Leaving the UK with an Australian on board

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Oscarpop

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Now while I realise that I am opening myself up to a raft of deportation and Van Diemens land jokes, I would like some info on the matter above.

We sail from the East Coast and are planning on a weeks cruise over the channel to pick up some wine/cheese etc.

My other half is Australian , has an Australian passport and a permit to remain.

However as a non EU citizen, does she need to pass through immigration to leave the country?

This would mean diverting to Dover to get someone to stamp her passport.

All replies gratefully received.
 
My son is married to a Chinese girl, who holds a Chinese passport. They wanted a weekend in France, but the restrictions put in her way made them give up the idea.

She has the right of abode in the UK, but to go to France, she would have had to go to London, to get a 6 month visa at quite high cost, to cross to France.

She had less problem getting a visa to visit the USA - where they got married.......at the bottom of the Grand Canyon!!

It was easier for them to wait and take a belated honeymoon in Bali!!
 
Interesting one! I never thought of it, but my wife is British National (Overseas) with PTR. I guess that puts her in the same position, though last time we came back to the UK, we were told it was OK for us both to go through the UK passport channel.

Not really an issue where we sail - the only "foreign" member of the EU we can reach is the Republic of Ireland, and I think BNO is good there. But it would be an issue if we sailed from the East Coast, I guess. Another reason for sailing on the west coast of Scotland!
 
I believe there is no monitoring of people leaving the UK which is why the government doesnt have a clue as to how many illegals we have here and how many have gone home. I cannot advise you what to do but in your position I wouldnt take any notice of immigration on exit.
 
Australians don't need a visa for French visits of up to 90 days but you will need to go through proper immigration process on entry since her right to remain in the uk is pretty much irellevant to the French Authorities. The uk couldn't give a monkeys who leaves but uk-borders may want to know that your other half came back!
 
nimbusgb said:
Australians don't need a visa for French visits of up to 90 days but you will need to go through proper immigration process on entry since her right to remain in the uk is pretty much irellevant to the French Authorities. The uk couldn't give a monkeys who leaves but uk-borders may want to know that your other half came back!
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I think this is correct. I find my self in a simmillar perdicament being British and maried to a Canadian. There is no requirment to leave UK.
As a Canadian there is no problem entering France for a visit you just have to go to a port of entry and declare who is on board. I have lots of Canadian friends who have and continue to travel freely round the EU. We ocasionaly bump into Aussies and Amercians doing the same.
 
Just like the old days when we used to have to clear customs in France and again on arrival back in UK, same deal as if she had sailed from Australia, I guess the only problem is finding the customs clearance locations now as they won't be doing as much work with small boats.
 
Neil_Y said:
Just like the old days when we used to have to clear customs in France and again on arrival back in UK, same deal as if she had sailed from Australia, I guess the only problem is finding the customs clearance locations now as they won't be doing as much work with small boats.
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Not so sure about that
In 2004 my we had no fewer than 14 different french customs visits on one single trip down to Biscay
Must be a record!!
 
You may not want to pay any attention to this as what I do may or may not be legal but it works for me. Having gone through a process as an Australian citizen with a Permanent Right to Remain [or whatever it is called] to try an notify the Immigration people of leaving and returning the UK in my own boat and then telling the French harbourmasters that I required my passport stamped. Everyone really found it too hard, particularly me. I often make a trip across to France and stay over several nights and visit a number of ports. I don't officially declare I am an Australian although I might informally tell the odd harbourmaster as I know at Fecamp for instance it is worth a discount. At Cherbourg they always ask to see my boat registration but never my passport.
The interesting contrast is with the Azores [Portugal] where I have to produce my passport when I arrive and have it stamped [an immigration person slips down from the airport, usually within 15 mins] and have my passport stamped as I leave and have to show my passport at every port I visit. I returned by my own boat from the US in 2010 and thought I could check into Europe by arriving in the Azores and at least then I would feel I had made an effort. I arrived at Flores where in the past I have always been met on the dock by the immigration or National Police who check me in. On that occasion I couldn't find them so that idea didn't work.
I always carry my Australian passport when visiting France by boat but find it easier to say nothing about my nationality which seems to work for all concerned.
 
>My other half is Australian , has an Australian passport and a permit to remain. However as a non EU citizen, does she need to pass through immigration to leave the country?

My ex-other half was Malysian Chinese with a Malaysian passport and a permit to stay in the UK, she had to go through immigration and customs at both ends of trips abroad.
 
Oscarpop said:
Now while I realise that I am opening myself up to a raft of deportation and Van Diemens land jokes, I would like some info on the matter above.

We sail from the East Coast and are planning on a weeks cruise over the channel to pick up some wine/cheese etc.

My other half is Australian , has an Australian passport and a permit to remain.

However as a non EU citizen, does she need to pass through immigration to leave the country?

This would mean diverting to Dover to get someone to stamp her passport.

All replies gratefully received.
Click to expand...

Don't mix with convicts then!
 
I sail from the east coast 2 or 3 times a year with my son in law who carries an american passport. It has some kind of endorsement giving him permanent right to remain here. We often leave the boat in France or Holland and come back by ferry. Equally we then sail back to France by ferry.
We've never yet had more than the standard immigration checks and never a problem. we've also been boarded at sea on a few occasions by French customs - again never a problem.
The only advice I'd give is to ensure that all her immigration docs are up to date AND are the originals - esp if you go to Belgium where you're most likely to have a visit from the police. One year my daughter sailed without her passport and that was fun with the Belgian police!!
 
Daydream believer said:
Not so sure about that
In 2004 my we had no fewer than 14 different french customs visits on one single trip down to Biscay
Must be a record!!
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That must be a record, I've had one visit and I think it was only as I parked next to the customs launch in Port Louis. what does your boat look like?
 
Neil_Y said:
That must be a record, I've had one visit and I think it was only as I parked next to the customs launch in Port Louis. what does your boat look like?
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A 31 ft yacht
In Port Tudy they even got the motorboat next to us & had the owner completely unpack the life raft on the pontoon
Poor bloke had no chance of repacking as it had been vacuum packed
They came onto our yacht & looked at the liferaft & to our relief they decided not to open it
We just seemed to get inspection after inspection. At both Dieppe & Boulogne we had 4 of them on board at once
On the way back I was SH & that seemed to attract them as well
 
Modulation said:
I sail from the east coast 2 or 3 times a year with my son in law who carries an american passport. It has some kind of endorsement giving him permanent right to remain here. We often leave the boat in France or Holland and come back by ferry. Equally we then sail back to France by ferry.
We've never yet had more than the standard immigration checks and never a problem. we've also been boarded at sea on a few occasions by French customs - again never a problem.
The only advice I'd give is to ensure that all her immigration docs are up to date AND are the originals - esp if you go to Belgium where you're most likely to have a visit from the police. One year my daughter sailed without her passport and that was fun with the Belgian police!!
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I can sympathise.
In 1971 i was arrested with my crew & held for nearly 2 hours for having forgotten all ships papers & passports
It is not funny having a machine pistol shoved up your nose & being marched onto the pontoon
Mind you it did not help when my crew swore at one of the officers
Suddenly we found he could speak English after all
 
alant said:
Don't mix with convicts then!
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The text book answer here may not apply to you and yours.
Lock up all valuables
Lock up your daughter
Sleep with a loaded gun under your pillow.
Or am I confused is that advice for an ozzie taking an Englishman on board?

olewill (the worst of the worst)
 
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