foreign flagged vessel cruising permit?

[boatpoker]

Kinda strange that we can cross the border in our RV (takes 2 minutes) and never have any contact with CBP for the next 8 months.

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

Well you can try by bringing a print-out of the rules …

I did that once in West Palm... I strongly advise you do not show a CBP officer that he is wrong.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by wannacat

The Roam app only covers you with immigration, you still have to go to the customs office in Ft Lauderdale for the boat if it's foreign registered. Then you either pay the nominal fee to stay put in that county or apply for a cruising permit or a permit to proceed depending on your intentions while in the US for the next 12 months. That's how Pt Everglades does it.

No, your vessel clearance, which used to be a paper form and cost $19 has been fully replaced by the ROAM app for areas where the app is supported. The cruising permit is not covered by the app yet but will be, they are working on that right now. When you do the preliminary clearance with the ROAM app, there are no more fees as the cruising permit has been free since as long as I remember.

For immigration you still have to go in to get the passport stamped. Like I wrote before, sometimes you don’t have to, but that’s when they make a mistake as you are supposed to have a stamp in the passport as well as have the entry registered in the computers.

[wannacat]

"No, your vessel clearance, which used to be a paper form and cost $19 has been fully replaced by the ROAM app for areas where the app is supported. The cruising permit is not covered by the app yet but will be, they are working on that right now. When you do the preliminary clearance with the ROAM app, there are no more fees as the cruising permit has been free since as long as I remember.

For immigration you still have to go in to get the passport stamped. Like I wrote before, sometimes you don’t have to, but that’s when they make a mistake as you are supposed to have a stamp in the passport as well as have the entry registered in the computers."

Seems to be the exact opposite in Pt Everglades from what your stating. The Roam app is also definitely supported there! I know what I've had to do for the last 11 years there. Try out their office next time and you'll see what I'm talking about. Also, I've never had my passport stamped in the US and I'm a Canadian citizen who has re-entered from The Bahamas 14 times in the 11 years. Must treat you different. We've had guests who flew to The Bahamas and re-entered with us, we have to take them to the US Immigration office within either 24 or 48 hrs [which is next door to Customs in Pt Everglades] and they present their passports but never have they been stamped. As mentioned it seems every area interprets the rules and applies them their own way. Be nice, say yes sir or mam and get on your way after paying the fee required.
Cheers
____________

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by wannacat

"No, your vessel clearance, which used to be a paper form and cost $19 has been fully replaced by the ROAM app for areas where the app is supported. The cruising permit is not covered by the app yet but will be, they are working on that right now. When you do the preliminary clearance with the ROAM app, there are no more fees as the cruising permit has been free since as long as I remember.

For immigration you still have to go in to get the passport stamped. Like I wrote before, sometimes you don’t have to, but that’s when they make a mistake as you are supposed to have a stamp in the passport as well as have the entry registered in the computers."

Seems to be the exact opposite in Pt Everglades from what your stating. The Roam app is also definitely supported there! I know what I've had to do for the last 11 years there. Try out their office next time and you'll see what I'm talking about. Also, I've never had my passport stamped in the US and I'm a Canadian citizen who has re-entered from The Bahamas 14 times in the 11 years. Must treat you different. We've had guests who flew to The Bahamas and re-entered with us, we have to take them to the US Immigration office within either 24 or 48 hrs [which is next door to Customs in Pt Everglades] and they present their passports but never have they been stamped. As mentioned it seems every area interprets the rules and applies them their own way. Be nice, say yes sir or mam and get on your way after paying the fee required.
Cheers
____________

No, Canadians don’t have to get their passports stamped. You found the one exception

[krid2000]

Originally Posted by ZERO

I'm a European citizen buying a US boat, taking it out of CG documentation so it will be foreign flagged. to apply for a cruising permit, do I have to leave US Waters?
I understod that it might depend on the officer dealing with us, but despite that has anybody more infos, anybody did that before?

I've done exactly this just recently. European citizen. Bought a US produced & USCG documented, state registered boat in the US. Had the previous owners delete the USCG documentation and state registration, registered it in my home country, and went to the local USCBP office to get the cruising permit. It took 15min. Didn't leave US waters.

Get all your documentation (bill of sale, insurance, new registration, proof of payment of funds, etc) ready and go the the local USCBP office. You could also call them first and ask what you would need for the cruising permit.

Dirk

[Montanan]

Originally Posted by ZERO

Thanks for the plenty answers.
let me specifiy it a little bit.
I'm a European citizen buying a US boat, taking it out of CG documentation so it will be foreign flagged. to apply for a cruising permit, do I have to leave US Waters?
I understod that it might depend on the officer dealing with us, but despite that has anybody more infos, anybody did that before?
thanks

Interesting situation. For questions or inquiries, please contact the NVMC 24/7 line at 1-800-708-9823 or 1-304-264-2502 or send an email to sans@nvmc.uscg.gov

While vessels that receive the CBP Cruising License may have some CBP reporting requirements reduced, the license does not exempt these vessels from the requirements for filing the Notice of Arrival (NOA) with the National Vessel Movement Center (NVMC) with the U.S. Coast Guard.

Reference:
https://www.nvmc.uscg.gov/(S(2bnxfwj...)/Default.aspx

Under 33 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) § 160.205 required to file a NOA with NVMC prior to arrival into the US. For more information on the reporting requirements, please visit the National Vessel Movement Center (NVMC).

The cruising permit exempts pleasure vessels of only certain countries from the requirement of undergoing formal entry and clearance procedures in the United States. In many states, including Florida, a cruising permit also allows a vessel to avoid being subject to the *relevant-use taxes.

Ordinarily to get an initial cruising permit, or to obtain another cruising permit, the foreign flagged vessel would need to have arrived from a foreign port or place. Departing the USA and arriving from international waters does not qualify as to the good [in this case, a boat] having been exported from the USA and thus having not been imported into a foreign port or place it can not have been exported from a foreign port or place and thus again not imported from said foreign port or place.

One is dealing with a foreign commerce situation, meaning customs entry and custom exiting, a temporary importation admissions without duty needing to be paid, such as the one year cruising permit.

Seems like you may actually need to depart and return. And then you will be good to cruise for up to one year with less formality of continued customs entry procedures, but then you will need to depart the States to thence qualify a new to return again with a grant of yet another cruising permit [temporary importation admission].

A cruising permit is issued to foreign-flagged yachts and other recreational vessels from only countries that have a reciprocal arrangement with the United States. Once issued, it exempts the boat captain from having to:

File manifests, obtain permits, and carry out related entry and clearance procedures each time the vessel arrives at a U.S. port.
Pay tonnage tax or entry and clearance fees at every port it enters after the one that issued the permit.
To receive your cruising permit when you arrive in U.S. waters, take the following steps:

Report to U.S. Customs and Border Patrol immediately upon reaching port.
Make a formal vessel entry on Form 1300 within 48 hours and pay all applicable fees.
Request the cruising license from the Customs and Border Patrol Port Director.

Once issued, your cruising permit is valid for a maximum of one year. After it expires, you may apply for another one if:

At least 15 days have passed since it expired
You are arriving in the U.S. from a foreign destination

Having a cruising permit does not exempt you from the requirements for filing the Notice of Arrival with the National Vessel Movement Center of the U.S. Coast Guard. You must also report your departure to Customs and Border Protection when you leave a port in the United States and head to another one or even leave the country.

Once issued, a cruising permit is valid for a maximum of one year. Many boat owners opt to surrender their permit to Customs and Border Protection when they leave the United States for a foreign port, so that they can apply for a new one when they re-enter. It is important to note that traveling in foreign waters while the cruising permit is in effect does not help satisfy the 15-day wait mentioned above.

Every foreign-flagged recreational vessel requires a cruising permit to travel in U.S. waters without facing formal procedures at every stop, but the regulations surrounding cruising permits can be difficult, given the frequency with which the rules change.

[carstenb]

Sailing a foreign flagged vessel in the US can be confusing. We entered a couple of years ago in Ft Lauderdale, got a 1 year cruising permit and sailed northward on the ICW.

The regs say you must notify the CPB office if your boat changes location. Most sectors (=states) will require you to call in when you enter the sector, but you are free to sail within the sector without reporting in (do NOT count on this being the case - check each time) Charleston SC, f.eks. is a stickler on the rules. We arrived and while I was still busy tying up at the fuel dock, two CPB's showed up and asked if I had called in yet. When I said no, they said "You have to call in immediately or it is a violation"

I pointed out that I literally still had the dock line in my hand, had not finished tying up and in addition, I couldn't call in because I wasn't sure I would be able to get a slip in the Marina.
They weren't happy at my logic and grumbled that I would need to call IMMEDIATELY after getting a slip assignment.

A couple of days later a Brit couple we know arrived after spending two nasty days at sea. They arrived at 4 a.m. tied up and hit the sack. He called in at 8:00 and when they asked what time they arrived, he was honest and said 4 a.m. They issued him a written warning for not reporting in immediately.

Best advice - call every time, log the time you called and the name/badge number of the officer you spoke with