French boat registration

[Poignard]

The French customs officer who interviewed (interrogated) my wife and I when we arrived at Caen from Portsmouth 3 weeks ago insisted that as we have Withdrawal Agreement Cartes de Sejour we must re-register our car in France, and live in France for a minimum of 6 months and 1 day per year, otherwise we would lose our Cartes.

This is, of course, a misinterpretation of the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement but when I told him so he summoned his supervisor, who confirmed what his subordinate said.

No point in arguing with such people so I said "Yes sir, no sir, three bags full sir" and drove on.

 

[Wigir]

Unfortunately I can't as I was forced to move back to the UK before getting the boat.
All I can say is I think you will be OK with the Brexit CDS as it has special properties.

Thanks for responding. I contacted the regional Direction Départementale earlier about this. They got back to me quickly with confirmation that as long one's titre de séjour displays the text about the withdrawal agreement, then all will be fine.

 

[Bouba]

Thanks for responding. I contacted the regional Direction Départementale earlier about this. They got back to me quickly with confirmation that as long one's titre de séjour displays the text about the withdrawal agreement, then all will be fine.

How long can you live outside of France before you lose your CdS ?

 

[Wigir]

How long can you live outside of France before you lose your CdS ?

That, I don't know.

 

[Poignard]

How long can you live outside of France before you lose your CdS ?

My understanding of that is 5 years, unless you have a good reason for not returning in that time.

I assume that you , Bouba, are a French citizen. In which case there should be no limit on how long you can live outside France because if such a limit was imposed, it would be rendering you stateless (unless you had dual citizenship).

 

[Bouba]

My understanding of that is 5 years, unless you have a good reason for not returning in that time.

I assume that you , Bouba, are a French citizen. In which case there should be no limit on how long you can live outside France because if such a limit was imposed, it would be rendering you stateless (unless you had dual citizenship).

No...I have a CdS only

 

[DownWest]

My CdS is valid until July 2031.

 

[Bouba]

My CdS is valid until July 2031.

All French IDs have expiry dates.....just to make sure the photo and other information is updated when you renew them

 

[Tispkj]

Hi Guys, new member here that has just signed up after reading this thread.
I seem to have got myself into a bit of a mess and hoping you can offer advice.
So it has been pretty much a lifelong dream to have a boat in the south of France, after spending nearly all my holidays over the years there, I have finally retired a bit early and have now got to a place both financially and otherwise to make it happen.
I dont need to tell any of you that buying the boat is the easy bit, finding an annual berth where I want to be is the hard bit, I have been on the waiting list at a few ports for 5, 3, and 1 year for an 10-11m berth.
I was there last week and whilst not my ideal, we found a 9m boat for sale in our preferred port which will suit our needs, more importantly after visiting the capitainerie they confirmed as i am on the list I can have a place for 2025, as you can imagine I was overjoyed with the news.
I then started looking for someone to survey the boat and not sure how but ended up reading this thread.

So to get to the point I am a UK citizen, I did look at buying a boat in the UK and shipping it out there but seems after 18 months I would have to officially import it and pay vat (and no doubt register in France).
Hence made sense to just buy a boat there all vat paid and probably easier to just transfer ownership of a french registered boat.
I had no idea you had to be a French citizen to do so.
I can arguably live with the 90 day thing.

I DO NOT have the brexit carte de sejour or any of the tempory carte de sejour cards, upon reading a little it seems the carte de sejour retirees could be the way forward, but the artical conflicts itself stating 1,3, and 10years validity, 3 or 10 years renewal I can live with every year could be a pain.

I did wonder albeit a pain, if I purchased the french registered boat, registered in UK and kept in France (probably only for max 18 months) if that would work ?, not sure what I would need to do after this period.
Obviously I am very keen to lock in the place in the port, and that would need paying for a year in advance by end of Jan 25.

Is the easiest option to lock in the place in the port, apply for carte de sejour of some kind (says up to 2 Months), and then buy the boat (albeit that will probably be sold by then).

Any help please gratefully accepted.

Cheers

 

[vyv_cox]

Is the easiest option to lock in the place in the port, apply for carte de sejour of some kind (says up to 2 Months), and then buy the boat (albeit that will probably be sold by then).

Any help please gratefully accepted.

Cheers

A post-Brexit carte de Sejour is a fairly major undertaking. My own CdS is pre-Brexit and was straightforward to obtain but I have friends who are going through the process now. There is a compulsory conversational French examination for which several of our friends have been studying for months. I think you need to be a French taxpayer.
Unless I have misunderstood your intentions I think you need a long term visa, which I understand is relatively easy to obtain.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

If as he states he can live with the 90 days then he needs nothing, he buys the boat, transfers registry to the UK and keeps it in France as a EU TVA paid boat UK registered.
Why does he need a CdS as Vyv says if he wishes to extend his stay then a long term visa would be the route, a CdS is for residential purposes.

 

[westernman]

To register a boat in France you need to be resident.
All french residents pay taxes in France of course.

So register in the UK on the SSR. Keep the purchase paperwork and proof that the boat has been kept in France/EU as that will be your proof of VAT paid if you decide to sell the boat in the future.

 

[Tranona]

Hi Guys, new member here that has just signed up after reading this thread.
I seem to have got myself into a bit of a mess and hoping you can offer advice.
So it has been pretty much a lifelong dream to have a boat in the south of France, after spending nearly all my holidays over the years there, I have finally retired a bit early and have now got to a place both financially and otherwise to make it happen.
I dont need to tell any of you that buying the boat is the easy bit, finding an annual berth where I want to be is the hard bit, I have been on the waiting list at a few ports for 5, 3, and 1 year for an 10-11m berth.
I was there last week and whilst not my ideal, we found a 9m boat for sale in our preferred port which will suit our needs, more importantly after visiting the capitainerie they confirmed as i am on the list I can have a place for 2025, as you can imagine I was overjoyed with the news.
I then started looking for someone to survey the boat and not sure how but ended up reading this thread.

So to get to the point I am a UK citizen, I did look at buying a boat in the UK and shipping it out there but seems after 18 months I would have to officially import it and pay vat (and no doubt register in France).
Hence made sense to just buy a boat there all vat paid and probably easier to just transfer ownership of a french registered boat.
I had no idea you had to be a French citizen to do so.
I can arguably live with the 90 day thing.

I DO NOT have the brexit carte de sejour or any of the tempory carte de sejour cards, upon reading a little it seems the carte de sejour retirees could be the way forward, but the artical conflicts itself stating 1,3, and 10years validity, 3 or 10 years renewal I can live with every year could be a pain.

I did wonder albeit a pain, if I purchased the french registered boat, registered in UK and kept in France (probably only for max 18 months) if that would work ?, not sure what I would need to do after this period.
Obviously I am very keen to lock in the place in the port, and that would need paying for a year in advance by end of Jan 25.

Is the easiest option to lock in the place in the port, apply for carte de sejour of some kind (says up to 2 Months), and then buy the boat (albeit that will probably be sold by then).

Any help please gratefully accepted.

Cheers

You are confusing 2 things, registration/ownership and EU VAT status. If you buy a boat in the EU it is what is known as "EU goods" as VAT has been paid in France and there are no restrictions on movement within the EU. From your point of view there is also no restriction on who can own it even if they are not resident in the EU, nor is there any requirement to register it in the EU. So you can register it (as a UK resident) on the SSR (Part 3) and both keep and use it in France. It is very common for UK residents to do this, although in many cases it arose from taking their boat into the EU when the UK was a member.

Make sure the boat comes with all the necessary French documentation to show that it is VAT paid as you will need that when you come to sell on.

 

[Tispkj]

Thank you so much for comments so far guys, any others please chip in also.
My comments on the VAT / TVA were if I purchased a boat in the UK today and took to France it would be classed as an import and subject to TVA (even though as an older boat it would already of had UK (EU) VAT paid when we were a member).

So just to confirm - as a UK citizen I can buy a used French registered VAT paid boat in France, register it in the UK and keep and use in France ? Obviously ensuring I have documentation in place that proves french TVA had previously been paid for when I eventually sell.

As above I can live with the 90 day thing and assume once I have a genuine reason to be there longer I can apply for one of the long term visas.

Anymore to add please do.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

Thank you so much for comments so far guys, any others please chip in also.
My comments on the VAT / TVA were if I purchased a boat in the UK today and took to France it would be classed as an import and subject to TVA (even though as an older boat it would already of had UK (EU) VAT paid when we were a member).

So just to confirm - as a UK citizen I can buy a used French registered VAT paid boat in France, register it in the UK and keep and use in France ? Obviously ensuring I have documentation in place that proves french TVA had previously been paid for when I eventually sell.

As above I can live with the 90 day thing and assume once I have a genuine reason to be there longer I can apply for one of the long term visas.

Anymore to add please do.

Correct

Nothing more needs saying.

 

[Tispkj]

Gentlemen, would you consider the fact that the boat has an "Act de Francisation" (French registration) in an individuals name as proof of the vat / tax being paid ?

Also would a "Certificat de non gage" be proof of no finance being owed ? ( or is that just for the car world ?)

Thanks so much in advance.

 

[westernman]

Gentlemen, would you consider the fact that the boat has an "Act de Francisation" (French registration) in an individuals name as proof of the vat / tax being paid ?

Also would a "Certificat de non gage" be proof of no finance being owed ? ( or is that just for the car world ?)

Thanks so much in advance.

1) Yes, if in the name of an individual and not a company.
2) Yes, if issued by the authorities.

 

[Tispkj]

Gents - sorry, I have asked for a copy of the "acte de Francisation" and been sent a "certificat d enregistrement dun navire de plaisance a useage personnel et a usage de formation" can someone please advise if this is the same thing ? (I assume not) and more importantly if it proves ownership and tax has been paid ?

 

[westernman]

Gents - sorry, I have asked for a copy of the "acte de Francisation" and been sent a "certificat d enregistrement dun navire de plaisance a useage personnel et a usage de formation" can someone please advise if this is the same thing ? (I assume not) and more importantly if it proves ownership and tax has been paid ?

I am not absolutely certain, but I think it is the new name for "Acte de Francisation".

 

[Bouba]

Gents - sorry, I have asked for a copy of the "acte de Francisation" and been sent a "certificat d enregistrement dun navire de plaisance a useage personnel et a usage de formation" can someone please advise if this is the same thing ? (I assume not) and more importantly if it proves ownership and tax has been paid ?

The acte de Francisation looks like a registration form for a car


The one at the bottom is the new one, go to the largest port in your region....that is usually where boat registrations are done....go to the office, the receptionist will give you the appropriate forms....have copies of every bit of paperwork in case it’s asked form...the receptionists will usually help guide you. They might have a box on her desk for posting the completed forms (along with a self addressed envelope)....and in a few weeks a new laminated card will be posted to you