Boulogne and Customs

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Bob the Dog

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Just a ‘be prepared’ headsup if you’re planning to visit Boulogne Marina in the near future. I am English and based permanently in Boulogne and I had a conversation with the lovely staff in the marina office today re the current treatment UK boaty’s are getting from the French customs system.

So…. A boat arrived a couple of days ago direct from the UK and ALL the crew had to walk 20 minutes to the railway station to get on a train to Calais. These are about every 2 hours! Then get a bus to the customs buildings on the the newly redeveloped port facilities. To far to walk, it’s about 2 miles from the station. On arrival you will outside the security razor wire perimeter fence. Then find a small unmarked bell on an unidentified gray building where a ’Douane’ officer will come to a small gate and take your passports for stamping. But they will only come between ferry arrivals so be prepared to stand in the rain and wind for what could be an hour or so…

Then you have to repeat the whole shaboodle in reverse to get back to your boat in Boulogne…..that’s a day of your 90 gone. I can recommend the cafe on the station frontage for a restorative libation.

Oh…btw, you will need to re-run this farce to get a leaving stamp and loose a second day of your 90 days and holiday time.

So much for getting rid of designated ports of entry….they have but then the officialdom steps in!!

On the other hand as a resident of Boulogne-sur-mer I couldn’t recommend the town and the marina enough.
 
We checked in through St. Malo. The Duane weren’t interested in us and directed us to the police who were very helpful, stamped our passports and wished us a good day. We were visited later in Binic by the port police just to check we had stamped in ok, they had come there because of another UK boat with a dog aboard.
 
We have just checked in at Nieuwpoort.
All smiles,customs are in pyramid shaped building right on the marina.
Just wanted passports and boat reg.
We had pre sent the entry form online and they were expecting us.
 
olam said:
We have just checked in at Nieuwpoort.
All smiles,customs are in pyramid shaped building right on the marina.
Just wanted passports and boat reg.
We had pre sent the entry form online and they were expecting us.
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That's encouraging! Nieuwpoort is my preferred arrival and departure port en route to/from the Netherlands. I had assumed I'd have to go to Oostende.
 
Graham376 said:
From what you say, it would appear there are no customs staff in the marina so, what would happen if people don't follow the rule and get their passports stamped, do the marina staff report them?
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From what I’ve seen (to be fair - not a lot) when people check in they are told to call a number for Calais customs. If you don’t it’s an ‘up to you’ situation. Just clarify there are no passport stamping officials in Boulogne so people come, and people go!
 
Brexit the gift that keeps on giving . I live in France and have a French boat . My Brit friends here have re registered their boats as Polish. The Poles cashed in on giving British boats a deal to save any Brexit aggro.
 
mickyp168 said:
Brexit the gift that keeps on giving . I live in France and have a French boat . My Brit friends here have re registered their boats as Polish. The Poles cashed in on giving British boats a deal to save any Brexit aggro.
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Having Polish registration does not have any advantage over UK registration. There is no "Brexit" aggro from having UK registration - except perhaps in the minds of people who don't understand the subject. There is no problem with UK registered boats as the only boat related issue is VAT and that has nothing to do with flag state. VAT issues are covered by the withdrawal agreement and for the vast majority of UK boats visiting the EU there is no issue.

The "problems" discussed here are to do with entry of PEOPLE into Schengen and the difficulty of getting ones passport stamped at non designated entry ports.
 
I'm talking about British registered boats living in the EU with their British owners and skippers living in the EU. Fact , a lot of them have changed to Polish registration . I know them personally. This is not to do with VAT. It's to do with running a business in the EU with a British registered boat when the French Gendarmé Maritime and Douane as yet don't seem to know the ins and outs of what is required what where and when. They like checking if British boats are VAT paid and how long they have been in the EU. Yes that is their fault , but when you are running a business you don't need unnecessary hassell . Already British crew working on boats in the EU now need work permits , and registering for social security and tax etc etc etc .brexit has definitely made boating for the British more difficult ,even if they have a blue passport
 
mickyp168 said:
I'm talking about British registered boats living in the EU with their British owners and skippers living in the EU. Fact , a lot of them have changed to Polish registration . I know them personally. This is not to do with VAT. It's to do with running a business in the EU with a British registered boat when the French Gendarmé Maritime and Douane as yet don't seem to know the ins and outs of what is required what where and when. They like checking if British boats are VAT paid and how long they have been in the EU. Yes that is their fault , but when you are running a business you don't need unnecessary hassell . Already British crew working on boats in the EU now need work permits , and registering for social security and tax etc etc etc .brexit has definitely made boating for the British more difficult ,even if they have a blue passport
Click to expand...

This has nothing to do with the OP's advice, very few visitors are in the business situation you mention. Anyone working there has always had to register for tax, social security etc., the only difference now being work permits.

I happen to have a UK registered boat based in EU and have permanent residence status. Absolutely no problem being UK registered and those on the Polish flag certainly in Portugal draw more attention and inspections than UK ones, mainly due to Polish flag often being used by tax dodgers.
 
mickyp168 said:
I'm talking about British registered boats living in the EU with their British owners and skippers living in the EU. Fact , a lot of them have changed to Polish registration . I know them personally. This is not to do with VAT. It's to do with running a business in the EU with a British registered boat when the French Gendarmé Maritime and Douane as yet don't seem to know the ins and outs of what is required what where and when. They like checking if British boats are VAT paid and how long they have been in the EU. Yes that is their fault , but when you are running a business you don't need unnecessary hassell . Already British crew working on boats in the EU now need work permits , and registering for social security and tax etc etc etc .brexit has definitely made boating for the British more difficult ,even if they have a blue passport
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That may well be the case, but like all the things that happened when the EU was formed, things will settle down. The fact remains that state of registration has no impact on the boat's VAT status. Of course many things have changed for British individuals living and working in the EU, but again that is nothing to do with the state of registration of the boat they might work on. Appreciate that individuals may make their own choices about where to register their boats and "flags of convenience" are commonly used, but other than the hassle factor of ignorant officials there is no legal reason to do it in the situation you describe.
 
Bob the Dog said:
Just a ‘be prepared’ headsup if you’re planning to visit Boulogne Marina in the near future. I am English and based permanently in Boulogne and I had a conversation with the lovely staff in the marina office today re the current treatment UK boaty’s are getting from the French customs system.

So…. A boat arrived a couple of days ago direct from the UK and ALL the crew had to walk 20 minutes to the railway station to get on a train to Calais. These are about every 2 hours! Then get a bus to the customs buildings on the the newly redeveloped port facilities. To far to walk, it’s about 2 miles from the station. On arrival you will outside the security razor wire perimeter fence. Then find a small unmarked bell on an unidentified gray building where a ’Douane’ officer will come to a small gate and take your passports for stamping. But they will only come between ferry arrivals so be prepared to stand in the rain and wind for what could be an hour or so…

Then you have to repeat the whole shaboodle in reverse to get back to your boat in Boulogne…..that’s a day of your 90 gone. I can recommend the cafe on the station frontage for a restorative libation.

Oh…btw, you will need to re-run this farce to get a leaving stamp and loose a second day of your 90 days and holiday time.

So much for getting rid of designated ports of entry….they have but then the officialdom steps in!!

On the other hand as a resident of Boulogne-sur-mer I couldn’t recommend the town and the marina enough.
Click to expand...
As the other Brit resident I have to say I am not surprised... When the lovely guys in the office said that a customs officer would drive over from Calais and do the stamping on site I was slightly surprised .... The alternative to Bob's travel method is to get a UBER to Calais - about 65 euro but split between all the crew... The return fare would be about the same I imagine.... Or ask the marina office to bell a taxi...
Calais is of course a Port of Entry which Boulogne is not... But even from Calais you still have a struggle to get to the Douane office and then only stamping between ferries I bet... But Boulogne is lovely and the Vole cafe up in the old town beside where I live is well worth a visit- Say hi to Jan for me!
 
Graham376 said:
From what you say, it would appear there are no customs staff in the marina so, what would happen if people don't follow the rule and get their passports stamped, do the marina staff report them?
Click to expand...
If you are caught in town or indeed ashore by any authority without an entry visa(stamp) in your passport you will be heavily fined and denied access to the EU for several years - depending on how the judge is feeling ....
 
Sea Devil said:
The alternative to Bob's travel method is to get a UBER to Calais - about 65 euro but split between all the crew... The return fare would be about the same I imagine.... Or ask the marina office to bell a taxi...
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Sailing solo on a tight budget, I would have to make a P of E my initial destination. A hundred odd quid is a high additional cost.
 
LadyInBed said:
Sailing solo on a tight budget, I would have to make a P of E my initial destination. A hundred odd quid is a high additional cost.
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Totally agree - I sail alone and would use a port of entry as well if I had to - I was just offering a solution to more crewed boats where splitting the UBER fare would not be such a pain.... And trying to encourage visits to my home port!
 
Sea Devil said:
If you are caught in town or indeed ashore by any authority without an entry visa(stamp) in your passport you will be heavily fined and denied access to the EU for several years - depending on how the judge is feeling ....
Click to expand...
Hopefully the EU EES biometric scanners will roll out to major marinas in the medium term allowing you to do the iris and finger scans at the marina. The UK are also rolling out similar scanners, but I think they're only planning to be available at certain ports, so the issue will replicate itself for returning to the UK.
 
Hello, me again. I'm back in Dunkerque having been lucky on arrival to fall in with a convoy of 'Little Ships' which had an arrangement for a police to visit as there were a number of boats. I asked the marina manager what normally happens with Brits wanting arrival or departure stamps. She says it is possible but the office is a long way and there is no bus. She has been advising Brits to seek each other out and share a taxi.
 
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