Checking out of Greece?

[Networks]

Can anyone tell me if as a British registered boat with UK passport holders on board do we need to checkout of Greece when visiting Turkey? When we checked into Greece the port authority said we no longer have to sign out of Greece when leaving the country, just sign in each year, but would that have been if leaving to another EU country?

 

[sailaboutvic]

Ur about to get lots of different answers .
The long and short is NO .
There a But .
Because of this tax they keep on about , if I was going to leave Greece say over winter or for a long while ,a year or so I would check out , and insis they stamp me out .
One more reason . Just this year a Dutch friends who not been In Greece for two years had a problem with the PP at Corfu , they insisted he needed a stamp for the last two year even tho he told them he not been in Greece . And it took quite a while and a lot of shouting before they told him if he pays 15 euros for entering Greece they would over look the stamp .
I know and I sure many know here that the PP didn't have a leg to stand on as he had prove they where in another and how can you get an yearly stamp if your not in Greece , so for that reason I would check out

 

[macd]

Wot Vic sez.
Not the rules, but makes sense.

 

[sailaboutvic]

Wot Vic sez.
Not the rules, but makes sense.

These people where theaten with a 5000 euros fines , I think the PP in Corfu must have lost the plot .

 

[AndrewB]

I checked out of Gouvia a couple of weeks ago, headed for Montenegro, like Turkey not in the EU. I visited PP as one is supposed to, they stamped a note to the effect in my DEKPA, took 3 minutes and that was that. Simple. Don't see much point in trying to bend the rules.

 

[wwalsh]

friend got threatened with a 5000 euro fine for missing one port stamp on transit log but in the end wasnt fined

 

[Tony Cross]

As far as the CA has been able to establish there is no legal requirement to check out of Greece when visiting Turkey, as long as the boat is EU-flagged and all persons on board are EU citizens.

However, I agree with Vic. It would be wise to get your crew list, showing your destination port in Turkey, stamped by the PP when you leave Greece. I would also keep any receipts (especially marina receipts) from your visit to Turkey as proof that you were out of Greece (and the EU). This should avoid any nasty surprises if you later come across some over-eager Greek port policemen on your return.

Be aware that legally the PP can charge you the cost of a new DEKPA when you re-enter Greece, even if you already have one with lots of space in it! They rarely do this of course, but they can......

 

[Networks]

Thanks for the confirmation, its much as I thought. We will only be in Turkey about a month meeting friends.