Boating in Spain

[DonDino]

Hi all!

I am new here, and hopefully in the right place. I am posting on behalf of a friend who owns a 38ft Bayliner.
We are planning to move it to Spain and I'm out on the net looking for information on what we need to do this.

This thread has been quite informative, but it clashes with some other sites I've come across, so I would appreciate your wisdom.

Basically you list several things that are required, like ICC (which I assume is the yachtmaster or skipper qualification), and someone even mentioned the VAT-paid proof.
In other places, people are saying that these are required for people who become residents in Spain, i.e. spend more than 6 months/183 days a year there. According to those sources, for non-residents, what matters is the law in your country of origin (e.g. for us, UK), and not Spanish law, so no ICC required (I don't think that's required for UK boating, correct me if I'm wrong), no VAT-paid proof, etc.

Am I right to assume the above?

Also, assuming the VAT certificate was required at some point, how is one obtained? My friend's boat could have had numerous previous owners since 1996, I guess the VAT was paid when the first owner bought it but how is that provable?

Thanks in advance for your help and insight!

[Tim M]

You're incorrect regarding the country of origin thing. I would recommend a minimum of the following. The Spanish love their paperwork!

-Copy of your insurance, preferably in Spanish as well as English
-ICC - you can get this from a course as basic as PB2.
-VHF operator licence + licence for the boat
-SSR certificate - vital because Spain has a much more formal boat registration process, and they will demand some sort of official bit of paper.

-Bill of sale and VAT status. Well, this is a tricky one. I'm not sure how many people ever get asked for this, but in terms of what you need - an original VAT receipt/invoice from when the boat was originally sold. If you don't have this it can be a right pain to obtain. You'll need to find out where the boat was originally purchased from, and contact them. It's not uncommon for boat brokers to work back going from previous owner to previous owner to see if anyone has this magic bit of paper. Can take a while! If that seems like an impossible task, have you got an official looking bill of sale? Ideally typed up with a few signatures on the bottom and an official looking logo/stamp at the top always goes down well. The MCA one looks good!

If the boat is going to live in one marina and only be used for day trips then you'll only ever (in theory) need to present the paperwork to the home marina which makes life easier unless you get spot checked by the authorities. I couldn't believe how complicated "checking in" at a marina in Spain was compared to the UK - here you hand over a few quid job done. In Spain it could take anything up to an hour while they filled in various forms, took copies of all of our paperwork and put stamps on it. Be prepared with as much stuff as you can get your hands on.

[RMR2ENG]

If you sail in a british flag boat, the titles and safety gear, communications requirements etc. are the ones required by british law. The boat is rulled by the law of the flag country. This applies to anywhere in the world! For example belgium flag does not require any title. You can sail it anywhere in the world without a title. Spanish authorities cannot board a uk flagship, without a valid reason (drugs for example). Boats are considered like country ground or embassies and they have no juridiction there. I recomend you to use in Spain a foreign flagship because you avoid being inspected by the police.

If you sail in Spanish waters you must have an insurance valid in Spain which covers accidents that you may cause to third parties by the minimum value required by Spanish law.

Your boat has been registred for a long time in the uk, no need for vat declaration. Any proof of purchase (invoice or private sales contract) is more than enought.

In Spain there is a kind of luxury tax for the boats above 8m of ISO length. 12% of the boat value.

In your case, in you stay more than 183 a year in Spain, you'll be considered as a tax resident and you'll have to pay it otherwise your boat can be impounded by Spanish customs. If you spend less than 183 days a year you don't have to. This period applies to the person, not the boat.