Guidance for travelling to and from the UK
Planning to take your charter yacht across the Channel or to the Channel Islands?
There are customs, immigration and documentation requirements that you need to consider before leaving the UK and when returning. Requirements vary depending on your destination and the nationality and immigration status of everyone onboard.
The skipper is responsible for ensuring that the vessel and everyone onboard comply with the relevant requirements.
Please note: Regulations and entry procedures can change. The information below is intended as a practical guide only. Always check the latest official requirements for the UK and your intended destination before departure.
Before Leaving Great Britain – Pleasure Craft Reporting
If you are sailing a pleasure craft from Great Britain to another country or to the Channel Islands, you must report the voyage to HMRC and Border Force.
This includes voyages from Great Britain to:
- France and other EU countries
- Alderney
- Guernsey
- Jersey
- other destinations outside the UK
This requirement also applies to charter yachts being used for private recreational purposes.
Submit a Pleasure Craft Report – sPCR
The skipper or person responsible for the yacht should submit a Pleasure Craft Report using the UK Government's online sPCR service.
Submit a Pleasure Craft Report – GOV.UK
When submitting online, the report must currently be made at least 2 hours before departure and no more than 24 hours before departure.
You will need:
- details of the yacht
- skipper's details
- passport or travel document details for everyone onboard
- intended departure point and destination
- estimated departure and arrival times
- details of relevant goods onboard
If your plans change after submitting the report – including your departure time, destination or people onboard – the report should be amended.
The sPCR is the responsibility of the skipper. Hamble Point Yacht Charters can provide the vessel information required for the report where necessary.
Returning to Great Britain
A further Pleasure Craft Report must be submitted when returning to Great Britain from overseas.
This includes returning from the Channel Islands, as well as France and other overseas destinations.
When arriving in Great Britain from outside the UK, including the Channel Islands, you must also fly the yellow Q flag when you enter UK waters at the 12-mile limit.
The Q flag should remain flying until the required customs reporting procedure has been completed.
Follow any instructions received from Border Force or HMRC and do not assume that submitting the report removes the need to comply with any subsequent instructions from the authorities.
Visiting the Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are within the Common Travel Area, but they are not part of the United Kingdom and have their own customs and immigration arrangements.
You should therefore check the current requirements for the particular island you intend to visit.
Jersey
Jersey has specific requirements for private vessels.
Depending on where the vessel has arrived from, the nationality and immigration status of those onboard, and whether there are goods to declare, a Private Maritime Declaration may be required.
This is particularly important where someone onboard is not a British or Irish citizen.
Where a declaration is required, Jersey currently recommends completing it approximately one week before travel.
Private boats coming to Jersey – Government of Jersey
Do not assume that having completed the UK sPCR automatically completes Jersey's local requirements – they are separate procedures.
Guernsey and Alderney
Guernsey and Alderney also have their own customs and immigration requirements for visiting yachts.
Skippers should check the latest requirements and any arrival/declaration procedures before departure, particularly where anyone onboard is not a British or Irish citizen or where goods need to be declared.
Passports, Visas and Immigration
Every member of the crew should carry a valid passport when travelling outside the UK on one of our yachts.
Requirements vary according to nationality, destination and individual immigration status.
If anyone onboard is not a British or Irish citizen, you should check their individual entry requirements before departure.
Someone who has valid UK immigration permission may have different requirements from someone entering the UK or Channel Islands as a visitor.
The skipper is responsible for ensuring that everyone onboard has the necessary passport, visa, ETA or other immigration permission for the intended voyage.
Do not rely on the requirements applicable to another member of your crew – immigration requirements can vary considerably by nationality.
Check Foreign Travel Advice – GOV.UK
Electronic Travel Authorisations – ETA
Electronic Travel Authorisation requirements now apply to many travellers who do not require a visa.
From 23 April 2026, the ETA scheme was extended to Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man.
An ETA is not required simply because somebody is a foreign national – for example, people who already hold appropriate UK immigration permission or a visa may not require one.
Anyone who is not a British or Irish citizen should check their own position before travelling.
Travelling to France or the EU
The Channel Islands should not be confused with France or the Schengen Area.
If sailing to France or another Schengen country, separate EU/Schengen immigration and customs requirements apply.
You must check:
- permitted ports of entry
- any pre-arrival declaration required by the country
- passport requirements
- visa requirements for each member of the crew
- the Schengen 90 days in any 180-day limit where applicable
- customs requirements
- procedures for formally entering and leaving the country
Procedures for small craft entering France have changed several times since the UK's departure from the EU, so always check the current official requirements before your voyage rather than relying on information from a previous trip.
Ship's Papers
When taking a UK-registered yacht outside UK territorial waters, you should carry the appropriate vessel documentation.
For an HPYC charter yacht, this will normally include the relevant vessel documentation supplied onboard.
Documentation may include:
Vessel
- Registration document
- Ship Radio Licence
- Insurance documentation
- Voyage log
- Evidence of authority to use the vessel where appropriate
Skipper and Crew
- Valid passports
- Appropriate visas, ETAs or immigration permissions
- Evidence of sailing competence
- Maritime radio operator certificate
- Appropriate travel/medical insurance
Original documentation should be carried where required.
Evidence of Competence
Different countries have different requirements concerning evidence of competence.
You should carry the original sailing qualifications/certificates that support your competence to skipper the yacht.
An International Certificate for Operators of Pleasure Craft (ICC) may be requested in some countries, depending upon the vessel, coastal state and circumstances.
Having a qualification accepted by Hamble Point Yacht Charters for a UK bareboat charter does not necessarily mean that it satisfies the legal requirements of every country you may visit.
Maritime Radio
The yacht's installed radio equipment is covered by its Ship Radio Licence.
At least one person onboard should hold the appropriate maritime radio operator certificate, normally the RYA Short Range Certificate (SRC) for a recreational yacht fitted with DSC VHF.
Insurance
Our charter yachts carry the relevant vessel insurance, but charterers should arrange their own appropriate personal travel insurance.
Check that your travel insurance specifically covers sailing and the type of voyage you are undertaking. Some travel policies restrict or exclude sailing, particularly where sailing is the principal purpose of the holiday or where the vessel travels beyond defined territorial limits.
Health Cover
Do not rely solely on a GHIC or EHIC for overseas medical costs.
Check that everyone travelling has appropriate medical and repatriation insurance and that the policy covers recreational sailing.
Ensign and Courtesy Flags
A UK-flagged yacht should wear its ensign when appropriate, including when entering or leaving a foreign port.
When visiting another jurisdiction, it is customary to fly the appropriate courtesy flag from the starboard spreader.
When returning to the UK from overseas – including from the Channel Islands – remember the separate requirement to fly the yellow Q flag from the 12-mile limit until the appropriate customs reporting procedure has been completed.
Before You Set Sail – Quick Checklist
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Check the current entry requirements for your destination
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Check passport, visa and ETA requirements for every person onboard
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Submit your UK Pleasure Craft Report (sPCR)
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Complete any declaration required by your destination
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Carry the yacht's ship's papers
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Carry original sailing and radio qualifications
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Check personal travel and medical insurance covers sailing
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Carry the appropriate courtesy flags
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Carry a yellow Q flag for your return to the UK
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Keep a record of your voyage and ports visited
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Submit/amend the required report for your return to Great Britain
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Check the requirements again shortly before departure – don't assume they are unchanged from a previous trip
Useful Official Links
UK Pleasure Craft Reporting (sPCR)
Submit a Pleasure Craft Report – GOV.UK
Arriving in the UK by Pleasure Craft
Sailing a pleasure craft arriving in the UK – GOV.UK
Departing the UK by Pleasure Craft
Sailing a pleasure craft departing from the UK – GOV.UK
Jersey
Private boats coming to Jersey – Government of Jersey
Foreign Travel Advice
Foreign Travel Advice – GOV.UK
Last reviewed: August 2026.
This page is provided as general guidance for Hamble Point Yacht Charters customers and is not legal, customs or immigration advice. Regulations can change and skippers remain responsible for checking and complying with the current requirements of the UK and every jurisdiction visited.