Sailing a leisure craft to and from the UK

This page contains information about the customs and other requirements for private individuals who sail leisure craft (such as yachts) to and from the UK.

These requirements apply to anyone who owns or is responsible for a leisure craft that sails to or from locations outside the UK. For value added tax (VAT) purposes, the Channel Islands are treated as being outside the UK and the European Community.

The customs requirements are set out on the HM Revenue & Customs website (which refers to leisure craft as 'pleasure craft').

In the future, owners and operators of leisure craft will also need to provide passenger and crew information in advance, under our e-Borders requirements for carriers and ports. We expect that this requirement will come into force in 2011. We are liaising with the Royal Yachting Association to ensure that the general boating community is represented in the e-Borders process.

The e-Borders programme electronically collects and analyses information from carriers (including airlines, ferries and rail companies) about everyone who intends to travel to or from the UK. It will allow us to identify passengers who are a potential risk and alert the relevant authorities.