Checking out of France from UK

[eebygum]

I’m asking for a friend ….. who checked into France and had their passport stamped when he arrived by yacht this summer but he then had to return back across the channel suddenly whilst on route to a port of exit to avoid a storm ( allegedly force majeure and all that). So he never got his exit stamped on his passport. He completed his C1331 form and registered his return on to UK.

Is there anyway he can get his passport stamped as having left France as he is clearly in Blighty now and would be happy to saunter down to the French embassy if need be/or send off.

Does he ignore the issue as allegedly it’s all going to be computerised next year and they probably don’thave a record of his arrival this year.

Does he do nothing as my friend thinks it was all a complete waste of time/farce and he will just not bother checking in/out next year when he returns to France.

Or any other options for my friend ?

 

[st599]

The German Zoll went through my passport and worked out my time in the EU.

Suppose it depends on how lucky he feels and if he can live with getting caught.

 

[Bobc]

French Embassy?

 

[ashtead]

He might have lost his passport mid channel?

 

[Ningaloo]

Corfu went through our passports counting Schengen days. Whilst some countries may not bother to do this, for me it's not worth the risk of being denied entry.
Not sure what I would have done in your friend's position, but knowing the consequences, I do think he was foolish to attempt such a passage if the weather was bad enough to risk being diverted.

 

[Daydream believer]

Apply for a new passport in the UK claiming old one was stolen. Many have 2 passports. I doubt that they would replicate the EU entry stamp. Then when going to EU next time they may not notice.
He could get on a passenger foot ferry & go to France & back & get a new pair of enty exit stamps.
But in any event he should have emailed the eu border force the advance notice of exit. Did he do that?
Or he could go to a stationery shop & ask them to make him a similar stamp & stamp the passport himself.
I am surprised that they are not for sale on Ebay yet- Or are they?

Note
Edited to avoid upsetting frogmogman

 

[Daydream believer]

Not sure what I would have done in your friend's position, but knowing the consequences, I do think he was foolish to attempt such a passage if the weather was bad enough to risk being diverted.

Not really. I have had several dashes from Boulogne/ Ramsgate in the middle of bad weather systems. There is a sudden short lull & one makes a decsion to go. But because I have to get round to Calais to log out first, I have knocked Boulogne on the head. This is a pity because it is a good staging post for the French coast when coming from the east coast. So now the 2 EU entry ports for me are Ostend & Cherbourg which limits one's options a bit. I do not think that I would do a "dash" from Le Havre though.

 

[ashtead]

I wonder how many such situations will lead to a failure to have an entry stamp . I don’t get the feeling many marina are that bothered about stamps based on what others have said met this summer until entry stamp machine have been installed in each location.

 

[Frogmogman]

Apply for a new passport in the UK claiming old one was stolen. I doubt that they would replicate the EU entry stamp. Then when going to EU next time they may not notice.
He could get on a passenger foot ferry & go to France & back & get a new pair of enty exit stamps.
But in any event he should have emailed the eu border force the advance notice of exit. Did he do that?
Or he could go to a stationery shop & ask them to make him a similar stamp & stamp the passport himself.
I am surprised that they are not for sale on Ebay yet- Or are they?

I think if you are encouraging people to engage in criminal fraud, it might be better if you added en emoji or two to show that you are only joking…

 

[Ningaloo]

I have had several dashes from Boulogne/ Ramsgate in the middle of bad weather systems. There is a sudden short lull & one makes a decsion to go. But because I have to get round to Calais to log out first, I have knocked Boulogne on the head. This is a pity because it is a good staging post for the French coast when coming from the east coast. So now the 2 EU entry ports for me are Ostend & Cherbourg which limits one's options a bit. I do not think that I would do a "dash" from Le Havre though.

In the past you might chance a passage because the consequences of having to divert might just mean a longer or uncomfortable passage.
Now there are legal consequences.
Of course if you never want to return to Schengen, it doesn't matter. The port police might not bother to count days but is the same true at ferry ports or airports? This has happened to myself and at least one other poster on this thread.
It is an interesting conundrum. The OP has knowingly put himself in the situation where he might be treated as an overstay on return to Schengen with no apparent means of rectifying this.

 

[Daydream believer]

In the past you might chance a passage because the consequences of having to divert might just mean a longer or uncomfortable passage.
Now there are legal consequences.
Of course if you never want to return to Schengen, it doesn't matter. The port police might not bother to count days but is the same true at ferry ports or airports? This has happened to myself and at least one other poster on this thread.
It is an interesting conundrum. The OP has knowingly put himself in the situation where he might be treated as an overstay on return to Schengen with no apparent means of rectifying this.

Of course. That is why I pointed out that Boulogne is no longer on the visit list

 

[Daydream believer]

I think if you are encouraging people to engage in criminal fraud, it might be better if you added en emoji or two to show that you are only joking…

Was I?

 

[Poignard]

In August 2021 my wife and I took the ferry from Portsmouth to Caen.
Our passports were stamped at Caen.

When we returned a few weeks later our passports were not stamped at Caen.

Soon after, my wife obtained a new passport. It had no stamps, obviously.

Since then, we have made several trips to and from France.

Neither of us had our passport stamped on these visits.

Going by the stamps in our passports, I have been in France continuously since August 2021 and my wife has never been there.

 

[Stemar]

Those advocating variation on a theme of ignore it and hope it goes away, including the new passport idea would probably have been correct before IT became so pervasive but a line of data in a computer never goes away and is liable to surface at an inconvenient time.

ISTM that, while one can argue the merits or otherwise of undertaking a voyage when bad weather is likely, either the forecasts or our interpretation of them do get it wrong, making a diversion necessary. If no one's thought of that, well, it's time they did. My wife is French, so has regular dealings with French administration and she's nearly always found them helpful and pragmatic. I'd get in touch with the French Consulate.

 

[Frogmogman]

Was I?

Declaring a passport stolen (when it isn’t) is probably more minor, but a fraudulent statement nonetheless, but having a fake official rubber stamp made up ? Really ? What do you think that is if it isn’t fraud ?

 

[st599]

Those advocating variation on a theme of ignore it and hope it goes away, including the new passport idea would probably have been correct before IT became so pervasive but a line of data in a computer never goes away and is liable to surface at an inconvenient time.

ISTM that, while one can argue the merits or otherwise of undertaking a voyage when bad weather is likely, either the forecasts or our interpretation of them do get it wrong, making a diversion necessary. If no one's thought of that, well, it's time they did. My wife is French, so has regular dealings with French administration and she's nearly always found them helpful and pragmatic. I'd get in touch with the French Consulate.

As of sometime next year, stamps stop being used and the new EU Entry and Exit System will be rolled out. This is a biometric scanner that's connected to a central database. It will automatically calculate Schengen allowances and overstays.

I suppose the main question is will it be cheap enough to have a terminal at each marina.

 

[doug748]

In August 2021 my wife and I took the ferry from Portsmouth to Caen.
Our passports were stamped at Caen.

When we returned a few weeks later our passports were not stamped at Caen.

Soon after, my wife obtained a new passport. It had no stamps, obviously.

Since then, we have made several trips to and from France.

Neither of us had our passport stamped on these visits.

Going by the stamps in our passports, I have been in France continuously since August 2021 and my wife has never been there.

Grand, a post that will actually be useful to the OP's friend. I think that your record will no doubt be residing in some rustic French system but is unlikely ever to surface, ditto for the OP's oppo.
If I was him I would follow the advice to do a dry run by ferry which should a least establish a firm date of exit, by stamp. It would be a shame to be greeted by problems after a yacht passage.

I had a few diversions with the French system this year, I am sure that the average officer could not care a rap about Schengen days and knows full well that those trying to cheat the system are not the ones showing up before them. However like all in their position, they are scared shitless about making an error that could be construed as incompetence by the tier of bureaucrats above.

The UK system is more flexible, less onerous, safer and more welcoming for yachtsmen. Lets all hope it prevails.

.

 

[st599]

The UK system is more flexible, less onerous, safer and more welcoming for yachtsmen. Lets all hope it prevails.

UK have plans for a biometric system where you will need to check in and out - it's meant to be implemented for all border crossings by 2025.

 

[smert]

We recently flew into Alicante and then on to Lanzarote then home. We were stamped into Schengen in Alicante but Lanzarote did not even have an immigration officer available to stamp us out. We got a stamp (by request) at Gatwick so at least we can show we were no longer in Schengen as of that date. According to the UK immigration officer, lots of places are not stamping out.

 

[Poignard]

From Mid-2022 Brits Will No Longer Have Their Passports Stamped During EU Border Checks - SchengenVisaInfo.com