Taking your own boat to the United Kingdom: ETA, reporting and the Q flag
If you sail your own boat to the United Kingdom, everyone on board needs an ETA, you report arrival and departure with a pleasure craft report and you fly the Q flag. Your boat may stay in Great Britain for 24 months. A pet may only come along if you arrive from Ireland or Northern Ireland.
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If you sail your own boat to the United Kingdom, you arrange five things: an ETA for everyone on board, a report to the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee (the Dutch border police) when you leave the Netherlands, a pleasure craft report on arrival and departure, the yellow Q flag in British waters, and permission from Border Force before you go ashore. Your boat may then stay in Great Britain for 24 months. A pet may not come along if you arrive directly from the Netherlands.
Three things to know in advance:
- You apply for the ETA at least three days before arrival, for every person on board, including children.
- The UK is outside Schengen. So when you leave and return to the Netherlands, you report to the Marechaussee.
- The UK is also outside the EU customs territory. For your boat, the three-year VAT clock starts there.
What do you arrange in the Netherlands, before you leave?
The UK is not part of Schengen. If you sail there, the Marechaussee reporting obligation applies:
- Report at least 3 hours and at most 3 days before you cross the external Schengen border.
- Sail via a border crossing point: a port where border control is carried out.
- Send the list of crew and passengers.
When you come back from the UK, you report no later than 24 hours before arriving in port. If the crossing takes less than 24 hours, no later than when you leave the previous port.
Also take your sea letter, your boating licence and your VAT statement. What those are is explained in sailing the world under the Dutch flag.
Do you need an ETA, even if you arrive by boat?
Yes. NederlandWereldwijd writes that if you travel to the UK with a Dutch passport, you need an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA). An ETA is a digital travel permission. It is linked to your passport.
| ETA | |
|---|---|
| Cost | £ 20 per person |
| Valid | two years, or until your passport expires if that is sooner |
| Applying | at least 3 days before arrival |
| Children | also need their own ETA |
| How long you can stay | up to 180 days without a visa |
With a Dutch ID card you can only travel to the UK under special conditions. So take your passport.
How do you report when you arrive?
If you come from outside Great Britain, you report your voyage with a pleasure craft report: a report to Border Force and the British tax authority (HMRC) about your boat, your voyage, who is on board and what you are carrying. You can do this online.
In addition:
- The Q flag. Fly the yellow Q flag as soon as you enter British waters, at the 12-mile limit. Leave it up until you have finished reporting.
- Permission to enter. Anyone who is not British or Irish needs permission from a Border Force officer. You only go ashore once you have it. This can be given remotely.
- Declaring goods. Goods you bought outside the UK that together are worth more than £ 270 must be declared. This also applies to equipment you had fitted to your boat outside the UK.
Anyone who fails to do this may be fined.
How long may your boat stay?
Your boat can enter the UK under Temporary Admission: temporary import without import duty and VAT. For that, the boat must be registered outside the UK, in the name of someone who lives outside the UK, and be for private use. A boat with a Dutch sea letter can show this.
| Where | How long |
|---|---|
| Great Britain (England, Scotland, Wales) | 24 months |
| Northern Ireland | 18 months |
In exceptional cases you can ask British customs in writing to extend that period.
Mind your European clock. The UK is outside the EU customs territory. The day you leave the EU, the three-year period within which your boat can return without VAT begins. If you stay two years in the UK and then sail on, you have one year left. More on this in VAT on your boat after three years outside the EU.
May your pet come along?
Not if you arrive directly from the Netherlands or another country on the continent. The British government: "You can only bring a pet into Great Britain on a private boat or plane if you're travelling from Ireland or Northern Ireland."
If you want to take your dog or cat to Great Britain, the animal must enter via an approved route. With your own boat that is only possible from Ireland or Northern Ireland. Separate rules apply to Northern Ireland. Read the British rules for pets before you plan your route.
What do you do when you leave the UK again?
If you leave Great Britain for another country, you submit another pleasure craft report, in advance. If you sail back to the Netherlands, report to the Marechaussee no later than 24 hours before arrival. If you are heading for another Schengen country, check in advance how to report there.
| Moment | What |
|---|---|
| Before leaving the Netherlands | ETA for everyone; report to the Marechaussee, 3 hours to 3 days in advance |
| In British waters | Q flag from 12 miles |
| On arrival | pleasure craft report, Border Force permission, declare goods over £ 270 |
| During your stay | boat at most 24 months in Great Britain, 18 in Northern Ireland |
| On leaving the UK | pleasure craft report in advance |
| Back in the Netherlands | report to the Marechaussee, no later than 24 hours before arrival |
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 4 of 5 of the journey, step 4.11: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey for a life on the road or go straight to step 4.11 in the open plan.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- GOV.UK — sailing a pleasure craft that is arriving in the UK, with the Q flag, Border Force and pets — gov.uk
- GOV.UK — sailing a pleasure craft that is departing from the UK — gov.uk
- GOV.UK — a pleasure craft temporarily in the UK for private use, 24 or 18 months — gov.uk
- GOV.UK — the ETA, £ 20 and valid for two years — gov.uk
- NederlandWereldwijd — travel advice United Kingdom, ETA and visa — nederlandwereldwijd.nl
- Royal Netherlands Marechaussee — reporting obligation for pleasure craft — marechaussee.nl
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