Delaware registration for non US citizens

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by denverd0n

This is simply not true. There may be some places where state registration is not considered valid, but there are many places (pretty much all of the Caribbean, for example) where it is.

I cruised the Caribbean for a couple of years and never had my state registration questioned at all. I didn't go everywhere but where I did go had no problems.

Another forum member has spent years cruising the South Pacific using state registration and also reports no problems at all.

[Cadence]

I thought most are documented with the home port listed as Delaware.. Corp. ownership since Delaware has no corp. property tax annually.

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by denverd0n

This is simply not true. There may be some places where state registration is not considered valid, but there are many places (pretty much all of the Caribbean, for example) where it is.

This is simply to some extent true.

EU Caribbean islands (Martinique, Guadeloupe, St Martin, and possibly others) do NOT consider a US state registration valid. A US registered boat stopping in a EU port is expected to deliver a country registration document. Deleware is not a country.

The same rule applies to French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Reunion and any other French EU island.

If you get into a slack or ignorant Customs officer do not assume wrongly your Deleware registration is OK. For you may one day run into a less ignorant and more strict person and you will be turned round.

The same situation is true in all EU. E.g. Deleware registered boats come and go thru Canary Islands, apparently no problem ... until last year when a boat full of Chroatians popped up on their Deleware boat - they got into trouble and the authorities immediately raised the point.

So do as you like. And let others do as they please.

Cheers,
b.

[hellosailor]

Actually, aliens can't document a vessel in the US, even if they set up a corporation. The corporation must be something like 51% US-citizen-owned to document a vessel. (The % is a little more complicated but effectively that.)


And Delaware MIGHT require a boating safety certificate for whoever rides the jetski in Delaware, you'd need to check the laws on that.


Then if the jetskis are being kept in other states for any period of time...they may require a transfer of registration, typically after 90 days.


And I suspect jetskis are considered too small even for a "recreational" federal documentation to be issued for them.


All good reasons to find out the Delaware laws, to contact the Delaware authorities and see what else will be required of the jetski owners and users, including safety equipment and a possible ban on night operations.


As icing on the cake, the registration may also require a Delaware "residential" address. Some states do, other's don't.


The OP's got a project ahead of him, probably a full day on the phone.


PS-The advice or information that a bureaucrat or administrative agent gives you on the phone, or even in person, in the US? Is not legally binding, to be certain if it is correct, you need to find the authorized legal printed version of the laws in question. Or at least, the official agency's printed web site.

[sailpower]

Originally Posted by Peculino

Hi guys! I was wondering if you could help me a bit here! My dad gave me some kind of assignment to register two jet skis on Delaware registration. Now, we're from Montenegro (ex Yugoslavia) and I have no clue what would be the first step to do this? Thanks in advance!

Do you/he plan to use the jet skies in the USA?

If so DE registration is unlikely to help you tax wise as you will be subject to use tax in lieu of sales tax in most states.

If you want to DE state register and use out of the country than try this:

Delaware Boat Registration Information

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Cadence

I thought most are documented with the home port listed as Delaware.. Corp. ownership since Delaware has no corp. property tax annually.

PS, I believe the corp. needs to maintain an office in Delaware. Renting an office space may be cheaper for mega yachts but not a jet ski. If you have a mega yacht the Bahamas seems to be popular. I'm not going to worry about either.

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

EU Caribbean islands (Martinique, Guadeloupe, St Martin, and possibly others) do NOT consider a US state registration valid.

I personally know someone who checked in in Martinique with U.S. state registration and had absolutely no problem at all.

Regardless of that, thanks for admitting that your original, blanket statement--that state registration is not valid abroad--was simply wrong. As you have noted, it is valid abroad, even if not absolutely everywhere abroad.

[sailpower]

To the OP, as you read through the responses here, save yourself some time and pass by any posts that mention USCG documentation.

You can't document jet skies with the USCG so comments about doing that don't apply to your situation.

[YannMo]

Hey everybody, I plan to buy a 30 ft sailboat located close to Houston and sail her down to Belize. being a non US citizen ( French and Belizean) The big question is legal: can I do the title and registration in Texas? Thx for ur answers.

[denverd0n]

Not certain about Texas, but I can guarantee you that being a foreign citizen would not matter one little bit here in Florida. Foreign citizens absolutely can title and register a boat in Florida. My guess would be that Texas is the same, but a quick web search ought to give you a definitive answer.

[meirriba]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

Yep. Maybe for taxes. But given state registration is not considered valid abroad then unless you want to keep your craft in the US, I would not bother.

b.

We have Delaware registration.
Sailed with that all over the Med. Nobody raised a question as to the validity.
Also - sailed with D. registered boat to the Carib. (ARC 2003) - no problems.

[valhalla360]

To the OP: What are you trying to accomplish?

You can't Coast Guard Document Jet Skis as there is a minimum size requirement.
- Plus you need a US citizen to be the primary owner of the corporation.

State Registration is much easier and does apply to Jet Skis. No need for a corporation.

But why are you doing this if you are still in Montenegro?

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by meirriba

We have Delaware registration.
Sailed with that all over the Med. Nobody raised a question as to the validity.
Also - sailed with D. registered boat to the Carib. (ARC 2003) - no problems.

Also cruised the Bahamas and northern Caribbean with a state registered boat with no issues. Another forum member has cruised the S Pacific including Australian (usually a real stickler for paperwork) and NZ with a state registered boat for years with no issues.

State docs include very official looking boat title and registration forms that seem quite satisfactory to (most) officials. I have heard anecdotal reports of problem with some of the French islands in the Caribbean but don't recall any reports directly from a cruiser that personally experienced problems.