Registering a boat in EU fast and simple - which country?

[GarthGregory]

Hi Sinfected ,
My own yacht is registered in Jersey , I am South African living in S. A.The yacht is registered on the British " Small Ships Register" and carries a British flag.There is also no VAT requirement , you do require a Jersey representative / agent - Blue Water Yacht Services , will act as your agent the fee is about GBP 20.00 , contact Julian on 00441534739594 for the details , I hope this helps you Regards Garth Gregory

[Tellus]

Originally Posted by Sinfected

Hello,
I am sorry if this was discussed elsewhere, but I found only old/outdated information.

I have bought my first sailboat last week and I need to register it (or basically get a flag to fly). The boat (27ft Albin Vega, 1974) is currently in Sweden and I need to sail it from her mooring by end of August. I am a Czech (EU) national, but Czech registry is non-sense as I would have to pay a technician to come to Sweden to issue a technical certificate.
Considering the age and price of the boat, it doesnt make much sense to pay for a survey or any other costly registration solution.

Has anyone registered a small sailboat in EU recently? Most countries (UK, Germany, Sweden) seem to require residency to register.

From what I found Belgium could be a way to go. Does anyone know the exact requirements and especially the process of obtaining their flag? Does it have to be made in person? Does the office communicate in English?

Is it possible to register a small sailboat in the Netherlands? If so, where and how? The only registry I found is for speed boats >20km/h.

Has anyone of you tried to register to UK SSR through a friend (UK address and credit card) recently?

I am sorry for so many questions, but I am quite desperate to be honest.

Thank you for any information and I appreciate any input. =)

Suppose meanwhile the boat is in your hands and you 're back home..
Guess you could not find more info because the whole story is simple..
within the EU there 's no need for small boat registration, you only need a contract with the seller. VAT has to be paid, bill for customs.
Boats built before 1985 don 't need any CE-certificates.
After handing over place your flag at stern, set the courtesy-flag and have a nice trip...

[Charlie]

Originally Posted by GarthGregory

Hi Sinfected ,
My own yacht is registered in Jersey , I am South African living in S. A.The yacht is registered on the British " Small Ships Register" and carries a British flag.There is also no VAT requirement , you do require a Jersey representative / agent - Blue Water Yacht Services , will act as your agent the fee is about GBP 20.00 , contact Julian on 00441534739594 for the details , I hope this helps you Regards Garth Gregory

Is there a website? I did a google search and all I could find were companies in New Jersey.

[Sinfected]

Hello, thank you very much for all the tips. I have just returned home from the trip, a beautiful one I must add!
I have been able to secure British SSR after all through a friend's address. Another easy way to go would be Swedish sailing club (SXK), who will register your boat for 500SEK/year.
I've been told that Belgium registration was toughtened recently(residents only) because of massive amount of foreign ships registered there.
Jersey is a good tip and it may work as well.

Cheers and thanks
Patrik

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[Bertie68]

Originally Posted by Tellus

Suppose meanwhile the boat is in your hands and you 're back home..
Guess you could not find more info because the whole story is simple..
within the EU there 's no need for small boat registration, you only need a contract with the seller. VAT has to be paid, bill for customs.
Boats built before 1985 don 't need any CE-certificates.
After handing over place your flag at stern, set the courtesy-flag and have a nice trip...

Unfortunately it's not so easy, as the regulations vary from country to country. I.e. in Spain even small boats must be registered, and a technical inspection is required upon registration and every five years.

[Maver]

Bertie,

You could get a Dutch registration, a so called ICP, International Certificate of Pleasurecraft, through a French agency.
They have a Dutchman who will represent you, you need a copy of prove of ownership and ID card and they will organise the rest.
The agency and the complete procedure is to find on the internet with the name " Pavillon Belge"

Regards,

Martin

[Charlie]

Originally Posted by Sinfected

Hello, thank you very much for all the tips. I have just returned home from the trip, a beautiful one I must add!
I have been able to secure British SSR after all through a friend's address. Another easy way to go would be Swedish sailing club (SXK), who will register your boat for 500SEK/year.
I've been told that Belgium registration was toughtened recently(residents only) because of massive amount of foreign ships registered there.
Jersey is a good tip and it may work as well.

Cheers and thanks
Patrik

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

I tried to do this but was rejected by the SSR. It could be because I am American but really I have no idea why.

[Ribbit]

Originally Posted by GarthGregory

Hi Sinfected ,
My own yacht is registered in Jersey , I am South African living in S. A.The yacht is registered on the British " Small Ships Register" and carries a British flag.There is also no VAT requirement , you do require a Jersey representative / agent - Blue Water Yacht Services , will act as your agent the fee is about GBP 20.00 , contact Julian on 00441534739594 for the details , I hope this helps you Regards Garth Gregory

I suspect this is the trick that will open up what otherwise look to be impossible domicile conditions. Have a representative/agent that's domiciled acting for you.

If there's one available for the Isle of Man, for me that would look to be ideal.

I must admit I don't like the look of the condition re VAT I saw on HMRC website (which would suggest it applies to the EU as a whole), which says if your take your vessel out of EU waters for over 3 years, even if you have already paid the VAT on it, then you will be liable for VAT on it AGAIN on your return.

Using the Isle of Man may still be the cheapest option, if there are indeed domiciled representatives/agents available, to get on the Isle of Man SSR, but you would still perhaps have to be wary about falling foul of that return after 3 years penalty.

[chemist]

Originally Posted by Ashanti

In case of a Dutch flag, besides the agency www.yachtregistration.company/, you may also want to consider www.pavillon-hollandais.com or dutch-flag-for-yachts.nl.

For those of you wanting to register in The Netherlands, please have a look at the prices asked by the instance that issues this inofficial document: ANWB. Also note that it has to be renewed every two years. There are other ways of registering your boat in The Netherlands as well.

In addition please remember that by choosing your flag state you also have to comply with all regulations imposed by that state, such as: renewal fees, regular inspections, safety regulations, station license (for all transmitting things like VHF, SSB, AIS. radar, Sat. Phone, etc.), and personal licenses (ICC, SRC, LRC, Marcom AB, etc.).

Bas.

[Leighton]

I'm a non-resident UK citizen (living in Australia) who wishes to register a yacht in the Med.
I could register it as a Australian yacht but then I would have to clear in and out of countries and be subject to time limits.

My other (legal) options seem to be;
1. Belgium
2. Dutch
3. IoM
4. Part 1 (discounted due to high survey cost)

I'm leaning towards Belgium - does anyone have any experience with this register?

Leighton

[Sinfected]

Originally Posted by Leighton

I'm a non-resident UK citizen (living in Australia) who wishes to register a yacht in the Med.
I could register it as a Australian yacht but then I would have to clear in and out of countries and be subject to time limits.

My other (legal) options seem to be;
1. Belgium
2. Dutch
3. IoM
4. Part 1 (discounted due to high survey cost)

I'm leaning towards Belgium - does anyone have any experience with this register?

Leighton

Hi Leighton,

If I understood correctly, Belgium has recently toughened their conditions - you need to be a resident now. (if someone has more info, please correct me).
If you want it strictly legal, the Swedish Cruising club could be the cheap and easy answer - for 500SEK/year they will issue a flag certificate even to foreign boats + there are other benefits stemming from membership.
If you are a UK citizen, I would personally try to get Part III SSR, perhaps through a friend/family address?

[TeddyDiver]

You should check Estonian registration. Dunno excactly but you can register most things there online, even yourself as virtual estonian (whateverthatmeans)..

[Jeroen0606]

Please note that the Dutch registration for fast motor yachts is ONLY valid in The Netherlands and not abroad.

We ourselves have a yacht registration which is arranged by Yacht Registration Holland. They offer several yacht registration jurisdictions for a fair price.

We are happy with the provided service and all promised was carried out fine. Their Trustpilot score is 9.7 out of 10.

Checkout their website at https://yachtregistration.company

Only minus is that the Belgian yacht registration is not available anymore for non Belgian citizens after 01/01/2019 as Belgium has changed their laws.

[colonel]

Originally Posted by Jeroen0606

Only minus is that the Belgian yacht registration is not available anymore for non Belgian citizens after 01/01/2019 as Belgium has changed their laws.

I've been told by pavillon-belge.com that the law is not approved yet but will be really soon.

I'm in similar dilemma as the OP. EU national (Cypriot) but for some reasons don't want to register in my country.

Belgium seems to be the cheapest option with total price (reg + mmsi) of ~€500.

UK part III is much cheaper but there is Brexit.

For me the main problem with Belgium is that it will take up to 8 weeks. For 8 weeks I'll be not able to move my boat.

[Yellow bird]

Originally Posted by colonel

I've been told by pavillon-belge.com that the law is not approved yet but will be really soon.

They lied to you, the law has been approved and is currently being put into practice!

https://www.patentenauticaweb.it/wp-...8/10/17_11.pdf