3 CRUISING-TO-FRANCE REMINDER
The Cruising Association has updated its post-brexit advice to UK boat owners planning a cruise to France this summer. Due to Covid travel restrictions many boat owners will not have made the trip since Britain left the EU so the CA is keen to ensure nobody is caught out.
The first step is to identify your favoured port of arrival. The official ports of entry on France’s Channel coast are Dunkirk, Calais, Boulogne, Dieppe, Le Havre, Honfleur, Caen/ouistreham, Cherbourg, Carteret, Granville, St Malo, St Brieuc/legue and Roscoff. If you wish to arrive elsewhere, you will first need to check with the port whether they have special arrangements with the local border police (Police Aux Frontières – PAF) or customs officers (Douane).
This will usually be a link from the port’s website to a form called Préavis Immigration (Immigration Notice). This needs to be filled in and emailed to the relevant address at least 24 hours prior to departure during weekdays and 48 hours in advance for a weekend. On arrival, if you have not yet had a reply to your email, you will need to call the nearest Port of Entry PAF or Douane office to ask what they want you to do. They may decide to visit you on board.
If your preferred port does not have a link to a Préavis Immigration form, you will need to choose another entry location. You should select either an official Port of Entry or a port with a link to the necessary form.
You are advised to keep electronic copies of the form and the email with you at all times – both as digital proof on your phone and a printed copy. Skippers and crews will need to see officials either in person aboard their boats or at local PAF and Douane offices so that identities can be verified and passports stamped. Boat papers may also need to be inspected. In extreme situations, such as bad weather, requirements may be overridden and any port entered with the permission from a harbourmaster.
You will need to repeat the process for departure by visiting the PAF and Douane offices to get your passports stamped. Bear in mind that these are rarely close to marinas and have limited opening hours. If you know they will be closed on the day you leave, it may be possible to get your passports stamped in advance. If not properly stamped when you leave, you could find that your Schengen Zone allowance of 90 days within any 180-day period continues to be used after departure, leading to re-entry to the EU being denied in the future.
TEMPORARY DISPENSATION
A temporary dispensation has been granted for the two Brittany ports of Saint Cast and Saint Quay. From 1st June to 30th September 2022, visitors arriving by sea from outside the EU only need to submit a Préavis Immigration 24 hours in advance of arrival. For shorter passages, this can be done before leaving the previous port. No passport stamping is needed and the same email-only process applies.