Sailing In Europe After Brexit 2025
Sailing in Europe after Brexit can be tricky to navigate. With its beautiful cruising grounds, warm weather and historic cities and towns, Europe is a dream sailing ground for many British sailors. A lot of cruisers are used to spending months here every year, making the most of their right to move freely between European countries.
But now that priviledge has ended, how can you sail in Europe hassle free? With all sorts of rumours on visas, loopholes, and shenghen shuffle plans, it’s hard to know if you’re playing by the rules. Luckily, there are many out there who have researched extensively and found the information for you.
Youtubers Iain and Kate (retired police officers) have explained all in this post, in the hopes of making sailing in Europe after Brexit that little bit easier. They’ve answered a range of questions for you, including things you might not have even considered, like how long you can leave your boat in the EU and some of the pros of sailing after Brexit.
Author Bio
Iain and Kate are a British couple in their early 50s who set off to cruise full-time on their sailboat, Intrepid Bear, in March 2021. They sailed the south coast of the UK before making their way across Biscay to Portugal.
They have documented their adventures so far on their YouTube Channel and you can follow them on Facebook and Instagram in real-time.
Sailing In Europe After Brexit – Quick Menu
The Realities Of Sailing In Europe After Brexit
The Pros Of Sailing Europe After Brexit
The Cons Of Sailing Europe After Brexit
Does It Cost More To Sail After Brexit?
How Long Can I Leave My Boat In The EU?
Are There Ways To Travel Longer In Europe Post Brexit?
The Schengen Shuffle
The Schengen Shuffle is a term used by those who wish to travel in the Schengen area (in our case liveaboard British Sailors) and who are not citizens of one of the participant countries of the area, to describe how they organise (shuffle) their travel movement around the Schengen visa allowance of 90 days in any rolling 180 day period.
The allowance is counted backwards over the preceding 180 days and must not exceed 90 days, including the day of entry and departure. As the area (zone) has, and continues to, grow it’s become less of a shuffle and more of a dash!
The Realities Of Sailing In Europe And Our Experiences Sailing After Brexit
Sailing requires a strange mix of careful planning with being prepared to change plans. Usually, this is because of weather and safety considerations and, for us, with the overarching safety principle that you should never sail to a schedule.
Prior to Brexit any schedule faced by a liveaboard sailor, as they cruised leisurely around Europe, was likely to be self-imposed by attempting to get somewhere to meet someone/collect something. Now there’s Schengen dash scheduling to contend with!
When we left the UK in early August 2021 and checked into the Schengen zone we had planned to spend our 90 days sailing across the Bay of Biscay, down the Atlantic Coast of Spain and Portugal into the Algarve exiting 90 days later in Gibraltar where we intended to spend winter.
So long as we spent 90 days in Gibraltar (which still is, at the time of writing, outside of Schengen) we would “reset” and be free to re-enter with a new 90 days when spring arrived.
Between the UK and the Balkan countries of Albania, Montenegro and (until they join Schengen in January 2023) Croatia the only safe, non-Schengen, countries are Gibraltar and Morocco. With Morocco still closed to sailors in 2021 due to covid, Gibraltar is where we headed.
Frustratingly as we made our way towards Gibraltar the marina berth we thought we had secured there evaporated. With no anchorages in Gibraltarian waters, we were faced with trying to get from the Atlantic coast of Portugal to Albania some 2,000 nautical miles away.
As we tried to decide what to do we were told about a potential Portuguese national visa that would allow us to winter there and, as it was a national visa, not count as time spent in Schengen and thereby effectively “stop” our visa clock at the point it was granted.
This would allow us to re-enter Schengen in the spring for a full new 90 days. Much to our despair, and despite seeking advice from a Portuguese lawyer, researching and preparing a great deal of paperwork, along with the expense of flying back to the UK for appointments, it transpired that the advertised visa did not exist.
We headed back to our boat with one week left of our 90 days considering whether to risk sailing to Gibraltar with no guarantee of a berth for more than a few weeks to find that, thankfully, due to covid backlogs, Portugal had decided to extend the validity of anyone legally in the country until the end of March 2022.
This solved our problem in the short term however the extension did not stop our Schengen clock so when we left Portugal in early March 2022 we had been (legally) in Schengen since August 2021 and therefore could not re-enter the Schengen zone for at least 90 days – around early June.
By now we were learning to be adaptable! And resourceful! We knew that boats, big and small, often passed through the territorial waters of other countries but believed it unlikely that they would need to get visas and so we began to research.
Article 17 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea allows ships of all States to enjoy the “right of innocent passage” through the territorial sea. Article 18 states that passage shall be “continuous and expeditious”. Passage includes “stopping and anchoring”, but only in so far as the same are “incidental to ordinary navigation or are rendered necessary by force majeure”.
Armed with this information we headed for Gibraltar knowing that when we left we could make our way legally through the Schengen zone and that if we couldn’t find the weather to progress or if we had to take shelter, we could anchor off the coast of a Schengen state.
We intended to spend a week in Gibraltar but weather, illness, and waiting for boat parts, meant we spent a month there before we finally set off into the Mediterranean sea on a 1640 nautical mile passage bound for Montenegro using our newly found “right of innocent passage”.
The Pros Of Sailing Europe After Brexit
Brexit has been at best, a challenge for us. The challenge of going to places outside of Schengen has had its reward in that we are visiting places we may never have otherwise gone.
Having to check in to countries, as we are now third country nationals, and the challenge that presents in finding and dealing with customs and immigration, finding currency and data for internet use, feels a bit more like we’re travelling to different countries and that’s a nice feeling – at times!
The Cons Of Sailing Europe After Brexit
When we began to plan our adventure it was to cruise a motorboat through the French canals and out into the Mediterranean and then to travel very slowly around, moving only as far as our income would buy us fuel that month.
The 90/180 visa restrictions we are now subject to changed our plans quite dramatically. We bought a sailboat because we just couldn’t afford the fuel to take a motorboat the distances needed to get “out” every 90 days.
We thought, for example, we would “Schengen Shuffle” by spending 90 days “in” the western Med, 90 days “out” in the Balkans, 90 days “in” the eastern Med (ie Greece) and then 90 days “out” in Turkey or Cyprus.
In reality, it seems that the Med sailing season is 6 months long, maybe 8 if you’re lucky. After spending 90 days “in” the western Med and 90 days “out” in the Balkans the season would be drawing to a close.
We would either have to make haste and break our safety rule of not sailing to a Schedule and dash across the eastern Med in 2 months before winter really set in or stay put in the Balkans for perhaps 9 months. Our Shuffle has now gone from a dash to a crawl.
Most non-Schengen countries will allow you to stay for 90 days visa-free with some offering easier than others, ways to extend it however as more and more countries join Schengen there are fewer places to get out and greater distances to travel between non-Schengen countries.
Cruising the Med as a liveaboard sailor is becoming more and more difficult to the point of near impossibility.
Does It Cost More To Sail After Brexit?
The good news is that day to day, country to country, we’ve not seen specific Brexit-related costs. However, there are some costs now appearing post-Brexit.
Visas – if you were eligible for and/or decided to apply for a national visa, be that a Category D Visa (residency), or a Digital Nomad Visa there are visa application costs and costs related to attending any personal appointments necessary in your country of residency.
Winter berthings – pre Brexit you could plan your sailing season and aim to arrive at a winter destination with a cost to suit your budget or to stop where you were.
Now that most British sailors are looking for winter berths out of Schengen the demand has pushed up prices and berths are often booked up well in advance forcing you to plan your season well ahead or dash long distances to get across the Med to your winter destination.
If you intend to settle in the EU long-term then you may be liable for VAT on your boat (see below).
How Long Can I Leave My Boat In The EU?
If your boat was in Europe on 31/12/2020 then you can leave it in Europe indefinitely. It is considered EU VAT paid.
If your boat was in the UK on 31/12/2020 then it is considered UK VAT paid and you can only leave it in Europe for 18 months before VAT becomes due.
To avoid this however you have only to take the boat out of the EU for a day before you can return it with a new 18-month VAT clock. Boats have an easier time than people!
However, if you decide to settle in the EU and gain residency then, whilst you no longer have to take the boat out once every 18 months, the boat will immediately become liable for EU VAT.
Are There Ways To Travel Longer In Europe Post Brexit?
Brexit has had an impact on not only sailors such as ourselves but also British second homeowners who would previously have spent perhaps 6 months a year in their EU holiday home.
This in turn has had an impact on these economies that have been already hit by covid.
Although there are indications of a political appetite for change in these countries and active campaign groups lobbying both EU and British politicians for longer-term visas (which would also benefit sailors) there is no sign of EU/Schengen-wide change at this time.
Visas For Sailors In Europe
The French do offer a national tourist visa of up to a year enabling you to travel in France outside of Schengen time but they are the only country currently offering this. Proof of a predetermined income level is required as is attendance at the Consulate in your home country and then a wait before you can enter France.
Many countries are now starting to offer visas for Digital Nomads enabling people who work remotely for a country based elsewhere to apply for a visa of up to a year. Younger, nonretired sailors and other travellers seem to be beginning to look at these visas. Proof of a steady remote income is usually required.
To my knowledge, the only other way is for those in it for the long haul. Obtaining temporary residency for 5 years leading to permanent residency and subsequently, a passport from an EU/Schengen country will enable you to travel freely within Europe as if unaffected by Brexit.
The requirements for temporary residency varies country to country but all include proof of a predetermined income and that the application is made in your home country. It is also a requirement that you live in that country continuously for 5 years in order to gain permanent residency and that you only leave for limited periods during that time or risk losing your temporary resident status.
Without change and the introduction of something like a new, EU-wide, longer-term tourist visa, luck seems to be the only other way to stay longer in Europe post-Brexit.
If you aren’t lucky enough to marry an EU Citizen and therefore able to travel freely within Europe either with them or when travelling to join them, you are left with the luck of the draw – if you are prepared to take the chance.
Rumours and Loopholes
During our first year on this journey, we have heard tales of, and met, many people who have found the rules relating to third country sailors being applied differently, not at all, or even made up/shoehorned to fit.
Whilst it is encouraging to think that EU authorities are trying to find ways not to check British sailors into countries/stop their Schengen clock these are unwritten rules and they seem to vary depending on the country, official of that country, or their mood that day.
As ex-police officers rules do matter to us and the consequences of breaking them and perhaps being fined, deported, and/or banned from the Schengen zone are too great for us.
We have no home in the UK, our boat is our home and the prospect of being made homeless through a well-intentioned blind eye, or rule application, is not a risk we are prepared to take and it was for these reasons that we embarked on our mammoth passage across the Mediterranean.
Sailing in Europe After Brexit Conclusion
As you can see, sailing in Europe after Brexit isn’t as straightforward as you might have hoped, but it is still totally possible and well worth the inconvenience to see these stunning cruising grounds.
If you have any more questions about cruising in Europe then Iain and Kate would love to hear from you. Head over to their YouTube channel and leave a comment with your questions and they will try to get back to you ASAP.
Heading off on a sailing adventure of your own? Check out our sailing tips and follow our adventures on social media for more information about life aboard a sailboat!
More about Iain and Kate
Iain has lived on boats since 2009 when he bought and moved onto a 40ft motorboat. As a child, he sailed dinghies and later took opportunities to crew club race boats and friends’ sailing yachts. During his career as a Police Sergeant, Iain spent 9 years as a full-time coxswain on the marine unit of Dorset police where he gained qualifications as an RYA Yachtmaster examiner and instructor for power boats.
Kate was a Police Officer in a different force when they first met online in 2012. She had no prior boating experience so for the first 4 years she travelled to Dorset on her days off spending as much time as possible on Iain’s boat before transferring to Dorset police and moving on board in 2016.
Together they explored the south coast of the U.K., occasionally crossing the English Channel to France or the Channel Islands gradually developing Kate’s skills and confidence. They sold the motorboat and bought Intrepid Bear, a 40ft Swedish-built Najad 391, in 2019 spending their days off and holidays sailing and preparing for their adventure before untying the lines in March 2021.
