Europe can be a great cruising destination for UK boats. If you’re planning a trip, this guide will help you make sure you’ve got the formalities covered - including some recent changes - so you can relax and enjoy the adventure.

Report your voyage

If you leave the UK or Isle of Man on a recreational boat (pleasure craft), heading for a foreign port, you should report details of your voyage to Border Force and HMRC.

The same applies for your return to the UK.

The easiest way to do this is through the pleasure craft reporting service (sPCR), an online form where you provide details about your vessel, voyage plan, people onboard and any goods. You will need a GOV.UK One Login to use the service. Using sPCR ensures you meet legal reporting requirements and helps you become familiar with the system that may become mandatory in the future.

You can complete the form in advance, but you should only submit it no more than 24 hours and at least 2 hours before departure.

Once you have submitted the form, you must notify Border Force if you cancel or change your plans, which you can do through the same online service.

Discover more about entry and exit formalities.

Keep a record of your EU entry and exit

With the introduction of the new EU Entry/Exit System (EES), passport stamping is being replaced by a digital record of entry and exit for non-EU nationals. This means you won’t necessarily have passport stamps as evidence in case your arrival or departure is recorded incorrectly. If you’re travelling by boat, you won’t have a ticket or boarding pass, so it may be helpful to keep other evidence of when you entered or left the Schengen Area.

Some countries require you to complete an entry and exit declaration form with details of the people onboard – it’s worth keeping hold of a copy. Your completed sPCR form might also prove useful.

Know your obligations

If you’re sailing or motorboating in another country’s waters, that country can ask you to comply with its rules and regulations (under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea). Requirements can vary between countries, so it's always worth checking in advance. 

Prepare your paperwork

Whether you’re travelling on your boat, or towing it abroad, you’ll need documents for the people and the boat.

Ship’s papers (for a boat under its own propulsion)

• Registration document (to prove the boat’s nationality)
• Ship radio licence
• Insurance documents
• Evidence of eligibility for relief from VAT (for your return to the UK)
• Voyage log (good practice)

Documents for a boat being towed/trailed

• Trailer registration (if required)
• Boat registration document and evidence of ownership
• Completed EU Annex 71-0 document
• Vehicle breakdown/recovery insurance

People

• Evidence of competence
• Authority to operate maritime radio
• Passport and/or other recognised travel document
• Global Health Insurance Card and insurance cover for medical treatment abroad and repatriation to the UK
• Vehicle driving licence valid for the combination of vehicle and trailer (if towing)

A note on ports of entry

Some countries specify the ports of entry a vessel should use when arriving from abroad. It’s often a requirement that you use the most direct route to a port of entry on entering territorial waters.

On entering the Schengen area from a non-Schengen country, you should obtain immigration clearance. This also applies when leaving the Schengen area (i.e. your intended destination is in a non-Schengen country) – you need to ensure your exit is recorded, as you would by clearing passport control in an airport. 

Arriving in France

If you’re planning to arrive by boat in France, you can alternatively choose to enter through one of several French marinas, under a special ‘marina protocol’ in place since 2024. The RYA has been told that the protocol will remain in place at least until the end of 2026. 

Q Flag

A vessel arriving in a country from outside its customs or immigration territory is generally expected to fly the yellow Q flag until given clearance from the authorities, unless you are certain you don’t need to. The crew should usually remain onboard the vessel until the skipper has completed the necessary customs and immigration formalities, at which point the Q flag may be taken down. 

Temporary Admission explained

The 27 EU Member States form a single customs territory. The United Kingdom is not part of this, so when you take your boat into the EU, you import it into the EU customs territory. Import VAT and customs duty may be payable unless you are eligible for a relief such as Temporary Admission, Returned Goods Relief, or another customs relief. Temporary Admission will apply if all the following conditions are met:

• You are not established in the EU (your habitual residence is outside the EU)
• The boat is registered outside the EU
• The boat is for private use only (not chartered or used commercially)
• The boat is intended to be re-exported

Temporary Admission normally allows the boat to remain in the EU for up to 18 months without payment of import VAT or customs duty.

Pets and provisions

Rules for travelling with pets vary depending on where you are travelling to and from. A pet (dog, cat or ferret) can only arrive in Great Britain on a private boat if it’s coming from Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or the Republic of Ireland.

Otherwise, your pet must enter the UK using an approved transport company and route. Pets entering the EU from a non-EU country must enter through a designated Travellers’ Point of Entry (TPE), and must travel with an EU Animal Health Certificate. They must also meet EU vaccination and identification requirements.

There are also rules governing what food you can take into the EU and bring back to the UK. Since the UK is now treated as a third country by the EU, personal imports of meat, milk and products containing them from the UK into the EU are generally prohibited.

EU legislation recognises that food may be carried on board a vessel operating internationally, for consumption by crew and passengers, but prohibited foods must not be unloaded on EU territory. 

This information is written as a basic guide for a UK-flagged pleasure vessel operated by a UK resident. It may differ for boats registered in other flag states or if you’re resident elsewhere, and for boats that are operated commercially.

Information last updated May 2026. For the latest guidance, please visit our boating abroad hub.