Customs / Border Control in Boulogne?

Gargleblaster said:
My favourite port in that area is Gravelines, but I daresay to enter there you would need your passport stamped at Calais as well, although it might be possible at Dunkerque. I by preference don't go into Calais as I find the lock system difficult to get the timing right unless you are prepared to sit around with your engine going not tied up.

Just thinkint that through though I suppose you could pick up one of the buoys outside the marina, blow up your dinghy go ashore get your passport stamped and reverse the process and leave.
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Problem with Dunkirque is that the customs is in the commercial port, not the one that Uk sailiors would use. So it is a fair trek to the office.
In Calais, is it true that boats raft to the buoys? i would not be happy with a load of French arriving whilst I was not on the boat & bashing, fenderless against me. My insurance policy may not apply either.- Not supposed to leave a boat un attended on a strange mooring!!!
 
dolabriform said:
I'm not sure if this is a request or a dig?
I know I'm not the only one who has done this, but is the first time I'm doing this and so I'm genuinely asking for any help / advice.

I tried to call UK Border Agency ( now UK Immigration ) to try and work entry / exit requirements for sailing to France. They charge 69 pence / minute and require you to pre authorise a credit card on the phone before they will talk to you.

I called National Yachtline but border force will only talk to you when you are arriving.

I've tried googling it, and Google and the UK gov sites say no exit stamp is needed as it's done electronically when the airline scans the passport at checkin, but what if you're not travelling via commercial carrier.. I can't find any info about that.
I know about notice 8 and form C1331 ( and the spreadsheet version ), and have read through those in detail. The only information I can find about departure is:



However, my wife has indefinite leave to remain, or whatever it's called now, so has the right of abode in the UK. Even if I need to contact a border force officer, I have absolutely no idea how one would do that, as the contact number on the gov website says call the ukvi number and pay 69 pence a minute, please pre-authorise your credit card otherwise we won't talk to you.

So yes, I know I'm not the first, and I thought someone might know the answer. The RYA pages don't cover this scenario, and I haven't been able to find any info on the CA website either.
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Hi Dolabriform,

I fear you are experiencing g the still living consequences of Theresa May's hostile Environment which are constantly on display to any foreigner trying to visit the UK other than on a 2 week fly in fly out basis, but are kept hidden from most of the UK population. Charges for everything, and frequently for nothing, like the outrageous telephone costs you cite, are a common feature of this policy.

It's not only Covid that has killed our tourist business.

Peter.
 
stu9000 said:
Surely not. When I looked at this before Xmas this list of premier ports of entry was reasonably extensive and included Boulogne

https://www.douane.gouv.fr/sites/de...ne/ICS/ics-liste-points-d-entree-francais.pdf
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The Boulogne Marina website says that vessels arriving outside of Schengen can arrive in Boulogne, but the formalities are handled by Calais, so even if you arrive there, I expect you and your crew would be off having an expensive Taxi ride to get your stamps and then again before you leave to go home.
 
st599 said:
The Boulogne Marina website says that vessels arriving outside of Schengen can arrive in Boulogne, but the formalities are handled by Calais, so even if you arrive there, I expect you and your crew would be off having an expensive Taxi ride to get your stamps and then again before you leave to go home.
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But the HM says the pontoons are knackered so you cannot berth there anyway :rolleyes:
Would be interesting to see if there are any web cams to see how true that is. It could be a sham for UK boats as the fishermen do not like us Brits.. I do recall that back in 2019 a pontoon was cut in half when the French lifeboat had a stuck throttle & rammed the pontoon & cut right through. Took a while to repair. I can imagine the only likely damage would come from similar events or from a rush of water from the canal washing the pontoons away. Other than that, I cannot imagine bad weather causing damage so far in land.
 
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st599 said:
The Boulogne Marina website says that vessels arriving outside of Schengen can arrive in Boulogne, but the formalities are handled by Calais, so even if you arrive there, I expect you and your crew would be off having an expensive Taxi ride to get your stamps and then again before you leave to go home.
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I was thinking earlier that there's a train from Boulogne to Calais, and that could be cheaper than a taxi if a small crew or single-handed.

Apparently it's about 30 minutes Boulogne to Calais (and similar or slightly shorter from Gravelines) but with a walk at either end, especially at Calais.

It would be useful to know exactly where in Calais (and the other entry points) you need to go to get 'signed in', as the port area is huge, and won't be geared up for signing in people who aren't passing through a gate onto a ferry.

Daydream believer said:
I can imagine the only likely damage would come from similar events or from a rush of water from the canal washing the pontoons away.
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I may be mistaken, but I think there may have been a posting about it a while ago which said it was the latter.
 
It probably will be cheaper to go by train, but that depends on you being allowed enough freedom of movement to walk off in to a country you haven't legally entered by the immigration police you're off to visit.

Calais Police Aux Frontieres office is in the Eurotunnel complex a bit inland from the port.
 
LittleSister said:
It would be useful to know exactly where in Calais (and the other entry points) you need to go to get 'signed in', as the port area is huge, and won't be geared up for signing in people who aren't passing through a gate onto a ferry.
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Calais customs address
Scroll down for map
 
Daydream believer said:
Calais customs address
Scroll down for map
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That's great info. Thanks.

Even better that it's in town, rather than at the ferry port, and closer to both the yacht harbour and the railway station.

p.s. That webpage is a brilliant resource. I see from that the relevant Dunkirk office for us is not at the ferry port (Dunkirk West), but at Dunkirk East, and very close to the Dunkirk marinas!
 
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LittleSister said:
That's great info. Thanks.

Even better that it's in town, rather than at the ferry port, and closer to both the yacht harbour and the railway station.

p.s. That webpage is a brilliant resource. I see from that the relevant Dunkirk office for us is not at the ferry port (Dunkirk West), but at Dunkirk East, and very close to the Dunkirk marinas!
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Whether or not they will process it at the offices is another matter. However, at least one has an email address & first instance point of contact; along with opening times.
 
Daydream believer said:
Whether or not they will process it at the offices is another matter. However, at least one has an email address & first instance point of contact; along with opening times.
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I am corresponding (or at least attempting to) with the Douane in France. My original email to the Calais office has been passed around various departments and the reply I eventually received didn't answer my question. :rolleyes: I have written back to explain that, and await a further reply.
 
Update
I have now been directed to a website and phone number for an office of the Frontier Police, but with no email address.

My French isn't up to phone calls with officialdom, I'm afraid.

Any French speaking volunteers?
- to find out with certainty exactly where in Calais, and what hours/days, we can get our passports stamped, as required, when arriving in, and leaving, France/Schengen by yacht from the UK.
It would also be very useful to know where we can find out the location of other facilities for the same when arriving elsewhere on the French coast.

Here's the latest response I got from the Douane -
'merci pour votre retour, dans ce cas je vous conseille de solliciter la police aux frontières (PAF).
Je ne suis pas certaine de l'implantation de la PAF au port de plaisance mais j'ai trouvé ce contact téléphonique (à Coquelles - Tunnel sous la Manche) sur internet 03-21-46-25-00 DDPAF / Les Services de l'État / Services de l'État / Accueil - Les services de l'État dans le Pas-de-Calais
ce service devrait pouvoir vous renseigner.'
 
The train from Calais to Boulogne is not very frequent but handy for one's non-sailing partner who got the ferry over to Calais then got the train to Boulogne Tintelleries station at the top of the town which is closer than the main station, and a nice walk down to the harbour. On the way back, I walked her up to the station and saw her onto the train, then walked back to the boat and left for Dover arriving in plenty of time to walk up to the Dover Eastern Docks to meet her off the ferry there!
I like Boulogne, and if the only check in is now Calais then that is a shame.
 
The link by Little Sister above has provided an encouraging address for Customs in Dunkerque East but as Daydream Believer cautions it may or may not provide entry facility for the marinas since it is not I think given as a Port of Entry and is not a PAF office .
If anyone finds that it does provides entry then I would be extremely grateful to hear about it as I normally make it my first stop .
Any concrete news on the suggested email/terminal system presaged last year by the CA would also be most welcome. ( not proposing to go West to Le Havre)
UK cruisers can now enter France through any port - Yachting Monthly
 
bluerm166 said:
The link by Little Sister above has provided an encouraging address for Customs in Dunkerque East but as Daydream Believer cautions it may or may not provide entry facility for the marinas since it is not I think given as a Port of Entry and is not a PAF office .
If anyone finds that it does provides entry then I would be extremely grateful to hear about it as I normally make it my first stop .
Any concrete news on the suggested email/terminal system presaged last year by the CA would also be most welcome. ( not proposing to go West to Le Havre)
UK cruisers can now enter France through any port - Yachting Monthly
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Yes, if you read the posts that follow that one, you will see that I had already discovered that those places on the list helpfully linked by Daydream Believer weren't, despite appearances, the relevant places for us.

Unfortunately I am now unable to edit my previous posts accordingly, but if you read the whole thread it should be clear.
 
Important -

We still have no definitive information as to exactly where those of us arriving from the UK at Calais (or most other places) can formally 'check in' to France/Schengen.

Some of the information in earlier posts (even when taken from 'official' sources), has subsequently been found to be misleading or incorrect. This should be readily apparent from reading the subsequent posts which detail the ongoing search for reliable information and clarification.

Think of this thread as an account of the search for the relevant information, and the testing out of ideas and sources, and don't assume any single post remains definitive!

E.g. It seems to me that as of 15 April 2022 some or all of the info in, for instance, posts nos. 10, 23, 30, 31, & 36, is incorrect, but it is now not possible to edit these to amend these to add a warning, but deletion of all posts with information and ideas subsequently found misleading or suspect would render the thread as a whole incoherent.
 
Thank you Little Sister but I can read and use Translate .Nor do I wish to enter Calais.Also post #36 is correct as I see it .
My enquiry relates to Dunkerque in particular so I await any news from those who discover a local and convenient PAF bureau relating to yachts entering there (or Gravelines)
I know that there is a PAF in the Dunkerque western ferry docks and buses do go there from the East .
Despite the promised new scheme for entry I hope that I won't be a pathfinder when I venture across in late May,but I aim to try this method,which can also be achieved from Gravelines.The layout in the dock,based as it is on lines of traffic,may prove impossible to use,we will try a telephone call.
Getting around | Dunkerque Tourisme
 
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