Cruising in the Med

[jaramanpotter]

What are the visa requirements for extended cruising in the Med. We will pick up new boat in Barcelona in April. We have Australian passports and boat will be Australian registered.

[free4all]

I understand you can sail the boat for up to 18 months before having to pay VAT. However you personally will be restricted by your passports to being in the EU for 3 months. You should check it put with your boat seller who should know the rules if they are arofessiona
Broker.

[chuckr]

There is more information than you ever wanted to know on this thread --

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ed-126931.html


The problem is the 90 days in the EU and 90 days out. The Schengren Agreement.

Good luck.

[dlymn]

In EU countries, Australian do not need a visa, but are restricted to 90 days travel every 180 days. This is often called the Schengen visa. In non EU countries, you might need a visa. Turkey requires you to have a visa before you arrive in the country. You can get it over the internet. Some countries might issue a visa on arrival. So, if you plan to visit non-EU countries, do some research. An Australian flagged boat might require a temporary import permit which is good for 18 months and is renewable. I think most of "us" have not been asked to apply for this and merrily go about their Med Cruising to 3 months. The only time we have had this time checked is when we leave the EU, but this is not a certainty. Some. Non-EUs stay longer but run the risk of getting caught and then having their right to easy entry greatly restricted or even refused in future.

[hellosailor]

IIRC, "Schengen" and "EU" are not necessarily the same. Some countries are part of the one agreement, and not the other. And of course, both change from time to time.

Best to get the information first hand, from government web sites, or consulates, in order to make sure it is current and correct.

[meirriba]

Boat is subject to different law than a person.
Some of the info above is accurate and some not.
Check the EC regulations for both on Noonsite.

[Derek Lumb]

A someone said -it's more complicated than you think. The Eu and Schengen zone are not the same thing. The following link gives some more detailed information.
Immigration and Customs rules for EU, Schengen and other countries | JimB Sail

[Chalifour]

We are Canadians with a Canadian sailing ship located in Turkey. Laws vary from country to country but commun regulations applies to the EU countries with Croatia who recently inter the Union catching up to those rules. In essence you have to distinguish between the rules that applies to your ship to those that applies to the crew members. Check them out. In Greece (EU member) and Turkey (Non EU member) individuels are limited to 3 months (actually 90 days) per 6 months periods. The boat, however is allowed to 6-months in Greece and 5 years in Turkey and needs to leave the country for 24 hrs to start over. My advise is check the regulations and plan your trip accordingly. I understand that some marinas have "In bound" status that allows you to temporarily extract your boat from the country and thus preserve your Tax free status.