Checkin out of Spain, into France, Uk flag

[colombo]

Hi all,

I have a uk flag boat that has been in Spain for a year.

EU vat unpaid. UK flag. Tax resident UK. Uk passport. The 18 months expires in November so I've got a trip to Gibraltar to plan.

I'm working my way in to France up the meditteranean coast.

Question 1) Do I still need to check out of Spain and in to France. I did this as I crossed Greece - Italy - Spain last summer but I did read some bits that made it sound like this might not be required any more?
Question 2) If the answer to question 1 is yes, astonishingly I can't seem to track down a port of entry near the meditteranean french border. I'm going nuts. Can someone point me to the right answer please?

Thanks

[boatman61]

From my understanding checking into one Schengen country is checking into all.
You should be fine if your inside your personal 90/180 day allowance.

But.. the above is only worth 25 words..

[goboatingnow]

If travelling from a Schengen country to a Schengen country with no non Schengen stop in between , you do not have to check in formally.

If you check into Gib as it’s currently not in Schengen , you will need to recheck into France if it’s your next port of call

France changed its procedures, you do not have to arrive at a formal port of entry. You must inform immigration at LeHarve as to which port you are arriving ( there is a form online ) . That is sufficient evidence of your arrival

Note that the Spainish will reject Gibraltar as a Vat reset destination.

[colombo]

Thankyou to both of you.

Oh wow. I was unaware that Spain do not accept Gibraltar. That is quite the spanner in the proverbial.

[Ivanvet]

You can reset your 18 months in Ceuta or Melilla.

Good luck,

[colombo]

Spain will accept Melilla, despite being an autonomous city of Spain?

It looks like a stunning place. Quite happy to sub out Gibraltar for either of those options!

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by Ivanvet

You can reset your 18 months in Ceuta or Melilla.

Good luck,

Yes bizarrely Spain will accept these

[ocean.jedi]

The port of Ceuta on the african side of the straights of Gibraltar is a Spanish territory (so no need to check people in and out of Schegan countries) but counts for the one day out of EU VAT jurisdiction required every 18 months. All you need to do is get a slip for one night at the marina, and save the paperwork to prove your boat has left the EU Vat area. Neat place to visit, if you've already done Gibralar and/or can't get a berth actually in Gibraltar (as opposed to the more available Alcaidesa Marinas. Was boarded in Ibiza by local coast guard, who did not know this fact until they checked and confirmed with HQ. Its a back up.

[Camille1]

I sailed from Gibraltar to the UK a few weeks ago visiting harbours and marinas along the way. Gib, Spain, Portugal, France, UK. The only concern was to see certificate of registry, passports and insurance and most of all a payment for the berth. All very smooth and welcoming with no silly questions. 90 days ?? VAT paid where?? Even so, hold on to your 31 December 2020 location evidence.
Just one person's experience. But I gather computer systems are being prepared to monitor the 90 day rule in the EU.

[colombo]

I just tried to check out of ALmeria, prior to saiing to Melilla tonight. They said they wouldn't stamp the boat out as its still in schengen.

Double checking the information above, is that to be expected, but in Spain they just let it count so long as you can produce a marina receipt?

Presumably its worth stamping out of Melilla and into nearby Morocco for a night anyway?

[ocean.jedi]

Cuetes doesn’t take you out of the EU for personal Schengen purposes but it does for the 18 month VAT rules —at least thst is what happened to me.

[ocean.jedi]

Also Spanish coast guard accepted the Ceuta Mariana receipt for one night as proof I left EY for the vat. Front line boarding party had to call supervisor for confirmation

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by Camille1

I sailed from Gibraltar to the UK a few weeks ago visiting harbours and marinas along the way. Gib, Spain, Portugal, France, UK. The only concern was to see certificate of registry, passports and insurance and most of all a payment for the berth. All very smooth and welcoming with no silly questions. 90 days ?? VAT paid where?? Even so, hold on to your 31 December 2020 location evidence.
Just one person's experience. But I gather computer systems are being prepared to monitor the 90 day rule in the EU.

This is the practical experience of most sailers in the med. in 30 years of sailing there I’ve been queried once and that was in Portugal , as you say no one looks at passports or vat or anything. The EU is not the USA.

Occasionally a few get caught up in a documents sweep etc. but it’s rare. It’s not a recipe for dodgy paperwork.

Next year ETIAS comes into force. The EUs retort to ESTA. It’s not clear how this applies yachts but it creates a computer record of your visitor status and therefore presumably this will be updated as you clear in and out of Schengen.

( very unclear how this will apply in Ireland as we are out of Schengen but have full free movement rights within Schengen, at present it seems we will be outside ETIAS. )

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by ocean.jedi

Cuetes doesn’t take you out of the EU for personal Schengen purposes but it does for the 18 month VAT rules —at least thst is what happened to me.

Because it’s outside the customs union but in the EU. Whereas the canaries are within the custom union but outside the VAT area. The EU is nothing if not flexible.