Planning to sail across to Europe this summer? There’s a lot to think about! This guide, prepared by the Regulatory & Technical Services group (RATS) of the Cruising Association (CA), will help you navigate the post-Brexit waters and ensure you are fully prepared when you set your course for the other side of the Channel (or the North Sea).
The most important question, however, is where you want to go, because the rules differ a great deal from country to country and ‘Europe’ can mean many different things for different purposes. In a short article like this it’s impossible to cover every possible destination, so we’re going to focus on the UK’s EU neighbours (including France, the Netherlands, Spain and Portugal) but not Ireland, which is outside the ‘Schengen’ area, and has a Common Travel Agreement with the UK.
We will also assume that all crew members are UK passport-holders and the boat is UK-registered. If your situation does not fit this straightforward scenario then, obviously, you should seek specific advice. Membership of the CA entitles you to email RATS to ask for this.
How long can I stay?
The basic rule, since Brexit, is that you can only spend 90 days in any rolling 180-day period in the ‘Schengen’ area as a whole– that is, in the area in which there is free movement of people ie Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland (unless you have an EU residency permit or a long-stay visa – see next question – or are travelling with a partner or spouse who has an EU passport).
The 90/180 rule means that if you enter the Schengen area and leave 90 days later then you cannot return to the Schengen area until you have been outside
