non-UK citizen/resident wanting to register a boat in UK

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krissteyn

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I am a South African with a South African boat in Greece/Cyprus and the flag is causing me serious inconvenience and cost.

If I was to use my nieces address in the UK, I am presuming I could register the boat there - has anyone got any ideas for me ?

I am not sure what all is required to get a piece of paper that has the boats details - enough to satisfy the Greek port authorities and use a Depka instead of a Transit Log.

Thanks for any/all input

Kris
 
krissteyn said:
I am a South African with a South African boat in Greece/Cyprus and the flag is causing me serious inconvenience and cost.

If I was to use my nieces address in the UK, I am presuming I could register the boat there - has anyone got any ideas for me ?

I am not sure what all is required to get a piece of paper that has the boats details - enough to satisfy the Greek port authorities and use a Depka instead of a Transit Log.

Thanks for any/all input

Kris
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The short answer is that it would be illegal.
 
I am a UK citizen resident in South African with a South African registered boat.

Due to the fact I am a UK citizen I can register under part 1 in the UK but not part 3 as I am not resident. You are neither so you cannot do it legally.

Have a look at cook islands registration, http://www.maritimecookislands.com/

I constantly fight with SAMSA about its draconian requirements so I would be interested in what having you yacht South African registered has caused you serious inconvenience and cost.

STINGO of this parish has had similar problems http://anecdotesfromstingo.blogspot.com/

Also have a look here http://www.maritimecookislands.com/maritime-cook-islands/registering-a-yacht.html

You need to be a member of the cook island yacht squadron what ever that means.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
As said, your proposal is illegal. You might try to register your boat in Belgium as it is possibly the only EU country that is more open to non residents. Any other of the flags of convenience will have the same constraints as your current flag in relation to using your boat in the EU, although it is probably only Greece that presents a problem from the Transit Log point of view.
 
krissteyn said:
I am a South African with a South African boat in Greece/Cyprus and the flag is causing me serious inconvenience and cost.

If I was to use my nieces address in the UK, I am presuming I could register the boat there - has anyone got any ideas for me ?

I am not sure what all is required to get a piece of paper that has the boats details - enough to satisfy the Greek port authorities and use a Depka instead of a Transit Log.

Thanks for any/all input

Kris
Click to expand...

You could 'sell' your boat to your niece using an MCA Bill of Sale. She could then legally register under SSR Pt III under her name. She then nominates you as skipper.

In fact, there is not even any need for a Bill of Sale as she can get SSR online without providing any evidence of ownership - just £25.00 from a Credit Card.
 
WOW - thanks for the quick replies

I am carefully evaluating all my options - I suspect my niece will be happy , but lets see what options I have

Fortunately , PO already paid VAT on my boat , so that side of it is no worry/cost.

Kris
 
You could register for part 3 if you were resident in the UK for 185 days of the year on the basis of South Africa being part of the Commonwealth.

Alternatively, you can register if the majority shares are held by an eligible person i.e. you don't have to sell the whole boat to your niece, just 33 of 64 would do. I am not sure whether your name would appear on the certificate or not - if it does, it might be useful.
 
skipper_stu said:
The long answer is who cares? No one checks, as long as you have a UK address to have stuff sent to and to satisfy them.
stu
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I thought the same however, while the probability is low, what could be the impact should OP get stopped? He won't be able to show a passport/visa allowing him to be UK for longer than 185 days a year, which is what his registration requires. I'd rather have peace of mind and do it right.
 
EugeneR said:
I thought the same however, while the probability is low, what could be the impact should OP get stopped? He won't be able to show a passport/visa allowing him to be UK for longer than 185 days a year, which is what his registration requires. I'd rather have peace of mind and do it right.
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I have spent plenty of time dealing with the bureaucracies and found them a waste of energy. If I was dealing with a huge mega-yacht with lots costs, I might appreciate all this , but as I have an aged boat, with maintenance issues, that has minimal re-sale value, I am concerned about wasting 1/3 of my budget on petty fees that continiously add up , whilst my neighbour has a SSR boat with No hassles and No costs. For me to go to UK for 185 days plus is a huge inconvenience that i would not do...
Still looking at the alternatives and ways past all the nonsense. Not made any decisions yet !

kris
 
krissteyn said:
I have spent plenty of time dealing with the bureaucracies and found them a waste of energy. If I was dealing with a huge mega-yacht with lots costs, I might appreciate all this , but as I have an aged boat, with maintenance issues, that has minimal re-sale value, I am concerned about wasting 1/3 of my budget on petty fees that continiously add up , whilst my neighbour has a SSR boat with No hassles and No costs. For me to go to UK for 185 days plus is a huge inconvenience that i would not do...
Still looking at the alternatives and ways past all the nonsense. Not made any decisions yet

kris
Click to expand...

Hi Kris, just do it -use your niece.
 
Bumpted into a Frenchman with an SSR for his 40ft ketch. He asked me if the brits would check it out when he escorted some smaller boats to the UK south coast. Registered to his daughter's address in UK. Only difference to you is that he is an EU resident, so needs no stamps in his Passport. Told him I would be very surprised if they did, other than a check for illegals. As he was part of a known flotilla, I doubted that.
 
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