The Canaries Without a Visa: Continuing the Story

The Canaries Without a Visa: Continuing the Story. Las Palmas, Gran Canaria. The other day, like a respectable newly arrived citizen, I went to register my arrival at the port immigration office. Locally, it is called Policia Frontiera. I got there and presented my crew list, the ship’s papers for “Lady Mary” and my passport. They gave me their own arrival form to fill in. They showed no interest in my crew list or any of the other documents. The policeman at the computer asked me three times why I needed an entry stamp for the Schengen Area in my passport. Then three of them conferred about something, repeatedly asking me my nationality, how I had arrived in the Canary Islands and how I intended to leave. Without listening long enough to hear that I would be flying out, and only picking up on the fact that I had arrived by yacht, the officials refused to stamp anything except the crew list. When they realised I was not going to give up that easily, and finally heard that I would be leaving by plane, they asked slyly: “Do you have a ticket?” I said something about electronic tickets and not having a printout with me. After that, they looked suspiciously at my passport and, without even glancing at the date on my Schengen visa—as far as I could tell—slapped in a stamp. So it is possible to visit the Canaries by yacht without a visa. Tried and tested firsthand. (The Captain’s Notes) The beginning of the story about the Canaries without a visa is here >>> And here is another story, about leaving the Canary Islands without a visa >>> If you found this article useful and would like to thank the authors but do not know how, click the button below 🙂