Do you check in and our with customs in the EU?

[prv]

I used to keep my boat at Haslar and they had a customs box and a ready supply of C1331 forms. Now I am in Southampton I cannot find a customs box, I asked the marina and they had node what I was talking about. So I went to Carteret instead.

You can download the form, and you can post it to an address at Heathrow Airport (it seems to be a part-time sideline for some guy in the cargo terminal...). I keep a few printed copies, pre-addressed envelopes, and 2nd-class stamps in the back of the Ship's Papers folder. I've even sent them off a couple of times. But there seems increasingly little point when the phone line is clearly never used (initial confusion, followed by sudden recollection and hunting about in the back of a drawer for an unfamiliar script) and we hear that even when harbourmasters used to accept the forms, they were often thrown away again since nobody from Customs ever collected them.

Pete

 

[sailaboutvic]

The simple answer to the OP question .
NO

 

[laika]

But there seems increasingly little point when the phone line is clearly never used (initial confusion, followed by sudden recollection and hunting about in the back of a drawer for an unfamiliar script) and we hear that even when harbourmasters used to accept the forms, they were often thrown away again since nobody from Customs ever collected them.

Last year after a particularly painful experience with checking in via the national yachtline (having not checked out by virtue of having left the EU via france) a friend who had provided them with his full details found himself at anchor for a few days so unable to post the form. During this time his curiosity started to pique him . Are these forms cross-referenced with information provided to the yachtline? Surely the information gathered from the yachtline and these forms must be put into a computer somewhere (otherwise it's useless) and surely it's then trivial to cross reference them so if these forms *aren't* binned then not sending one in after checking in should prompt a reminder letter. C1331 part B was accidentally forgotten about and stayed in the chart table. No letter arrived. Conclusion? C1331 seems to be mainly of benefit to holders of Royal Mail Group shares.

 

[KellysEye]

We never checked in with customs in Croatia, Greece, Turkey, Malta, Corsica, Sardinia, Balearics, Spain or Portugal.

 

[tudorsailor]

We never checked in with customs in Croatia, Greece, Turkey, Malta, Corsica, Sardinia, Balearics, Spain or Portugal.

If you arrive in Croatia from another country, and go to a marina, you will be asked if you have checked in. If you have not, the marina will not let you stay until you have checked in. Its a simple enough process so why not do it if that is what they want? There certainly are stories of people not checking in at the first possible opportunity being fined for checking in at a subsequent port. The only way to avoid this is to sail beyond 12Nm offshore before sailing in to the port you want to check in at. So if arriving from Montenegro, you have to check in at Cavtat if you hug the coast. If you sail out 12Nm you can check in at Gruz which is much less hassle

Tudorsailor (the OP for this thread)

 

[KAL]

They were certainly checking quite rigorously in Guernsey this year. The place was crawling with Guernsey Customs officers, morning, afternoon and evening. They even confiscated the 2lts of gin I'd bought in Alderney and put it in their safe until we left!! They must be on a job creation scheme, can't remember seeing any in previous years.

What a total waste of time. They must have had little else to do.

 

[KAL]

Done it once; when I phoned the number on return to the UK the guy on the other end sounded awfy confused

Pete

I had exactly the same response when I tried to post the filled out form into the supposed box. The harbour authority told me that they thought they used to have one, but that it had been removed a year or two previously and no one seemed to bother any more. So, I stopped bothering too!

 

[BrianH]

If you arrive in Croatia from another country, and go to a marina, you will be asked if you have checked in. If you have not, the marina will not let you stay until you have checked in. Its a simple enough process so why not do it if that is what they want? There certainly are stories of people not checking in at the first possible opportunity being fined for checking in at a subsequent port. The only way to avoid this is to sail beyond 12Nm offshore before sailing in to the port you want to check in at. So if arriving from Montenegro, you have to check in at Cavtat if you hug the coast. If you sail out 12Nm you can check in at Gruz which is much less hassle

Tudorsailor (the OP for this thread)

It is certainly risking a heavy fine to be found in a Croatian anchorage without having cleared in. Some do it to save on all the fees but not anyone who knows how difficult the marine police can be. Pleading pressure of weather and an impromptu stop for refuge, or that the intention was just a stop before formally entering, is unlikely to cut any ice. I have been in anchorages when the police boat enters and demands documents and they did not seem the sympathetic sort. One Austrian anchored near me in Soline bay, Veruda, was given a hard time for not wearing his ensign. Of course, many will say that they have never been checked and it is probably rare to be so, but I have been a few times and would never normally chance it.

As you point out, the entry documents are demanded by any marina and they won't accept anyone without, also, they hold them until you pay and leave.

 

[jimbaerselman]

As noted in post #13, Greece and Croatia require boats sailing from port to port in their waters to have local permission. This is a requirement of the local maritime authorities, and is nothing to do with customs (EU) or immigration (Schengen)

 

[pagoda]

As noted in post #13, Greece and Croatia require boats sailing from port to port in their waters to have local permission. This is a requirement of the local maritime authorities, and is nothing to do with customs (EU) or immigration (Schengen)

There appears not to be a regular pattern to this issue...
Some places are close to an*l about the procedure, but most of Europe is less than fussed?
Went to Norway and back from Scotland in 2014, not a soul was interested in either direction.? That suited me fine... long may that continue.

 

[Spuddy]

More detail on my Portugal experience. I can recall clearly that marinas in Peniche on the mainland and then Porto Santo and Funchal in Madeira insisted we went along to chaps in uniform - probably the Garda Rurale. In the Azores, all four islands we visited had three different uniforms taking the details. The pilot books mention explicitly about checking in AND checking out with them. I expect it's partially a job creation scheme; isn't EU policy to keep islands occupied by subsidies of various types? Form filling qualifies.

 

[Daydream believer]

Croatia is not yet Schengen (like the UK) and anyway likes its bureaucracy.

By ( like the Uk) are you suggesting UK is in the Schengen agreement- or are you saying that UK is not in the same way Croatia is not
because UK is not in the Schengen agreement, Having opted out when it was introduced to " protect our borders" ----which leak like a sieve anyway

When I go to Belgium the customs often come & fill in a Schengen form, although i always do one & post it in the relevant boxes that they have around some marinas.
However, I do not recall doing one for France myself, but their customs do often come & do one & give me a copy for future French ports on my trip

 

[RichardS]

By ( like the Uk) are you suggesting UK is in the Schengen agreement- or are you saying that UK is not in the same way Croatia is not because UK is not in the Schengen agreement,

I think you've answered your own question!

Richard

 

[Nikia]

On our summer cruise last year to S. Brittany, we went from Plymouth to Falmouth where we were boarded by the Border Force boys and girls.
Thence to L'Aberwrach where we were boarded by French customs. On the way back we stopped at Cameret and were boarded by French customs again.

On each occasion they were pretty thorough, but immensely polite.

We obviously just look "dodgy".

 

[LadyInBed]

On my summer cruise this year I was checked three times in N Spain (passport, SSR, insurance) all very friendly. Marinas that I had previously visited still had me on their computer. Not checked in France, though Cherbourg have me on their computer, which I'm sure is checked by customs if they want to. I can't remember filling in a form in Jersey, I think they have given up on the 1331, but as Cherbourg, I'm on their computer. On the way down I anchored in Havlet bay, Guernsey, so didn't have the opportunity to fill in their form but did on the way back as I went into the marina.

 

[jimbaerselman]

On my summer cruise this year I was checked three times in N Spain (passport, SSR, insurance) all very friendly. Marinas that I had previously visited . . . . <snip>

Yes. One has to differentiate in Europe between what is required (very little!)

and "policing activities". Customs and border control of all countries are entitled to ask anyone at any time within their national waters to show their paperwork and explain their intentions. Most commonly, checks are made to detect possible drug or people smuggling.

 

[bobgarrett]

Knowing the French are not bothered by UK citizens arriving from the UK we did nothing arriving in Boulogne but were concerned arriving in Belgium that we had not "checked in" to Schengen. Since we were to travel on to Germany, Denmark and all the way to Finland we were unsure what to do. The Belgian marina did not see to know and the Customs office was shut. In the end we filled out a Schengen crew form we had onboard took a photocopy and posted it in the Customs office letter box. Still unsure what was the right process.

 

[LadyInBed]

UK into Schengen never seems to be an issue.
An American I met in Cameret who crossed Azores - Cameret, put up his yellow flag and filled in the forms, but the impression I got was that Customs were more interest in Duty revenue than immigration.