Entry to France

[Bouba]

During the covid days it was required by French officials that you carry a signed attestation to say why you are out and about. These where printed forms downloaded from the official site.....but...you were allowed to hand write these if you didn’t have a printer. Of course I don’t know if it would apply to this case

 

[Bathdave]

I downloaded the original into acrobat on my iPad and can edit as needed …is how I did it last year

this thread has rather focussed on the IT issue around the Pre-Avis form

can anyone throw informed light on whether the official port of entry requirement is changing

this has been a real barrier for CI boaters looking for an overnight or weekend trip to France as many of our normal visit locations are not PoE

 

[st599]

I downloaded the original into acrobat on my iPad and can edit as needed …is how I did it last year

this thread has rather focussed on the IT issue around the Pre-Avis form

can anyone throw informed light on whether the official port of entry requirement is changing

this has been a real barrier for CI boaters looking for an overnight or weekend trip to France as many of our normal visit locations are not PoE

It is changing later this year, the plethora of forms will go and you'll have to visit a port equipped with an EES scanner to enter the EU.

 

[Poignard]

Passengers arriving by ferry, road or air from the UK are required to complete and carry a sworn affadavit stating they have not been in contact with a Covid case during the preceding14 days.

Does that requirement not also apply to people arriving in yachts and motor boats?

 

[deep denial]

As a matter of interest, does anyone know what was the procedure before we joined the Common Market? I don’t believe that yachtsman could only land via specific ports.

 

[DJE]

Cherbourg version of the form sent to me from Port Chantereyne last July. At the time they were saying this:-

Hello Mister,


We would be delighted to welcome you to Port Chantereyne.

I send you some information about what you should do before your arrival in France.

Before you leave Great-Britain : Everyone onboard should have done a PCR test <72h + the vaccination proof (done for over two weeks).
You also should send the document attached at this email to the border police to declare that you are leaving.

You have to send it at the adress: didpaf-cherbourg-cic@interieur.gouv.fr

At the time of your arrival, please call the 02.33.88.72.20 to stamp your passeport.
You are now free to enjoy your stay !

Before you leave Cherbourg : You need to send the same document as before at the border police to declare that you are leaving.

Don't hesitate to contact us if you have more questions, and we wish you a nice day.



Best regards



Laurence



No doubt Covid rules have changed but there was a lot of ambiguity about whether or not you are free to go ashore before your passport was stamped, how you get a departure stamp, etc.

 

[Birdseye]

If you drop into to say jersey en route does that matter assuming you complete form exiting Uk waters ?

only if they find out.

 

[Bathdave]

Too many of the comments on here are focussing on what happened last year

the thread was about what the situation is for the current year and in particular whether you can land at any port or only a port of entry as per the rules last year

despite the optimism from the initial post I can’t find anything from France that says that is true

i have been talking today to a friend who is good friends with the capitainerie in a couple of normandy and Brittany marinas

they are telling her the new smart biometric terminals are delayed until September

 

[ashtead]

Indeed -I was thinking once you had checked in at say cherbourg this summer that would serve for a few weeks away visiting various ports.

 

[Bathdave]

Indeed -I was thinking once you had checked in at say cherbourg this summer that would serve for a few weeks away visiting various ports.

That’s correct ..once youre checked in youre checked in and you just need to remember to check out at the end of your trip ..it doesn’t need to be the same port

 

[Bandit]

That’s correct ..once youre checked in youre checked in and you just need to remember to check out at the end of your trip ..it doesn’t need to be the same port

Its important to check out properly as otherwise they could say that you have exceeded your 90 days in 180 limit which is illegal for your average Brit who does not have dual nationality or other valid permisssion to be in the EU.

 

[ashtead]

Must get on with that Irish application ??

 

[JonWA]

Must get on with that Irish application ??

I did that a while ago. So I’m assuming if I travel to Schengen area I should be ok and don't need to worry about length of stay, but what about the boat re import VAT? I haven’t researched this yet, so apologies if the answer is obvious, just wondering if the Irish passport is of any use in these circumstances. As far as an EU official is concerned I’m just some bloke from Ireland with a UK boat that hasn’t paid any EU VAT.

 

[ashtead]

I guess the answer depends on how long your boat intends to stay but if you are an Irish passport holder you would expect there would be a period of time whereby a uk registered boat can be repatriated to Ireland but maybe you need Irish tax advice.

 

[JonWA]

I guess the answer depends on how long your boat intends to stay but if you are an Irish passport holder you would expect there would be a period of time whereby a uk registered boat can be repatriated to Ireland but maybe you need Irish tax advice.

Thanks, and apologies, I wasn’t all that clear. The boat is based in UK, VAT recently paid. I hold both UK and Irish passport, UK resident. I see that provided the boat doesn’t spend more than 6 months in EU then all good, not VAT. But also read that EU citizen shouldn’t use a boat in EU that isn’t EU VAT paid. So, I guess for the purposes of boat use in EU, present the UK passport and for the avoidance of confusion, fill out the forms for entry as UK citizen, otherwise it could get confusing. The Irish passport seems of limited benefit here, other than overstaying 90 days shouldn’t be a problem. I’m planning an extended Northern Europe trip next year, just starting to think about practicalities.

 

[ashtead]

I believe you can break the duration in the EU for the boat but I’m no expert ie one day out of say Ireland breaks the issue. I’m not certain why an eu national should not use a uk registered boat or vice versa though . It’s going to ruin the charter business if that’s the case.

 

[BoatBouy]

I did that a while ago. So I’m assuming if I travel to Schengen area I should be ok and don't need to worry about length of stay, but what about the boat re import VAT? I haven’t researched this yet, so apologies if the answer is obvious, just wondering if the Irish passport is of any use in these circumstances. As far as an EU official is concerned I’m just some bloke from Ireland with a UK boat that hasn’t paid any EU VAT.

Thanks, and apologies, I wasn’t all that clear. The boat is based in UK, VAT recently paid. I hold both UK and Irish passport, UK resident. I see that provided the boat doesn’t spend more than 6 months in EU then all good, not VAT. But also read that EU citizen shouldn’t use a boat in EU that isn’t EU VAT paid. So, I guess for the purposes of boat use in EU, present the UK passport and for the avoidance of confusion, fill out the forms for entry as UK citizen, otherwise it could get confusing. The Irish passport seems of limited benefit here, other than overstaying 90 days shouldn’t be a problem. I’m planning an extended Northern Europe trip next year, just starting to think about practicalities.

Disclaimer: This Is Not Professional Legal Advice Just My Understanding Of The Rules.

I am a dual EU-British citizen and I don't believe that in itself has any implication upon the VAT liability. The key issues are residence and where the boat is permanently kept.

If you are resident in a country and bring the boat into that country then you are liable to VAT if you are not resident then you can bring it in as a Temporary Import. In the case of the EU this is 18-months -if the boat remains in the customs territory of the EU for longer it is deemed to be permanently imported and liable to VAT irrespective of the place of residence of the owner being outside the EU.

As an example a Frenchman living in London will pay VAT on his car in the UK. If he drives to France to see family he is not required to pay VAT on import as he is not resident in France unless he decides to keep the vehicle there permanently and not re-export it at the end off his visit.

There should be no problem in principle with entering as an Irish citizen and you want to clear immigration with it to avoid the 90/180 limit - but I would keep the British passport to hand and any supporting documentation to show residence in the UK and thus that as someone not resident in the EU you are able to import the boat temporarily without VAT and customs fees.

Under EU law for stays of less than 3 months you cannot be required to register your residence but are required to beyond this. Therefore you want to keep the stay in each individual country below that or you would become resident and liable to VAT on the boat as the resident of an EU member state.

 

[Bathdave]

As a slight digression I can report that my rally group of 40 boats and 100 people managed to negotiate a virtual check in and check out over Easter ....each boat had to file the preavis form and send a scan of the passports, but didn’t need to attend the customs office.

It was a port of entry

 

[ashtead]

Which port as that seems a sensible way to manage what seems to be a admin task as far as I can fathom .

 

[JonWA]

Disclaimer: This Is Not Professional Legal Advice Just My Understanding Of The Rules.

I am a dual EU-British citizen and I don't believe that in itself has any implication upon the VAT liability. The key issues are residence and where the boat is permanently kept.

If you are resident in a country and bring the boat into that country then you are liable to VAT if you are not resident then you can bring it in as a Temporary Import. In the case of the EU this is 18-months -if the boat remains in the customs territory of the EU for longer it is deemed to be permanently imported and liable to VAT irrespective of the place of residence of the owner being outside the EU.

As an example a Frenchman living in London will pay VAT on his car in the UK. If he drives to France to see family he is not required to pay VAT on import as he is not resident in France unless he decides to keep the vehicle there permanently and not re-export it at the end off his visit.

There should be no problem in principle with entering as an Irish citizen and you want to clear immigration with it to avoid the 90/180 limit - but I would keep the British passport to hand and any supporting documentation to show residence in the UK and thus that as someone not resident in the EU you are able to import the boat temporarily without VAT and customs fees.

Under EU law for stays of less than 3 months you cannot be required to register your residence but are required to beyond this. Therefore you want to keep the stay in each individual country below that or you would become resident and liable to VAT on the boat as the resident of an EU member state.

thanks, it’s the last point that’s the rub, while you can stay longer on an Irish passport, someone might come knocking for the VAT. Best to keep moving, which isn’t exactly a hardship, in fact that’s the point. The plan is to go to Norway, eventually, so I need to look at their rules too.