Arriving at in France and visiting Police Aux Frontieres

[LiftyK]

Does the team think Irish passport holders sailing into Dunkirk from the UK should visit the Police Aux Frontiers?

The background
I'm planning a sailing trip where the first EU port of call will be Dunkirk, France. I've found where to report - a long way from the yacht harbour but never mind. I also saw that all crew should report to the police, not just one representative carrying all the passports. So far so good.

Some of our crew, departing from Southampton, hold both EU (Ireland) and UK passports. According to an article in Yachting Monthly, "On arrival, all non-EU crew will need to see the local PAF or Customs (Douane) for immigration and customs". And yet we are all arriving from outside of Schengen, so I would expect that even 'EU' crew would report to the frontier police. Your advice please?

 

[ithet]

I would have thought not. It should be the same as for Irish crew on a yacht sailing to France from Ireland (excepting the port of entry requirements for the UK boat). That would also be from outside Schengen.

I am also interested in the answer, and whether the spouse of Irish passport holders has to report, as they too do not require the stamp while travelling with the EU passport holder.

 

[MontyMariner]

If in doubt, visit them, at worst it will be a wasted trip. If you choose not to visit, at worst it will be a fine!

 

[Daydream believer]

Forget Dunkirk. Go further up the coast to Ostend. Only a few hours extra sailing. Just a short walk to the immigration & it all gets sorted easily. Then it will not matter if some have to go or not, as you can all go- it is only a 5 mins walk. Even less if you lock in to the Mercator section

When I was in Dunkirk last year a couple wanted to sign out & had not used their noddle & tried to sign out in Dunkirk. It involved two very long expensive taxi journeys. Plus a lot of waiting & lost sailing time. They were not happy, having just left Ostend.

 

[LiftyK]

Forget Dunkirk. Go further up the coast to Ostend. Only a few hours extra sailing. Just a short walk to the immigration & it all gets sorted easily. Then it will not matter if some have to go or not, as you can all go- it is only a 5 mins walk. Even less if you lock in to the Mercator section

When I was in Dunkirk last year a couple wanted to sign out & had not used their noddle & tried to sign out in Dunkirk. It involved two very long expensive taxi journeys. Plus a lot of waiting & lost sailing time. They were not happy, having just left Ostend.

I like your suggestion and advice. This would be very handy except the crews are not so roughy toughy and are leaning towards Dover to Dunkirk. I was planning either a shared, therefore less unaffordable, taxi ride or taking a one hour and ten minutes cycle ride each way. I will try them again. Extra hours by boat sound better than two hours on a saddle.

 

[Plum]

I like your suggestion and advice. This would be very handy except the crews are not so roughy toughy and are leaning towards Dover to Dunkirk. I was planning either a shared, therefore less unaffordable, taxi ride or taking a one hour and ten minutes cycle ride each way. I will try them again. Extra hours by boat sound better than two hours on a saddle.

Although i have not done this myself, I was told you can use the local free bus service around Dunkirk to get from Dunkirk Centre to the PAF at the ferry terminal. See here https://dkbus.transdev-hdf.fr/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Plan-reseau-2022-09.pdf

 

[LiftyK]

Although i have not done this myself, I was told you can use the local free bus service around Dunkirk to get from Dunkirk Centre to the PAF at the ferry terminal. See here https://dkbus.transdev-hdf.fr/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Plan-reseau-2022-09.pdf

Noted. Many thanks.

 

[Goldie]

…whether the spouse of Irish passport holders has to report, as they too do not require the stamp while travelling with the EU passport holder.

I’d be interested in that too; I’ve heard from several quarters (anecdotally) that non-EU spouses travelling with an EU passport holder enjoy the travel privileges of the EU spouse but would love to see where it’s formalised.

 

[LiftyK]

I will not be able to help with the spouse question as my fellow travellers, him and her, both have Irish passports as well as UK passports. In the meantime someone has kindly confirmed that, in his case, his EU passport holding wife did have to present her EU passport when checking in and out of the Schengen area. I'm off in a month and will report the experience of my group.

 

[bluerm166]

I tried the free bus service to the Dunkerque PAF in the western dock in 2022 and found that the final bus leg involved from the PUYTHOUCK interchange was infrequent and actually discontinued.It arrived with the correct number but this was changed as it arrived .
Maybe it now runs ( although when you think about it a free bus taking you right up to the ferry port fence may not currently be a good idea).
I now plan as I did last year to head for Niewport BE for schengen entry, from Ramsgate .Subject to weather and leaving Ramsgate at the correct time you can cross the shallower sands on a rising tide into Nieuwport so circa 50 nm.You may still hang about a bit but they will come to your boat there and its a nicer setting than Dunkerque.
Obviously depends on your available choice of day .

 

[Daydream believer]

I now plan as I did last year to head for Niewport BE for schengen entry, from Ramsgate .Subject to weather and leaving Ramsgate at the correct time you can cross the shallower sands on a rising tide into Nieuwport so circa 50 nm.You may still hang about a bit but they will come to your boat there and its a nicer setting than Dunkerque.
Obviously depends on your available choice of day .

Did I not read somewhere on this forum that the Nieuport office had a notice telling visitors not to bother them asking for passports to be stamped?
Blankenburg have been known to visit from the office in Zeebrugge-- They visited some friends of mine last year.

 

[LiftyK]

Depending on how the weather goes, the crews are thinking Dunkirk may be a step too far, in which case we might head to Calais. Initially we thought Calais to be less attractive.

 

[TwoFish]

I tried the free bus service to the Dunkerque PAF in the western dock in 2022 and found that the final bus leg involved from the PUYTHOUCK interchange was infrequent and actually discontinued.It arrived with the correct number but this was changed as it arrived .
Maybe it now runs ( although when you think about it a free bus taking you right up to the ferry port fence may not currently be a good idea).

I + sailing mate also looked at getting to (and back from) Dunkirk PAF by bus last year, but concluded it wasn't really workable.

Report here.

 

[LiftyK]

I like your suggestion and advice. This would be very handy except the crews are not so roughy toughy and are leaning towards Dover to Dunkirk. I was planning either a shared, therefore less unaffordable, taxi ride or taking a one hour and ten minutes cycle ride each way. I will try them again. Extra hours by boat sound better than two hours on a saddle.

I've now checked and found that it is an additional 36 nm to go from Dover to Oostende instead of Dover to Dunkirk. That's a large jump for our crews. Each yacht will have a SWMBO aboard and we are on a peacekeeping mission. Meanwhile I discovered that Calais was British until 1558. Darn, too late. That would have avoided the need to be stamped in to the EU.

 

[Daydream believer]

I've now checked and found that it is an additional 36 nm to go from Dover to Oostende instead of Dover to Dunkirk. That's a large jump for our crews. Each yacht will have a SWMBO aboard and we are on a peacekeeping mission. Meanwhile I discovered that Calais was British until 1558. Darn, too late. That would have avoided the need to be stamped in to the EU.

My wife & daughter get eurostar to Brussels then train to Ostend. I take their gear on the boat to save them carrying it. That way you do not have to put up with the whining of women moaning that they are bored, or it is too rough etc. I can sail SH which relieves the worry on me.
Then the trip to Breskens is only 4.5 hours with the tide. However, coming back on a windy day the ladies have been known to desert me at Middleburg & get train to Flushing, Ferry to Breskens then bus to Ostend. It is incredibly cheap compared to UK travel & relatively quick. They have been known to wave to me from the train as I motor down the canal, then watch me exit the lock at Flushing. But be careful as they tend to fill in the waiting time shopping & the saving in travel costs soon gets eaten up

 

[PlanB]

What about Boulogne? Nearer than Dunkirk and nicer than Calais.

 

[Daydream believer]

What about Boulogne? Nearer than Dunkirk and nicer than Calais.

Not a port of entry, so you have to get a bus or taxi to Calais. Taxi is expensive. Bus takes ages. You lose a day's holiday.
Also it is 9 miles round the corner from Cap griz Nez. So if you want to head West, you have to catch a strong tide & tend to end up in Dunkirk.
Boulogne is a great place to stop on the way back to Dieppe though.

 

[Plum]

I've now checked and found that it is an additional 36 nm to go from Dover to Oostende instead of Dover to Dunkirk. That's a large jump for our crews. Each yacht will have a SWMBO aboard and we are on a peacekeeping mission. Meanwhile I discovered that Calais was British until 1558. Darn, too late. That would have avoided the need to be stamped in to the EU.

If you should decide on Calais, my good friend Marion visited 2 years ago and wrote:
"I have just obtained passport stamp to leave Calais in my own boat. That was from the office of the Police aux Frontières (PAF) +33 3 21 46 25 00. It’s a long walk but there is a free bus (navette) from the town railway station to the Car Ferry Terminals stopping near the car ferry ticket office (Billeterie), an unmistakable gold coloured building. The PAF is a little further along the road on the right. A square, grey building, in line with the vehicle control boothso. You ring a bell and wait outside. They wanted to see my passport and boat registration document. On the return to Calais I got off the navette in the Place Léon Vincent, quite close to the marina."

 

[LiftyK]

If you should decide on Calais, my good friend Marion visited 2 years ago and wrote:
"I have just obtained passport stamp to leave Calais in my own boat. That was from the office of the Police aux Frontières (PAF) +33 3 21 46 25 00. It’s a long walk but there is a free bus (navette) from the town railway station to the Car Ferry Terminals stopping near the car ferry ticket office (Billeterie), an unmistakable gold coloured building. The PAF is a little further along the road on the right. A square, grey building, in line with the vehicle control boothso. You ring a bell and wait outside. They wanted to see my passport and boat registration document. On the return to Calais I got off the navette in the Place Léon Vincent, quite close to the marina."

Hi Plum, you have good friends and thank you for your advice. I'm pleased to report that I had already located Marion's very helpful report and I had printed a copy of her text and hand written letter. It is all filed neatly in my ever-growing cruise notes. Please pass on my thanks to Marion next time you see her.

If anyone is skimming through this thinking it can't be that hard to go from south coast UK to the Dutch canals, well that's what I thought before I started detailed planning. Once I have completed the voyage I will summarise all that I learned and post it here. Now... back to DuoLingo and my Dutch lessons.

 

[LiftyK]

What about Boulogne? Nearer than Dunkirk and nicer than Calais.

Ah, so cross the channel before Dover and then head up the French coast. An interesting idea. Alas, Daydream believer has brought up another Police Aux Frontiere issue for Boulogne.