Mudisox
Well-known member
And what will happen if I buy a years' canal pass [peage] entering France in March 2021?
Entering France Next Year
- Thread starter laika
- Start date
st599
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You can use it for 90 days. Then you need to leave Schengen, the boat can stay. Then 90 days later you can re-enter Schengen for another 90 days.
CLB
Well-known member
Well if there is already a system in place, what's the problem? A bit of form filling? I can't see that making weekend visits unfeasible. We used to have to do forms to visit the CIs and that never put me off short trips.
st599
Well-known member
From what the RYA said, for France the forms can only be filled at an Immigration centre at a Port of Entry at a time whilst they're open.
Skellum
Well-known member
I wonder if Alex Thomson will need to fill in the forms when he (hopefully) finishes the VG next year??? Luckily Les Sables is a port of entry.
For other UK yachtsmen arriving when the customs office is closed, do they go about their business ashore (ie go to a bar!) and then present themselves when it is open again, or have to wait on the boat I wonder?
For other UK yachtsmen arriving when the customs office is closed, do they go about their business ashore (ie go to a bar!) and then present themselves when it is open again, or have to wait on the boat I wonder?
CLB
Well-known member
I suspect this will get sorted quite quickly. Many marinas on the north French coast will want to welcome visitors from across the Channel. I am sure they will do whatever is needed to ensure that they are able to accommodate them. Maybe process forms on behalf of a 'port of entry', or even become one themselves. When Holland use to require us Brits to complete Schengen paperwork, every marina and even yacht club had a pile of forms and a box for posting them in. Likewise the CI marinas gave you a form on arrival and asked you to deposit it in a box. While I don't doubt there will be a transitional period where things are a bit complicated or difficult, I will stick my neck out and say that, after a while, we will end up with something similar and easy to do. The onus will be on us to do it properly, of course, and that will mean dropping the departure section of the form off in the box when you leave. It will all be done under the threat of big fines if you don't comply, or complete the forms incorrectly, with occasional random checks to keep us all on our toes, but that will be about it I reckon. I'll bookmark this and come back in eighteen months or so and see how right or wrong I am.
Frogmogman
Well-known member
Quite so. For example, the system in Martinique allows visiting yachts to make their declarations thus (from Noonsite)...
"General process:
Upon arrival, vessels should fly the French courtesy flag (not the Martinique one) and proceed to a Customs and Immigration computer in one of the official ports of entry as soon after arrival as possible.
The computers can be found in chandleries, marinas, restaurants and tourist offices.
On the computer, you do your own entry, print it out and then have it stamped by a Customs officer or business owner/worker."
No reason why it cannot work in this way for mainland France, once we've got past the period of making life difficult, just to remind the Brits what a monumentally stupid and unnecessary business Brexit is.
st599
Well-known member
Won't his last port of call been in France?
st599
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Even if they do, it won't help those in the thread who had long term cruising ambitions or this that sail club boats with crew changes.
CLB
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But if you have long term cruising ambitions, a bit of extra paperwork, in the form of a Visa, is worth the effort surely.
RobbieW
Well-known member
There is no Schengen visa that gives anything like the flex of FoM. The longer term ones are country specific and, like residency, only work in the issuing state
CLB
Well-known member
I get that, but FOM is gone, we have to work with what we have. For many, a one-country visa will be fine. For others, they will have a bit more paperwork to do. Nothing is insurmountable.
Sandy
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You are quite correct, but everybody knows where he is for every minute since leaving France. I wonder if the VG skippers carry passports?
laika
Well-known member
I'm willing to be corrected on this but I don't believe that channel islanders who don't have familial connections to the UK do have freedom of movement within the EU. I'm also guessing (and happy to be corrected) that the French authorities don't worry too much about that at present.
The point here being that as with schengen forms now, the rules and the practical enforcement of those rules may differ. If I'd just crossed the ocean from America I wouldn't be too concerned about landing at a port of entry and waiting til the border police opened. That overhead is going to effectively preclude Brits bothering with weekend jaunts to France IF the current non-EU procedure is enforced in practice. For those that do persist, I bet the PAF won't be pleased with a long line of Brits in foulies outside their office every monday morning wanting to check in and immediately check out. The difference between weekending Brits and international voyagers both in behaviour and volume *may* suggest that the practical implementation of rules may not end up being simply the current non-eu procedure.
I guess it was a stupid question: If a big french marina and the cherbourg border police don't know how it's going to work it was stupid to ask "how did it used to work?" because obviously times and technology have changed. I guess we'll have to wait and see...
If he didn't check out of France, is that where Hugo Boss will be for VAT purposes assuming he doesn't get back by December 31st?
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dk
Well-known member
Probably depends on how the fishing rights argument goes!
Topcat47
Well-known member
My concern is more about the "Port of Entry" rules. My current port of refuge, if I cannot make Cherbourg (due to late arrival and foul tides) is to plod on to St Vaast. (My other option was always Alderney but that isn't in France). Ouistreham is a lot further and I hate the marina entry. I've already dug out my old "Q"flag but I foresee a lot more motor-sailing in my future if I cannot divert to St Vaast.
Sandy
Well-known member
He has no need to check out, the rules don't come into force until 01/01/2021