Med cruising and managing Schengen

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by ccannan

Below is a link that supports my previous post re VAT.

Value Added Tax and Yachts: An Overview « www.yachtworld.com www.yachtworld.com

I didn't see anything suggesting you have to re-pay VAT in that article unless the boat is exported from the EU...which I covered in my response.

If it's been 20yrs since the original owner paid VAT and the boat never left EU waters and you have the documentation....it's still VAT paid and will remain VAT paid for as long as you keep it in the EU (even short trips outside the EU won't end the VAT paid status).

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by chuckr

WHAT?? Oh my gosh the Med is incredible. The history, the beauty, the sometimes the sailing. Yea Schengen is a bit of a thorn in the side but can be dealt with if you think out of the box. And each and every time we think we have seen it all we get surprised and find something even more amazing. If Schengen were not such a thorn we may stay longer but 5 years will be enough and we will have sailed almost the entire Med as well as the Black Sea.

I would say more about your posting but will stay nice.

Absolutely. Have not been able to take a boat to the Med but have toured the EU Med coast by land and cannot wait to get back.

[crdaem]

From what I have learnt . Say you get a long stay Schengen visa for one year from France you can cruise to another Schengen country for no more than 90 days then you would have to return to France for 90 days. Same as if you had a short term visa. In reality you would be spending 6 months in France

[Anders]

That's correct but should be difficult to enforce since there are no immigration formalities between Schengen countries.

[crdaem]

Not sure about this., but doesn’t checking in by boat at a Schengen country require passport to be stamped or are they lax about this.

[crdaem]

Not sure about this., but doesn’t checking in by boat at a Schengen country require passport to be stamped or are they lax about this.

[PamlicoTraveler]

Originally Posted by crdaem

Not sure about this., but doesn’t checking in by boat at a Schengen country require passport to be stamped or are they lax about this.

Your passport is usually stamped at the first country only. After that, it is essentially like one country.

Schengen is way more burdensome sounding on here than it is in real life.

[chuckr]

Originally Posted by ccannan

Refugees are not criminals. For the most part they are scared people (usually families with children) fleeing unimaginably terrible (usually violent) situations.

The conditions that create refugees are abhorrent not the refugees.

Not sure what you are seeing or seen but we have seen a number of refugees at a number of different locations - and a number coming off boats in the Greek islands. The vast majority - 70-80% - are males - usually young and not families with children - we have seen a few families but the vast majority are not -- OHHH and we watched some tv news folks interviewing some and ignored the mass of young men and went straight to the few women with children to interview - -

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Anders

That's correct but should be difficult to enforce since there are no immigration formalities between Schengen countries.

There are immigration formalities at every marina.. so to speak.. you have to present your passport along with ships papers on arrival.
Like hotels these are checked daily by the authorities.
People always seem to forget that sailing Schengen involes mainly external borders.. not internal ones.

[Tricolor]

I lived in Alvor, Portugal and sailed from there to Portimao to buy diesel. Border Police checked me and the boat although I heard one of the woman say to her chef "this Dutchman lives in Alvor" he just responded "rules are rules" Every port is an outside border of the EU.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by boatman61

There are immigration formalities at every marina.. so to speak.. you have to present your passport along with ships papers on arrival.
Like hotels these are checked daily by the authorities.
People always seem to forget that sailing Schengen involes mainly external borders.. not internal ones.

What if you skip the marinas and anchor out?

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by skipmac

What if you skip the marinas and anchor out?

I've been checked by waterborne marine police while anchored out in Portugal, Spain, Italy, France and Greece.. its 50/50 you'll get nabbed on the hook.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by boatman61

I've been checked by waterborne marine police while anchored out in Portugal, Spain, Italy, France and Greece.. its 50/50 you'll get nabbed on the hook.

Checked out as in they ride by and take down your boat name or as in board you and ask for papers?

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by skipmac

Checked out as in they ride by and take down your boat name or as in board you and ask for papers?

On occasion they will ask to board and check paperwork.. Mallorca and Scicily to name a couple of places.

[Budawang]

Just found out from someone who works at the Spanish Embassy in Canberra that there is a 3-month visa treaty between Spain and Australia. This means Spain won't count time spent in other Schengen countries against time spent in Spain and, in theory, will give Australians three additional months. It will only work, however, if Spain is the LAST country visited in Europe. However, because Spain usually is the last country visited before heading across the Atlantic this would work well. A sample itinerary might be:

June to August: Greece, Italy and France (3 months under Schengen).
September to November: Spain, including Balearics and Canaries (3 months under bilateral treaty).
Total time cruising Europe: 6 months.

The embassy official told me an Australian would have to show the Spanish border authorities a copy of the Treaty. However, it's possible some border guards might still choose not to recognise it so you could have some hassles. The Spanish Embassy only gave me a copy of it in Spanish.