Entry to France

[JonWA]

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.

Short term use not an issue I expect, I read somewhere that EU citizen shouldn’t use non EU boat, for extended period I guess, but no idea now where I read that, there’s so much of this stuff. I now see that EES and ETIAS will be introduced soon anyway, changing procedure again so I guess there’s not much point researching for a trip planned next year until that happens.

 

[Nina Lucia]

I gather that the process of entering the EU via France has been simplified, and one no longer needs to land at a port of entry. One can email a form - https://lehavreplaisance.com/library/file/PAF-le-Havre-Immigration-Form. anglais odt 2-1(5).pdf to a recognised port of entry, and then simply turn up at any port and report to the police. But the form which I have found does not appear to be editable when opened on my iPad, so I wouldn't be able do it on the move. Is that a problem with my iPad, or a more general problem?

Thanks, yes working on iPad,
Thank you

 

[Lightwave395]

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

I can report that I have arrived at Roscoff yesterday after sailing direct from Cowes. Entry here on Easter Sunday was simple, we arrived at 1400 local time, had a cup of tea, wandered up to the Capitainerie and checked in, then at their request wandered around to the ferry terminal next where we pressed the bell to summon the PAF who promptly appeared , invited us in , checked our entry form and Covid Vax status , stamped our passports and off we went to take the yellow flag down. The whole process was easy, I can't speak for other ports but here is fine

 

[Vicarage]

I can report that I have arrived at Roscoff yesterday after sailing direct from Cowes. Entry here on Easter Sunday was simple, we arrived at 1400 local time, had a cup of tea, wandered up to the Capitainerie and checked in, then at their request wandered around to the ferry terminal next where we pressed the bell to summon the PAF who promptly appeared , invited us in , checked our entry form and Covid Vax status , stamped our passports and off we went to take the yellow flag down. The whole process was easy, I can't speak for other ports but here is fine

Thanks - what paperwork (if any) did you submit before leaving/arriving?

 

[st599]

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.

Depends where you're resident. The EU explainer says:

The fundamental criteria for a yacht to qualify for Temporary Admission is that the yacht must be owned by a natural person (i.e. an individual) or a legal person (i.e. a company) who is established (i.e. resident) outside the VAT territory of the EU.

If you're a resident of Ireland, then VAT would be due.

 

[st599]

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.

Temporary admission doesn't technically cover boats on charter, it's for private leisure purposes.

Some states allow it, but mandate no EU residents can use the boat. Others allow it, but require you to follow all local rules and laws. Others don't allow it and VAT would be due.

 

[Lightwave395]

Thanks - what paperwork (if any) did you submit before leaving/arriving?

Did the 1331 prior to departure and the French customs/immigration form mentioned earlier in this thread

 

[doug748]

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

The Channel Islands always had a special arrangement with France which cut down formalities to an absolute minimum. In effect I think yachtsmen just came and went as per UK sailors.
Is there any sign that this will be renegotiated or are you expecting the new arrangements to continue?

Out of interest was it Cherbourg or St Malo?

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[Bathdave]

The Channel Islands always had a special arrangement with France which cut down formalities to an absolute minimum. In effect I think yachtsmen just came and went as per UK sailors.
Is there any sign that this will be renegotiated or are you expecting the new arrangements to continue?

Out of interest was it Cherbourg or St Malo?

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the contretemps over fishing rights over the last 18 months has rather soured relationships between Jersey and the Normandy/Brittany communities

there seems to be no discretion at all for individual member states about policing/controlling the EU borders…the CI were an anomaly before Brexit, but a reasonably benign one to all intents and purposes because of the CTA with the U.K.

id prefer not to mention which port provided the flexibility as I wouldn’t want the officials involved to get any grief over it should someone else try and press fir a deal because they’ve done one already

I am assuming (hoping?) that the planned roll out of digital terminals in harbour master/marina offices later this year will provide a workable solution, though it’s worth noting that french marina office hours and tidal windows don’t align very much

we understand the french businesses want the trade that comes from CI and U.K. boats.