What are the visa rules for boat owners visiting France?
Boaters need to be aware of residency rules
Living on a boat for a few months does not make you a resident
Paul Atkinson/Shutterstock.
Reader Question: I want to take my boat to travel around France via its canal system for six months. Is this possible, and if so, will that make me a resident, even if I have no fixed address?
The first thing to note is that this will not make you a resident in the fiscal sense, as for this you would need to be making France your main home, as opposed to in effect having an extended holiday.
You would generally also need to come for more than six months. Other tests are also looked at, such as work and financial ties to France.
So, as far as taxation goes, your main address will remain as your UK one.
As far as immigration procedures go, you also would not need a residency card in this case, as you are not moving to France.
90/180-day rule
But, as you are planning to be in France for more than 90 days, if you are a non-EU national then you will need to apply for a visa, as if you do not, you will be limited by the 90/180-day rule and only be able to stay in the country for three months’ maximum.
The correct visa to apply for would be a six-month visa de long-séjour temporaire. A visa lasting for longer than this usually relates to some form of settled residency.
Read more: Explainer: Common visa options for visiting and moving to France
This is required both for those boating on internal French waterways, and those docked at French coastal ports (where you are still nominally in French territory, even if you do not disembark).
Judy Evans of the UK’s Barge Association (DBA) and the Cruising Association (CA) confirmed that it is possible for boaters - both those who dock their vessel in a marina, and those who sail French canals - to obtain a VLS-T.
Read more: Do I have to wait six months after expiry to renew French VLS-T visa?
Some questions in the application, such as those regarding your address, may however need to be answered differently from if you are staying at a fixed address such as a French second home.
For example, you should provide details of your boat and where it is located in France (or put ‘various’ if this does not apply).
More information can be found from the Barge Association at barges.org.
