registration red tape

[paul anderson]

Hi all

it seems that as i am not an australian citizen but have been on a visa awaiting a decision from immigration for the last year with no gaurantee of a favorable outcome i will not be able to register my boat here on completion for overseas travel,apart from south african registry what are my options if any?

cheers paul.

[Geminidawn]

Hi Paul, you don't really need to register your boat unless you are taking it into international waters or visiting another country. Then your boat will need a "home address" or a flag of origin. This can be from your own home country. But if they are being anal, there are what is known as flags of convenience, flags from smaller nations offering for you to fly their flag, with less hassle. Nations such as the Cook Islands, the Bahamas, Panama, Isle of Man, etc. that really cut down on the burearcratic bullshit involved. You may also find them a lot cheaper. This is the route I have decided to take.

[paul anderson]

heya gemini

you are right about all the bullshit for sure.thanks for the info i will fly the flag of convenience as it really burns my nether regions to see where public money goes over here,the trough is wide and deep with many a snout deeply embedded;(

[Cooper Dan]

You could try Malaysia. 
http://www.langkawi-gazette.com/marine-guide/my-boat-registration

[paul anderson]

thank you all for the advice it seems where there is a will....

[Olivier R.]

Gibraltar

[Geminidawn]

I considered Gibraltar too, I'm just going to wait and see what waters the Pahi will be working in and fly the nearest flag, South Pacific - the Cook Islands, West Atlantic - Bahamas, East Atlantic and the Med - Gibraltar. The more local the flag you fly the less hassle you'll get from customs and immigration.

[Ann and Neville Clement]

Our expierince and observation is that in Bahamas the locals are always watching and jealous of anybody working without working permits.  Those working without permits are mostly Hatian work gangs in construction projects run by
Bahamian nationals so if you wish to work for yourself while living aboard, it needs to be kept very, very quiet.  Eventually somebody reports you and you get kicked out of the country and cannot return.  This is what happens in Abacos, anyway.  Happened to several friends.  Somebody is always watching or listening to the VHF radio and suspicious of every live aboard.  They want Bahamians in jobs.  Most Hatian workers are doing heavy labor type jobs.

    Our experience re Gibraltar is pretty much out of date, but 15 + years ago, cruisers were finding work there fixing boats. 

     Our experience in the Dutch islands of the Carribean is that cruisers were eagerly hired in chandleries and other regular jobs.  Don't know about working out of your own boat though.  This is an interesting topic for many of us and likely lots of folks on this site will be able to give current info.  I hope that happens.

[Ann and Neville Clement]

The name of our boat i Peace and I always wished we could have a flag that showed the whole earth from space and not any national flag at all.

[sirfbus1964]

as your south African, the Isle of man will let you register under their flag, a red ensign like the British but with a three legged emblem, most of their site deals with commercial vessels but they have next to no regs  regarding small pleasure craft 

[andy solywoda]

The Hawaiian flag gets a lot of compliments.

[paul anderson]

Ah,some creative solutions here as always,it turns out for international sailing i can register as the master of the boat and say my mother or a mate with full Aussie citizenship as part owner.I see that australian customs have just arrested the crew of a yacht who had 300kg of nose candy on it,this kind of thing doesnot make it eady for the rest of us regular joes.

cheers paul.

[kim whitmyre]

Paul, here's a snip from Aluna's Travel the World Blog , Beat and Beatriz' crab-clawed tiki 38:

"We so far had always thought our disastrous financial situation would not allow us to visit the Southern extremity of that great Polynesian. New Zealand’s immigration regulation ask not only for Beatriz as a citizen of Colombia to obtain an advance visa before travelling to the country, but they also require of any visitor to show proof of economic fluency to the tune of one thousand dollars per person per month of the intended stay. For the two of us that would amount to the respectable amount of $12,000 for the six months we need to wait out the Southern cyclone season, which is way out of line with the little we call our own in terms of material wealth. A little more asking around and investigating during the last couple days brought that issue from up in the stratosphere down to sea level in an amazing fall of regulatory domino pieces. First of all the Kiwi’s proud themselves as a maritime nation that understands the needs of seafaring folks. Therefore if one arrives in a sailboat, which guarantees ones accommodation, the proof of funds is reduced to $400 per month. Secondly the New Zealand consulate in Nuku’alofa insisted in our inquiring phone calls that Beatriz needs to apply for a visa on her own, not with me as her partner. So all of a sudden we only need to have $2,400 in our pockets to pass through the pearly gates. Thirdly, and here is the absurdity of it all, a credit line on any major credit card counts as proof of funds! Am I the only one left on this planet to think that this is a little odd?"

 

File that away for future use!