C1331 Border Force form email address?

CAPTAIN FANTASTIC

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Does anyone know whether form C1331 can be sent by email?. I know the postal address is in Dover but surely there must be an email address that the form can be sent to; anyone knows?
 

eebygum

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Does anyone know whether form C1331 can be sent by email?. I know the postal address is in Dover but surely there must be an email address that the form can be sent to; anyone knows?
Yes it can be sent by email. The last tab in the spreadsheet has them on. I would copy them to you but it depends which region your in (North, South etc)

You get an acknowledgment back

…. But when I phoned Yachtline on arrival they could not find the email ?!
 

eebygum

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Does anyone know whether form C1331 can be sent by email?. I know the postal address is in Dover but surely there must be an email address that the form can be sent to; anyone knows?
This screenshot of the tab might help
 

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dunedin

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This screenshot of the tab might help
Wow so the submitter has to email to THREE separate email addresses for differnt parts of our non-joined up government bureaucracies. Surely it would not be beyond the wit of our government IT to use a single mailbox, with an auto forward to as many internal departments as they need, rather than display this lack of coordination to the submitter (IT cost probably less than £50 as all that functionality should already be there in the departmental email servers). It would be easy also to auto-route to the correct location email based upon arrival port as well. This would make much less error prone, which should be a good thing.
And look less like a bunch of disparate departments who can’t coordinate things.

How embarrassing that the UK shows this slap-dash approach to visiting yachts-folk from overseas.
 

st599

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If you have non-British and Irish Nationals onboard, you ring Border Force for permission to enter, then you email it to the 3 email addresses after arriving.
 

dunedin

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Only if the appropriate link box above that splurb doesn't work
See bottom of 3rd Tab 'Declaration & Submission' of C1331_Template_v1.1.xlsx
Still is bizarre IT design - much easier to operate, much less error prone, and much easier to maintain if a single email address is used and the onward routing is done from that single mailbox, under the control of rules defined and maintained by the system owners.
 

eebygum

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Only if the appropriate link box above that splurb doesn't work
See bottom of 3rd Tab 'Declaration & Submission' of C1331_Template_v1.1.xlsx
Unfortunately the link box never worked for me… I could edit and save the Excel spreadsheet on my iPhone (like many sailors I don’t actually keep a fully charged laptop on my boat) but the buttons don’t work (I suspect Excel macros may not work on smartphones) so I had to cut and paste the email addresses into my contacts and then email as a attachment.

Since your told (even as a UK citizen) to fly a yellow Q flag and not disembark until cleared (in my case returning from Ireland to Wales); it’s not as if I could walk ashore and complete/post. I completed 98% of it in advance but your port of arrival, date and time is not always known until you arrive.
After all that, I was told they could not find the email even though I got an acknowledgement back and the customs officer then proceeded to ask me the same questions I’d already answered.

I guess next time I will just ‘Ignore the published guidelines and hope I don’t get caught, but if i do get found out I will say that to the best of my knowledge I followed the rules, but if I broke them I’m humbled and let’s move on’
 

doug748

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Further to post 11.........

"Reporting procedure Fly the Q flag on entering UK territorial waters. Complete sections i and iii of Part 2 of this form. Phone the National Yachtline on 0300 123 2012 when you arrive. They will tell you what to do."

In most cases you would then be freed to go ashore and post the form, or continue with submitting it on-line
In some cases you may be asked to wait until an officer attends, he would no doubt want to see the form.

.
 

Daydream believer

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From the form C1331 what's this:- For boats only: IMO (International Maritime Organisation) number ?
Just put "6" & say it must have got corrupted in the email. I doubt anyone bothers to look anyway. Most staff will be working from home, so too busy changing the baby's nappy, or getting some shopping from the village shop, to bother about your form.
 

eebygum

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Further to post 11.........

"Reporting procedure Fly the Q flag on entering UK territorial waters. Complete sections i and iii of Part 2 of this form. Phone the National Yachtline on 0300 123 2012 when you arrive. They will tell you what to do."

In most cases you would then be freed to go ashore and post the form, or continue with submitting it on-line
In some cases you may be asked to wait until an officer attends, he would no doubt want to see the form.

.
Thanks for that information, Where did you find that guidance ?

I’m not trying to pick an arguement, just trying to understand the process as the guidance in the Form appears different although the outcome is probably the same.

In the Form itself on the first tab, under arriving in the UK it says “When arriving from outside the UK you must notify the National Yachtline by completing this form, including the declaration, and submitting it via email using the buttons on the “Declaration & Submission” tab. …. submit the form electronically in the first instance then phone Yachtline vs Phone Yachtline in the first instance and ask them what to do ?

Then further down it says “If you are unable to submit this form electronically, the National Yachtline can be contacted by telephone on 0300 123 2012” … which suggests they still want you to try and submit the form first ?
 

st599

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Indeed.

AFAIK visiting yachtsmen just front up, ring Yachtline and would normally be given permission to land. They can then submit their crew manifest either be E Mail or (very sensibly) by post.


Thanks for that information, Where did you find that guidance ?

I’m not trying to pick an arguement, just trying to understand the process as the guidance in the Form appears different although the outcome is probably the same.

In the Form itself on the first tab, under arriving in the UK it says “When arriving from outside the UK you must notify the National Yachtline by completing this form, including the declaration, and submitting it via email using the buttons on the “Declaration & Submission” tab. …. submit the form electronically in the first instance then phone Yachtline vs Phone Yachtline in the first instance and ask them what to do ?

Then further down it says “If you are unable to submit this form electronically, the National Yachtline can be contacted by telephone on 0300 123 2012” … which suggests they still want you to try and submit the form first ?


Elsewhere on the form in the guidance it says
Is there anyone on board requiring immigration clearanceSee Notice 8 (link in row 3).

Then in Notice 8 it says:
Anyone on board who is not a British or Irish citizen must get a Border Force officer’s permission to enter the UK from a place other than the Isle of Man, or the Channel Islands.

It says you do that by ringing Border Force.
 

doug748

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Thanks for that information, Where did you find that guidance ?

I’m not trying to pick an arguement, just trying to understand the process as the guidance in the Form appears different although the outcome is probably the same.

In the Form itself on the first tab, under arriving in the UK it says “When arriving from outside the UK you must notify the National Yachtline by completing this form, including the declaration, and submitting it via email using the buttons on the “Declaration & Submission” tab. …. submit the form electronically in the first instance then phone Yachtline vs Phone Yachtline in the first instance and ask them what to do ?

Then further down it says “If you are unable to submit this form electronically, the National Yachtline can be contacted by telephone on 0300 123 2012” … which suggests they still want you to try and submit the form first ?



The quotation is taken from the PDF designed to be printed out and submitted by post. Not having a contract telephone, that is most convenient for me, It's also snag proof which I like.

This is a good overview courtesy of the Conyer Yacht Club:


"Sailing to and from the EU?

IMPORTANT! All UK registered pleasure craft must comply with UK post-brexit regulations.

IN BRIEF:

Form C1331 parts 1 & 2
Before departure from the UK to the EU Form C1331 part 1 must be completed and sent to the Border Force in Dover.
On arrival back in UK from the EU Form C1331 part 2 must be completed ready for presentation to customs after posting your arrival with the National Yachtline.

UK arrival procedure
Fly the 'Q' flag on entering UK territorial waters.
Phone the National Yachtline on 0300 123 2012 on or before arrival.
Be aware that no one can board or leave the boat and nothing can be unloaded prior to clearance.
Form C1331 itemises information that must be reported to the National Yachtline. Allowances and restricted goods are also detailed on the form. "



No doubt in the fullness of time the electronics will be sorted and some really barmy requirements will be inserted by the nerds. In the meantime I like speaking to Yachtline as it exonerates you in one easy swoop, without having to do much in advance.

.
 

DJE

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The quotation is taken from the PDF designed to be printed out and submitted by post. Not having a contract telephone, that is most convenient for me, It's also snag proof which I like.

Me too. I'm going to print out a few copies of the form and put them on board with envelopes and stamps. Not too difficult to post it the night before and use the "voyage abandoned" proceedure if necessary. It does rather put one off ringing round and putting a crew together at short notice though.
 
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