CROSSING BORDERS

Travelling with musical instruments

Pernambuco / Ebony from Madagascar

Per­nam­bu­co (Cae­salpinia echi­na­ta) and ebony from Mada­gas­car con­tained in fin­ished musi­cal instru­ments or bows are exempt from cer­tifi­cate requirements.

Only the first export from Brazil of Per­nam­bu­co bows requires a CITES per­mit. How­ev­er, if you trav­el to Brazil with a Per­nam­bu­co bow, it is rec­om­mend­ed to have an expert cer­tifi­cate attest­ing to its ori­gin in order to avoid any con­fu­sion dur­ing pos­si­ble con­trols at the exit of the country.

If your instru­ment is exclu­sive­ly made of species that are either exempt from cer­tifi­cate require­ments or not pro­tect­ed by CITES, you can trav­el safe­ly with­out this doc­u­ment. Be cau­tious though, as the pres­ence of one sin­gle pro­tect­ed species may require a cer­tifi­cate (MIC or TEC). If your instru­ment con­tains a species exempt from cer­tifi­cate require­ments, always check whether it also con­tains species requir­ing a certificate.
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