Primarily for general aviation discussion, but other aviation topics are also welcome.
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By Spamcan Defender
#1910956
Evening folks...

I'm sure this has ben done to death but on using the search facility nothing really answered my questions so.....

Having been to France and CH Islands I'm familiar with filing FPL's and GAR forms. However, on thinking of a trip to Holland sometime this summer, I see they require a GENDEC as well as the submission of previoulsy mentioned FPL & GAR...

First question is....do other European countries such as Germany/Spain etc have a requirement for GENDEC type forms?
I've always flown fron UK to dest then return but I'm looking at doing a few different destinations within Europe. Am I correct in saying that, once customs have been sorted in initial Schengen destination e.g. L2K, then travel within requires no further customs? Obvioulsly FPL's will be required for cross-FIR boundary crossings and GAR on final return to UK.

Are my assumptions correct and does anyone have any other little nuggets of advice on the subject? All of this wil be generally done IFR and airways. :thumleft:


SD
User avatar
By xtophe
#1910964
Spamcan Defender wrote:
> Am I correct in saying that, once
> customs have been sorted in initial Schengen destination

Partially pedantic but important:
Custom (Goods)=> Custom union (EU + Monaco)
Immigration (People) => Schengen (EU - ( Ireland, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, Romania) + (Iceland, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway)
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By Ibra
#1910965
Never done in Germany but from Spain (on the way to Morocco) I had 5 GENDEC written with same data on 5 papers with 5 colours, 4 are stamped, you give to each of 4 employees in the airport and you keep the last one for yourself :lol:
User avatar
By Dave W
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1910978
One reason why it is often good practice, when using SkyDemon, to tick the option to email the submitted UK outbound GAR to yourself.

It's essentially the info required by non-UK border agencies and so is then conveniently available e.g to forward to them.
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By Dave W
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1911197
I've never used, or been asked for, a Form C155 or GENDEC on either side of the Channel.

For the UK, the General Aviation Report fulfils the passenger and crew notification function for Border Force (and the police, when required).

For e.g. France the notification is achieved using email or forms such as this one that Calais & Le Touquet (for example) make available:
http://www.aeroport.capcalaisis.fr/wp-c ... KERQUE.pdf

http://www.aeroport-letouquet.com/wp-co ... OUQUET.pdf
By DavidC
#1911214
In my recent experience, Belgium, Netherlands and Ireland require a GAR form submitted beforehand. Jersey forms can be submitted online on arrival or beforehand. Netherlands officers appreciate if you can give them a hard copy printout too. OnlineGAR seems to sort out most of the above automatically if you use it including via SkyDemon.

This is in addition to the UK GAR form and flight plans now required for both departure and return.

I’ve not been asked for Vaccination Certificates anywhere yet this month. The EU PLF website remains open for France, Malta and Slovenia but I doubt you would get into trouble if you overlooked that for a private flight.

Fundamentally, European travel has really opened up again in the past month with few if any new forms or paperwork than before. Time to plan that next foreign trip and make the most of your licence!
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By RisePilot
#1911221
You need to submit a Gendec for the Netherlands on entering Schengen; I did so last week. The Border Police also like to be copied (as I also found). See: www.gendec.eu
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By Dave W
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1911224
The term "GENDEC" has been used in this thread to refer to at least three different things:

1. The UK HMRC Form C155 "General Declaration".
2. A generic term referring to non-UK forms such as the French "Preavis de Vol Entree Schengen".
3. The Netherlands "GENDEC" in the post above.

Further confusion is from the use of the UK term "GAR" to refer to a Schengen Customs and Immigration reporting requirement.

The Schengen Borders Code (EU 2016/399) required immigration declaration does not identify a specific form - it simply says (para. 2.3):

"In the case of private flights from or to third countries the captain shall
transmit to the border guards of the Member State of destination and,
where appropriate, of the Member State of first entry, prior to take-off, a
general declaration comprising inter alia a flight plan in accordance with
Annex 2 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation and
information concerning the passengers’ identity."

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content ... 11&from=EN

So what that means is there is no single document or form, common across the Schengen Nations, that is known as a "GENDEC".

Each Nation has its own means of notifying their Customs and Immigration officials of the passengers and crew arriving by private flights.

Typically the information required to enter Schengen is common (no surprise!) - but the specific paperwork by country is not.

The common information requested is essentially:

Date and time of arrival/departure
Departure and Arrival airfields
Aircraft registration, type, owner, home base and pilot
Pilot's name
Statement that the aircraft is in "Free Circulation in the EU" (The French "Preavis de Vol" interestingly doesn't ask this)*
Personal info for all on board: Full name, address, ID type, ID number, ID Expiry, DOB, Place of birth, Nationality

An email with the above in the body is often sufficient, in my experience, if there is no specific form to hand.




*Aircraft imported from outside the EU are in free circulation in the EU when all import formalities have been complied with and all duties, levies or equivalent charges have been paid and not refunded. So if you are not permanently importing your aircraft (it's just a visit) the answer is "Yes"
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By Ibra
#1911282
Just to add to the excellent post of DaveW while some airports require GENDEC (in ICAO/C155 this means health declaration that none of the meat inside your aircraft is sick: zika, covid…) they tend to mean “préavis de vol” or “inbound notification”: passport details, names…for France specifically, some places may ask someone to fill their own funky forms (.pdf, .docx, .xlsx) but one can push back, the majority just accept an email, the details that needs to be sent in PNR/PPR are well described in the law (some places would accept copy of UK GAR “as is”), I avoid sending/opening funky files, I hope the guys in charge of our private personal details do the same :D

https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jorf/art ... 0035871871
Last edited by Ibra on Thu May 12, 2022 10:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.
By patowalker
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1911283
I will keep sending the funky forms while there is a chance of Customs not being present to stamp my passport. They look more official than a simple email. :)

Off to St Omer for the weekend. :D

quote
Dear friends,
On the weekend of 14 and 15 May 2022, the Saint-Omer flying club is organising an aeronautical festival called "Everything that flies". This event is dedicated to the general public, with various exhibitors: a flying school, a model aircraft club, a local history association exhibiting remains of planes that crashed in the region during the Second World War, booth selling regional products, etc.

But this weekend is also an opportunity to meet up with friends, who have been a little out of touch lately because of the pandemic... Even if it is not a fly-in, the logistics set up will allow the reception of visiting pilots with a camping area and catering available on site. No registration is necessary, we just ask you to let us know if you are coming, for organizational reasons. Only the Saturday evening party requires a prior reservation which can be made via the following link:https://www.eventbrite.fr/e/billets-fete-de-tout-ce-qui-vole-269016083347
We hope to see many of you on this occasion,
Best wishes,
François Mobailly,
President of the Flying Club
unquote
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