BVI Registration - Doing it yourself

[Stingo]

Has anyone had any experience with registering their boat in the BVIs themselves, thereby avoiding the astonishing fees charged by agents?

[tbodine88]

Originally Posted by Stingo

Has anyone had any experience with registering their boat in the BVIs themselves, thereby avoiding the astonishing fees charged by agents?

I did it in Antigua and with an agent it seemed like it took weeks.

I know just registering a car was a total hassle. I had to go to three different offices, multiple times on various parts of the island.

good luck.

[Zonker]

Don't you need an agent anyway unless you live in BVI ?

[Zanshin]

Zonker - no agent necessary if you are a citizen in the EU. Americans need to have an agent in the BVI to flag a vessel in the BVI.

[st.matthewsmith]

Can you recommend how to do the BVI reg if i am from the UK? Does it cost annual fees etc and also what about trouble with immigration?

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by Zanshin

Zonker - no agent necessary if you are a citizen in the EU. Americans need to have an agent in the BVI to flag a vessel in the BVI.

No agent neccessary - but if not resident in the BVI you do need a "Representative Person" (based in the BVI) - likely the Agent would also provide this service, but could also find your own - but no doubt would cost (I doubt if they are socialists in the BVI ):-

"Bodies Corporate or Individuals not resident in the BVI are required to appoint a company, or individual residing in BVI as its Representative. This facilitates ready correspondence between the Registry and the vessel's owner. "

Not sure if Americans can regsiter in the BVI in own name (when you add a company to an offshore boat reg the costs really get out of hand!):-

"Citizens of and, Bodies Corporate registered in the BVI or, any of the following countries, are qualified to own a Virgin Islands vessel:

United Kingdom and its Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories.
Nationals of and bodies corporate incorporated in;
Member State of the European Community (EC) or European Economic Area (EEA). Overseas Territories of the Members of EC or EEA"

Originally Posted by st.matthewsmith

Can you recommend how to do the BVI reg if i am from the UK? Does it cost annual fees etc and also what about trouble with immigration?

Step by step guidance on ship registration

For some reason the fees are by application only .

Come to Jersey (we also register for Commonwealth citizens ).

[s/v Moondancer]

If you are a Brit it is much cheaper and easier to get a Brit SSR registration for 25 quid. It is done online and all you need is a UK address for them to send the certificate to.

We have had our SSR for 4 yrs and entered 25 countries without problems.

[zboss]

This type of activity in the BVI is very incestuous. All the government workers have a relative that works as an agent or whatever. Some even own the agencies themselves, so they create the laws to give work to the agencies.

If you don't use an agent or lawyer in the BVI, your paperwork is going to go to the bottom of the pile and maybe "lost". At the very least they may not inform you that you have not completed some particular line on the paperwork and it will just sit there until you contact them weeks later. After you have been there for a while and you get used to the way things are done, its not difficult, but if they don't know your face and you don't say the right things you get worse or nonexistent service.