[pugaga]

Hello everyone,

I'm new to this forum, and I've got a question. I would like to know what are the rules and regulations on keeping a non-EU registered sail boat in Europe. Is there a single set of regulations for the whole european union or does each country enforce its own laws? Does it matter if the boat is on water or in the dry? Also, I don't know if that makes any difference, but I am not a citizen of the EU.

I've tried searching the internet for these rules, I didn't find any reliable sources. Could someone give a link to them?

Thanks a lot,
Alex.

[GrahamF]

Hi Alex

Welcome to the forum. Here are my 2 cents for what can be done in Spain as i worked on a non European vlagged boat.
A non EU registered can only be in EU for 18 months. After that time you have to go to a non EU country for a few days. This law gets implemented differently by the authorities of each country. I was told by a company that the boat had to be out of the EU for more or less 1 week and then when you enter the EU waters again then you will have 18 months again. I was also told that you have to take the boat out of EU water for as long as the boat has been in EU waters. There are so many different stories it is difficult to know who to believe but here in Spain it is 18 months form the day of entry. So companies told me that no one really knows as it all depends on the person who steps on the boat to do inspection.
Here is what I did. We left Palma and headed for Tunisia for more than a week and come back in to European waters. Malta was always the best place to go until they joined the EU. Some boats go to Gibraltar. The other way to do it is to contact the Guardia Civil Police in Spain and tell them that you want your boat to be sealed as you are leaving Spain. They will come out and seal the boat. The boat is not allowed to move from its position until the police have unsealed the vessel. You will be allowed to get on the boat to clean and do general maintenance. This process is a pain and the forms that have to be filled in is a lot. You have to give them a few weeks notice if you want to seal or unseal the boat.
Here in Spain they do spot checks on the boats and if they come across a boat that has been here longer then you have to pay the VAT. This is what I have experienced if you want more accurate info contact a professional company that deals with these issues. Good Luck

[pugaga]

Thank you very much for the info, GrahamF!
Great to hear from someone who has expirienced the process first hand.

You mentioned I should contact a company that deals with these issues, could you be so kind as to give a link of such company?

Also, for a boat of a price range around 500k Euro, do you think it makes any sense to register it with an off-shore flag? Or does the cost and hassle of doing this outweigh the money saved?

Thanks a lot again,
Alex.

[GrahamF]

Hi Alex

Regarding the company, they are here in Mallorca and they will only be able to help you with Spain and not the rest of the EU as every country in the EU enforces the law differently. Where do you intend to keep your boat? If i know that then i might have people to help you.

Regarding flagging it. It is always better to flag it in the EU from a sales point of view. If you do decide to sell one day you will find it easier to sell when the VAT is paid on the vessel. If you keep the Vessel in Italy it is easy enough to go to Croatia or Monte Negro but then again they might join the EU soon.
It also depends on how much cruising you are going to be doing and where you are going to cruise.