Why register a yacht in Gibraltar?
The Gibraltar Yacht Registry is part of the Red Ensign Group (see link below) and carries with it all the advantages of the standard Red Ensign and a few more. Like MCA Part 1 registration the Gibraltar Yacht Registry issues Part 1 registration allowing a mortgage to be registered on a yacht. However, unlike the MCA Part 1 Registry the Gibraltar Registry is not only open to all British citizens and British bodies corporate but also to citizens of the European Union (EU) and the citizens of the European Economic Area (EEA). EU and EEA citizens need to have a local representative; a function that Boatshed Gibraltar can fulfill for a nominal fee. This can be of value especially for EU and EEA citizens who for any reason want to keep their boat out of their own national register. This arises when a national register has very onerous regulation or bureaucracy.
With the correct documentation in place showing clear title; yacht registration can take as little as 48 hours and the vessel does not even have to dock in Gibraltar.
So what happens if you are not a British, EU or an EEA citizen? Are the benefits of the Gibraltar Red Ensign closed to you? Certainly not. A Gibraltar based company can be formed to hold the yacht as one of its assets. The company, being a British company, can then apply for registration of the yacht on the Gibraltar Registry. This solution is not suitable for yachts whose value is say less than £150,000 as the company will have annual maintenance costs of around £1000pa. However for larger yachts this is a very convenient way for a foreign citizen to own a British registered vessel.
Registration in Gibraltar can also be helpful with VAT. Gibraltar is outside the EU Customs Union and yachts can be bought and sold in Gibraltar without the application of VAT. Indeed Gibraltar is a great place to acquire a more sharply priced yacht if the VAT status is not of particular concern to you either because you are sailing away from the EU or you are not an EU citizen.
Boatshed Gibraltar Boatshed Gibraltar has built up considerable experience in yacht registration so don’t hesitate to contact us at Contact Boatshed Gibraltar if you need help with any of the matters described above.
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