which country to register in?

[markiobe]

Originally Posted by TomThumb

There are few restrictions and therefore plenty of permutations for what you plan. VAT is related to purchase/importing and you may be able to avoid but if/when you circumnavigate, it may come up when you pass through EU jurisdictions.

Perhaps the other way to look at it, aside from VAT, is complexity when crossing borders. Crew will have a particular passport which implies citizenship but you might also see folk with residency in another country and these decide your personal tax circumstances.

If you then run a business, you have choices where and how to register and pay any taxes but there is a simplicity in having it the same as your personal tax so you aren't delaying with foreign ownership or income. Same laws, maybe same accountant. The boat is another angle but again, flagging and registering in your home country might have some higher costs over somewhere super cheap but is again in your home jurisdiction and if you ran a business from your 'home' there might be deductions you could claim based on your home office costs (at least internet and so on?) and also be easier to decipher in a first language and so on. There may also be some benefits in EU jurisdictions like NL and FR territories in Pacific and Caribbean?

There are ways to avoid all sorts of taxes but they come with a degree of hassle and the ROI in effort and making it happen are yours to decide.

The other implications of the flagging is the perception that one is 'better' in terms of how you are received in a particular country. Just like your passport, these days it doesn't really matter but occasionally politics plays into it.

So, my suggestion is to start with your nationality and look at all the costs of keeping it simple then compare to the options offered in the forum. You might decide its not worth enough to bother but you need that baseline.

That sounds like a sensible approach, thanks 👍

[Aquadome]

I purchased a Canadian flagged vessel and had it taken off Canadian registry and registered it in the Bahamas.

[toolbar]

Originally Posted by Huskybeer

Emphasis is on gave!
You can visit European waters without paying vat, as long as you observe to be no longer than 6 months in EU territorial waters.

Please note that the VAT rules have nothing to do with the flag you are flying. It's about ownership, residency and usage. If you as a EU resident own and use it, then you can't use the temporary import scheme.



Paul

[Tom G]

Hello Markiobe,
Langkawi, Malaysia. I just purchased and registered a boat there. US citizen, but citizenship wasn’t an issue or even an inquiry from the Malaysian authorities. The boat was previously registered in Deleware, USA. No tax on the purchase. Registration duration 5 years + MMSI apparatus assignment was 1200USD approximately. For info contact agent Sheila Brennan at Nautical Bits sheilaserawak@gmail.com
Tom

[MoonShadow777]

Hi
You should be aware that your opinion of whether you have “imported” your vessel to any given nation, state or territory may differ significantly from that of local officials. 90 days seems to be a popular cut-off point. No problem . . . As long as you keep moving.
Take a look at Polish or Belgian registration.
Bon courage.

[JeanF73]

18 months limit in the EU for non VAT paid boat without leaving the EU for at least one day stop outside the EU

[Briggers]

Registering a boat in the UK is 35GBP for FIVE years.
This link gives you all the info you need:
https://www.gov.uk/register-a-boat/the-uk-ship-register

[Double-Wide]

It seems that a majority of large yachts use the flag of the Marshall Islands. There must be a reason so many do. Probably has to do with cost.

[pbmaise]

Langkawi.

[NorthernMac]

As I already have my boat registered and bought it in the country it’s flagged under, I have no dog in this fight, but I do have a question out of sheer curiosity

If someone (American)bought a boat overseas. had the seller fill out the USCG bill of sale, got the USCG documentation then sailed it home, who would be the wiser for any import stuff?

What if they just brought it in under its existing registration, didn’t bother to import it, changed their mind and documented it after it got to the US?

Does the USCG forward their newly US documented boats or something?

[Rigger007]

For UK flagged ships, there's a difference between the small ships registry (Part 3) and the normal ships registry (Part 1). Part 1 costs more but allows foreign personal ownership.

This is from MSF2747:


Qualified owners are:

(a)British citizens or non-United Kingdom nationals exercising their right of freedom of movement of workers or right of establishment under Article 48 or 52 of the EEC Treaty or Article 28 or 31 of the EEA Agreement;


(b)British Dependent Territories citizens;


(c)British Overseas citizens;


(d)Persons who under the British Nationality Order 1981 are British subjects;


(e)Persons who under the Hong Kong (British Nationality) Order 1986 are British Nationals (Overseas);



(ea)Commonwealth citizens;



(eb) citizens of a country listed in Schedule 6 to the Registration Regulations


(ec) non-United Kingdom nationals who are settled in the United Kingdom;



(ed) bodies corporate incorporated in a Commonwealth State;



(ee) bodies corporate incorporated in a country listed in Schedule 6 to the Registration Regulations;


(f)Bodies corporate incorporated in the United Kingdom or in an EEA State;


(g)Bodies corporate incorporated in an EEA State;


(h)Bodies corporate incorporated in any relevant British Possession and having their principal place of business in the UK or any such possession;



(i)European Economic Interest Groupings formed in pursuance in the UK.Schedule 6 Countries



The countries listed in Schedule 6 to the Registration Regulations are Argentina, Aruba, Bahrain, Brazil, the Canary Islands, China, the Faroe Islands, Haiti, Israel, Japan, Liberia, Madeira, the Marshall Islands, Monaco, Panama, South Korea, Switzerland, Suriname, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States of America.