Whether you get a email receipt depends on the SB in question Gloucester do it routinely which is helpful, customs and immigration don't.
The origins of the people on board are not relevant except that you may get more checks if you have non EU folk involved.
Yes as others have said they do check.
GARs, customs and police
I don't fly out of the UK very often, in fact the last time I was abroad was just over a year ago to the Channel Islands. However, I was speaking to a friend who is coming back from Europe in a couple of weeks and rather than meeting at my local field (which has compulsory handling and extortionate landing fees etc), he said he'd go to another field slightly further North. I said i thought he would be lucky because I didn't think it was a field with a CofA (certificate of agreement).
When I went to the CI last (customs field), I faxed the local plod with a completed GAR, filed a FP and that was it - and the same on the way back. However, my friend says that it doesn't have to be a CofA field and thats the point of a GAR?
I've got myself confused now over what I can do, where I fly into and out of with GAR / plod / NCU etc. My current understanding is :
Is this all correct ? Have I missed anything out or got all of these things confused? Is the ability to fly into a non customs field anywhere in the UK a new thing - and if so, what is the purpose of the CofA ?
thanks.
The short version is that if you're coming from mainland Europe (and from a country that's within the EU, Schengen treaty and whatnot - but the oddball countries in Europe that might be a problem are out of flying range anyway) you can fly to any UK airfield as long as you fax the GAR form in advance. Same for outbound from the UK to mainland Europe: You can depart from any UK airfield as long as you fax the GAR form in advance. And rumour has it that on the outbound leg nobody cares anyway.
At the European end you always need to go through a customs airport. None of the European countries have a similar mechanism.
It's only for oddball cases like the CI, IoM, Northern Ireland and a few other places that the procedures become a bit more complex. In those cases you really need to read the back of the GAR form a couple of times before it starts making sense.
If you are importing or exporting commercial goods, if you have persons on board that do not hold an EU passport and so forth, you cannot use the GAR mechanism and have to use a customs airfield.
Thanks Backpacker. What about NCU - do I need to fax / email the GAR to them inbound / outbound?
The clearest instructions I've found are from the UKBA (immigration) themselves: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/travel-customs/gar/gar-instructions.pdf
Designated Airports – Aircraft may arrive and depart from and to any destination. Some airports are not designated by all agencies – See list on page 3. Some Designated Airports may also have COAs in place at individual establishments.
COA Airfields – Flights should only operate to/from destinations specified and notified in accordance with the agreement. Agreements vary and details should be sought from the Airport Operator.
Other Airfields – International flights should only operate to/from the E.U. (Channel Islands are not part of the E.U.)
If you're just going to/from the EU (apart from Ireland), it's easy - just file the GAR to immigration. This is the case whether you fly in to Heathrow or your back garden.
If you're going to the Common Travel Area, things get a bit more complicated (the Terrorism Act applies), and likewise if you're leaving the EU.
Edit: also, you don't strictly speaking need to file a GAR when leaving the UK for the EU, but you do need one entering the UK.
Also, does anyone know what happened to the online/smartphone GAR project?
The rules are quite simple, but the authorities sometimes make them more complicated and restrictive than the law requires.
If departing to the EU there is no requirement to tell anybody and you can go from wherever you like.
On return you need to give NCU 4 hours notice so that immigration and customs can turn up if they feel like it, but strictly there's no reason for customs between EU and UK. Again you may arrive at any airfield in the UK.
if going to or from the Common travel area you must give 12 hours notice of departure or arrival unless departing from a designated field for terrorism act purposes. All the law requires is that you notify a constable, so you could just stop one in the street. However it's simpler to send a GAR to NCU and the local special branch, immigration doesn't strictly apply unless you have none EU passport holders with you when it gets a little more complicated if you aren't careful.
My own practice is to send a GAR to NCU (and special branch if required ) for each trip so I don't forget the necessary ones.
Have a look at Section 7 on this page: http://www.aopa.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=467&Itemid=453
Good old AOPA that's a really good brief and highlights that with the right notice on a GAR you can leave and arrive at any airfield. The benefit of using a designated field is that it reduces or eliminates the notice period.
Perfect, thanks.
Johnm's summary is very good.
The problem is that some UK airfields have received what one might call "private instructions" from the powers to be, and are applying more restrictive rules.
For example this (contact numbers may be out of date) shows that if you are departing from say Shoreham EGKA to the EU, you do need to notify Customs, which is beyond what the law requires.
These cases are difficult to establish pre-flight.
That is why the advice to just throw in the GAR to the NCU for every damned flight abroad (to/from) is a simple solution. Plus a copy to The Plod if doing the CTA.
