Mooring in Spain.

[ynot dream]

Hi all.
We are in the process of buying a boat in France and want to leave it in Spain all year round. The boat is currently registered in France. My wife is french but we live in the UK.
Can anyone tell us what paperwork is needed to do this and what the Spanish laws might be concerning foreign ownership. It is a 52' motor boat and will not be used for any commercial gain, purely a pleasure craft.

[Jenneau Owner]

I think you won’t have many problems.
With Brexit it may be a good idea to have your wife as a joint owner, and you should have few problems.
I passed through Spain on route from uk to Greece and wintered in Minorca and encountered no officialdom at all.
PS Keep the French registration, to avoid Brexit problems in the future.

[Ndavies]

We are in transit at the moment in A Coruna, Spain. A little different situation, we are american (but originally from UK) and bought a new boat in La Rochelle France. We are currently headed or the BVIs. We have made a couple of stops so far and all we have been asked for are:
- boat registration
- proof of ownership (registration seems to work for that most times)
- proof of insurance
- passports

Good luck with your adventure!

[Sea Angel1]

Hi Ynot dream,
It does not matter for Spanish law if your wife is french or not. It all depends if you have paid EU VAT. If paid VAT somewhere in the EU you will be all right, Brexit or not. French or not and where the vessel will be registered? If no VAT will be paid, than you will encounter some day tax problems if the vessel will be in the EU longer than 18 months. Also you cannot buy a vessel taxfree as long as you are living the EU.

[ynot dream]

Thank you for all of your replies….good news so far!! I would have expected much more paperwork. The VAT has been paid on the boat so tax shouldn't be a problem. From what I am reading from you guys it sounds like I just need proof of ownership and registration and the normal ID one would expect in a foreign country. If that's it then great!!!