Sint Maarten ED Form Scam Sites Charge Fees, Warning
Sint Maarten ED form requirements now come with a new traveler trap, scam style third party websites that charge fees for a form the government says is free. The Government of Sint Maarten is urging visitors to complete the Embarkation Disembarkation (ED) form only through the official platform, entry.sx, and to avoid unofficial sites that present themselves as authorized "processing" services.
The main practical change is behavioral, not procedural. Travelers should stop relying on search results for this task, and instead type entry.sx directly into the browser address bar, because paid ads and lookalike domains can sit above the real link at exactly the moment people are rushing to finish pre trip paperwork.
Sint Maarten ED Form: What Changed for Travelers
The Government of Sint Maarten says the ED form submission is free when completed on entry.sx, and that travelers should not pay any fee to submit it. Officials say recent reports identified private third party sites charging visitors to complete or "process" the required form, and they are warning travelers to verify the official site before entering personal information or paying anything.
If a page asks for payment to submit the ED form, that is the red flag. The government's guidance is straightforward, complete the form through entry.sx, and if a traveler believes they have been charged by an unauthorized site, they should contact their bank or card provider immediately.
Which Trips Are Most Exposed to Paid Lookalike Sites
This risk is highest for travelers who do last minute admin on a phone, especially within 24 hours of departure, when they are more likely to click the first search result, including sponsored placements. Families and groups are also more exposed because the fee can multiply per traveler, and the form requires the kind of personal and itinerary details that people do not want to re enter twice under time pressure.
Passengers who are using unfamiliar airport Wi Fi, or who are completing documents during a connection, are another common profile for mis clicks. The broader travel system effect is simple, extra friction at the paperwork step increases the odds of mistakes, rework, and avoidable stress before an international arrival.
What Travelers Should Do Before Departure
Type entry.sx directly into the browser address bar, and confirm you are on the official domain before entering passport or itinerary information. Do not rely on search engine ads, and do not assume that a site is official because it uses travel language like "application," "authorization," or "processing," since the government says there is no charge for the official submission.
Complete the ED form early enough that you can fix mistakes calmly. The government press release says travelers can complete the form up to 7 days prior to arrival, which is a clean planning window that reduces the chance of clicking the wrong link while rushing.
If you already paid a third party site, treat it as a payment dispute and a data hygiene problem. Contact your bank or card provider immediately, and then complete the ED form again on entry.sx so you know the government has the submission you intended.
Why This Is Happening and How the Scam Works
This is classic search diversion. Third party operators buy ads or optimize pages to show up when travelers search for "ED form Sint Maarten" or similar queries, then charge a "service" or "processing" fee for steps a traveler could complete for free on the official portal. The government is emphasizing that the only official submission path is entry.sx, and that there are no fees for the ED form on that site.
The first order effect is financial, travelers can lose money unnecessarily. The second order effect is operational, travelers may think they are done, then discover they used an unofficial page and still need to complete the form correctly, or they may have shared personal information with a site that was never part of the government process. The simplest mitigation is to treat entry.sx like a bank login, type it directly, do not click ads, and complete it early.