Norway

[TiggerToo]

Does anyone on here keep their boat in Norway?

If, in future, I was going to keep Tigger there for a year or so, whereabouts would you think it would be good to lay her up? I have mates in Trondheim...

 

[jwilson]

I seem to recall local tax issues for leaving a boat in Norway longer term ....

 

[Tranona]

Think you will find that Norway has some very restrictive rules on what you can do with a foreign boat apart from the normal short term visits.

 

[lustyd]

What are the restrictions? Uma seem to have been there for many months without issue

 

[capnsensible]

It's pretty neat sailing past Utsira Rock and seeing where the imaginary shipping forecast line is. Well, in your imagination you can picture the line. Especially when it's not saying on the radio ' there are warnings of gales in Viking, North Utsira and South Utsira' which does seem to happen a lot. ?

 

[Gary Fox]

If you are in the CA, they have some very informative info, lots of them keep boats there or cruise the area.

I had my yacht over there, cruising and laid-up afloat, for a couple of years +, and had no trouble about import tax etc. Personally, all of the horror stories about import tax turned out to be.. just stories. Maybe I was just lucky, who knows?

But I was in small obscure harbours, and there aren't many customs and other jobsworths outside major ports to care about you.

Norwegian bureaucracy, and law enforcement, doesn't seem to be very joined-up, and people are generally laid-back about rules, it is not their instinct to get excited about paperwork or snitch to the customs etc.

Trondheim is easily big enough to attract officialdom. and it gets icy in winter ( I remember the marina/yacht harbour has icebreaking boats, and they were needed in December).

I overwintered afloat in Risør, Aust-Agder in the SE. A small, ice-free port: on the town quay I paid £110 for the whole winter
( 10m yacht) including electricity and a guy to sweep the snow off deck..same price as 2 nights in Lymington!

I'm not sure about Trondheim, it might make a good halfway house for going up to the top.

Absolutely research icing before you commit.

 

[Gary Fox]

It's pretty neat sailing past Utsira Rock and seeing where the imaginary shipping forecast line is. Well, in your imagination you can picture the line. Especially when it's not saying on the radio ' there are warnings of gales in Viking, North Utsira and South Utsira' which does seem to happen a lot. ?

Yes the S.Utsira forecast ruled our lives, trying to beat out of the Skagerrak; it's a funny corner for wind, ' the Cape Horn of Norway ' has been said, it's definitely the 'something' of Norway..

 

[HenrikH]

A few years back, a foreign boat could only be in Norway up to 6 months before having to pay VAT. This is now changed to 18 months, same as for a foreign boat entering EU. perhaps this is what Tranona is thinking of.

 

[Gary Fox]

In or near Trondheim in December, actually I think it's Kristiansund. (not my boat, a delivery)
Tronheim has WW2 U-boat pens which are used for yacht repairs, a spooky place.

 

[Gary Fox]

This is in the far south, but up a fijord, 5 miles from the sea, you can see the ice forming even though it's only September.

 

[BabaYaga]

I had my yacht over there, cruising and laid-up afloat, for a couple of years +, and had no trouble about import tax etc. Personally, all of the horror stories about import tax turned out to be.. just stories. Maybe I was just lucky, who knows?

But I was in small obscure harbours, and there aren't many customs and other jobsworths outside major ports to care about you.

Norwegian bureaucracy, and law enforcement, doesn't seem to be very joined-up, and people are generally laid-back about rules, it is not their instinct to get excited about paperwork or snitch to the customs etc.

My understanding is that in order to be allowed as a foreign sailor to store your boat I Norway for up to two winter seasons (under the new rules – well, 2011 I think) you should make yourself known to the custom authorities.
Trying to hide in a small obscure harbour may not be the best strategy...

 

[Minchsailor]

I went to Norway a couple of years ago and investigated overwintering, Keeping the boat there for longer than 6 months needs some paperwork, but it is possible if the boat is 'laid-up' in a recognised boat yard. The clock starts ticking again when the boat is commissioned and you can stay for further six months. Technically you then have to leave Norwegian waters to avoid paying 25% VAT. But, I have heard of people managing a 2nd winter laid up.

It is defiantly not possible to base a boat longterm in Norway without paying the VAT.

Incidentally, the coast north of Bergen has a climate in winter that is considerably more benign than the Baltic coasts near Oslo due to the warmth of the Gulf Stream. I would be looking for yards in the vicinity of Kristiansund (nb - not Kristiansand). Måløy,, Trondheim. mad even as for north as Rørvik/Brønnøysund where there ate boatyards.

 

[Tanqueray]

My understanding is that in order to be allowed as a foreign sailor to store your boat I Norway for up to two winter seasons (under the new rules – well, 2011 I think) you should make yourself known to the custom authorities.
Trying to hide in a small obscure harbour may not be the best strategy...

It worked for the Tirpitz.

 

[BabaYaga]

It worked for the Tirpitz.

Had to pay in the end, though.

 

[Tranona]

Does anyone on here keep their boat in Norway?

If, in future, I was going to keep Tigger there for a year or so, whereabouts would you think it would be good to lay her up? I have mates in Trondheim...

If you are a member, the rules are covered in the RYA information on taking your boat to Norway.

 

[Stemar]

The Uma couple are in Norway - Tromso? It was -17 when they filmed their last episode. Oh, yes, and they can't go anywhere because the harbour's frozen.

I thought Southampton was bad enough today at +5. I could certainly see going yo Norway in the summer, but I feel the cold a whole lot more than I used to. I want somewhere warm!

 

[BabaYaga]

What the law says (for those who read Norwegian):
Forskrift til lov om toll og vareførsel (tollforskriften) - Fartøy og luftfartøy til personlig bruk - Lovdata
My understanding after a brief study is that if you arrive in Norway by boat as a temporary visitor you will not have to pay duty for one year from entry.
If you apply before the end of the first year, you will get one more year of duty exemption.
This does not work if you already live in Norway.
If you want to leave your boat in Norway, you can freely do so for six weeks within a 12 month period. If you want to store it for longer you must apply and get permission before you leave the country. You can then store it for up to one year after first entry - or two years if you apply for the second year of duty exemption.

 

[LittleSister]

Note that Norway is in the Schengen area. So unless they also have an EU passport, as a result of Brexit UK passport holders are now restricted to a maximum of 90 days in any 180.

That 90 days limit would include any stays in any other Schengen countries you might have also visited in the previous 180 days.

I could find no longer term visa available for UK recreational visitors apart from a residence permit.

Link to Norway's UK Embassy website about such things here - Services and information

 

[TiggerToo]

Note that Norway is in the Schengen area. So unless they also have an EU passport, as a result of Brexit UK passport holders are now restricted to a maximum of 90 days in any 180.

fortunately, I have several useful passports.

My question is: where in Norway would it be best to lay up for winter? The "Southern Half" would probably be better... but which town/harbour?

 

[Adios]

I overwintered afloat in Risør, Aust-Agder in the SE. A small, ice-free port: on the town quay I paid £110 for the whole winter
( 10m yacht) including electricity and a guy to sweep the snow off deck..same price as 2 nights in Lymington!

There's nothing like going abroad to realise how ramped up the prices are here. If its that much less in an expensive country like Norway there really has to be a problem with UK prices. It not just a supply and demand issue in a few places like Lymington its all the marinas. Inland is even worse.