of $35, or at the locale of choice (within reason) for $100. For religious ceremonies contact the church of preference. There may well be additional requirements and fees in that case. A certified copy of the entry of marriage can be obtained from the Registry, on payment of a fee of $2.
  
  
  
  Attorney General's Chambers,
  
  Second floor, East Wing, Central Administration Complex,
  
  Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands
  
  Tel: (284) 468-0242 or (284) 468-3701, ext. 2160
  
  Fax: (284) 494-6760
  
  E-mail: agc@mail.bvigovernment.org
  
  http://www.bvigovernment.org

• Climate: top
  
  Subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds.
  
  January – June: 69.52 degrees F
  
  July - December: 85.39 degrees F
  
  
  
  Lying just over 1000 miles from the equator, the British Virgin Islands enjoy a balmy, sub-tropical climate, plied by variable trade winds. Temperatures rarely drop below 77ºF (25ºC) in the winter or rise above 90ºF (32ºC) in the summer, with the average temperature normalizing at around 83ºF (28ºC), with slight variations between seasons.
  
  
  
  Tropical weather found between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn is different from other patterns on the globe; therefore, our seasons do not have the sharp changes in climatic conditions as weather found in other areas. Seasons in the BVI fall into a harmonious balance with nature that has always led, in the past, to an agrarian lifestyle.
  
  
  
  There is a deviation of only two hours of daylight between the June, or summer half of the year, and December, the winter half. Sunrise from the autumn equinox through the spring equinox normally occurs at approximately 6:00 am, with sunset at approximately 5:50 pm.
  
  
  
  During the spring to autumn equinox, the daylight hours lengthen a bit bringing summer sunrises at approximately 5:00 am, with sunsets at around 7:00 pm. Rainfall in the BVI averages at 40 inches per year with 60% - 70% falling during the months of April through October.

• Departure Tax: top
  
  US$10 by air, $5 by sea, $7 for cruise ship passengers.

• No. of islands: top
  
  About 60 islands & Cays (16 are inhabited); The four major are Tortola, Anegada, Virgin Gorda and Jost Van Dyke.

• Location: top
  
  Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico.

• Telephone: top
  
  Local area code is 284 and all numbers have a 49 prefix.

• Pleasure Fishing Licence: top
  
  This licence is suitable for day sailers and recreational charter boats, where guests wish to use hand lines. Licence is valid for one year, and costs $25.

• Literacy: top
  
  98.2% of the total population can read and write

• Currents: top
  
  The Trade Winds in this part of the world push North Atlantic water westward, forming the North Equatorial Current. From the equator (0°) to 30°N, the winds are influenced by the spin of the earth and are bent from the north to the south. This is called the Coriolis Effect. These winds affect the currents, which run through the BVI and other West Indies islands and then turn northwards. Warm waters from the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico join this water and these currents to form the Gulf Stream, which moves along the western side of the Atlantic. These two conditions, the Easterly Trades and the Coriolis effect, produce the excellent wind conditions that make the BVI the sailing capital of the Western Hemisphere.

• Airport: top
  
  Beef Island Airport; No airport in the BVI's is large enough for big jets so International flights must come through St.Thomas, San Juan, or St. Martin.

• Local Transportation: top
  
  Taxis are best for infrequent trips. Rental cars are available but pricy in high-season. To rent a car you need a US$10 BVI license. Ferries to other islands, including the U.S.V.I.'s are frequent and plentiful, around $15 - $22 per person, one way.

• Economy - overview: top
  
  The economy, one of the most stable and prosperous in the Caribbean, is highly dependent on tourism, generating an estimated 45% of the national income. An estimated 350,000 tourists, mainly from the US, visited the islands in 1998. In the mid-1980s, the government began offering offshore registration to companies wishing to incorporate in the islands, and incorporation fees now generate substantial revenues. Roughly 400,000 companies were on the offshore registry by yearend 2000. The adoption of a comprehensive insurance law in late 1994, which provides a blanket of confidentiality with regulated statutory gateways for investigation of criminal offenses, is expected to make the British Virgin Islands even more attractive to international business. Livestock raising is the most important agricultural activity; poor soils limit the islands' ability to meet domestic food requirements. Because of traditionally close links with the US Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands has used the dollar as its currency since 1959.

• Temporary Fishing Permit: top
  
  This permit is available for those visitors who intend to fish while in the B.V.I., whether on charter boats or otherwise. They are valid for 10 days after the date of issue, and cost $10.
  
  
  
  A Temporary Fishing Permit can be obtained from the Department of Conservation and Fisheries, or H.M. Customs office.
  
  
  
  Commercial, Pleasure and Sport Licences can be obtained from the Department of Natural Resources and Labour.
  
  
  
  The Department of Natural Resources and Labour,
  
  First Floor, East Wing,
  
  Central Administration Complex,
  
  Road Town, Tortola,
  
  British Virgin Islands.
  
  Tele: (284) 468-3701, ext.2147
  
  Fax: (284) 494-4283
  
  E-mail: psnrl@bvigovernment.org
  
  
  
  Department of Conservation and Fisheries,
  
  The Quastisky Building,
  
  P.O. Box 3323,
  
  Road Town, Tortola. Tele: (284) 494-5681/3429 or (284) 468-3701, ext.5555/1
  
  Fax: (284) 494-2670
  
  E-mail: cfd@bvigovernment.org

• Driving: top
  
  On the left

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