Cruise In or Import Your Boat? Temporary Admission by Country

Two ways to keep a boat abroad

Importing a boat makes it a local boat: you pay duty and VAT once, and you can keep, sell or charter it. Temporary admission lets a foreign owner use the boat for a fixed period without paying those taxes, as long as it leaves again and is not sold or chartered locally.

The difference is large. Importing an 8 m boat worth ⁦$100,000⁩ CIF into Mexico costs ⁦$34,328⁩ at the standard rate. Mexico's temporary import permit costs about $51.

Country by country

The import column runs the same ⁦$100,000⁩ CIF, 8 m boat through each country's duty and tax stack.

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Mexico: the 10-year permit

A foreign-owned recreational boat over 4.5 m can stay up to 10 years on a temporary import permit from Banjercito, the army bank that runs Mexico's vehicle and boat permits. It costs $51 plus IVA at a border module or consulate, or $45 plus IVA online. Since 2025 a resident of Mexico must sign the permit as jointly liable.

Importing instead pays IGI duty of 15% (0% for a boat built in the U.S., Canada or Mexico with a USMCA certificate), a 0.8% processing fee and 16% IVA on top.

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Costa Rica and Panama

Costa Rica's Marina Law lets a foreign-flag boat with a contract at a tourist marina stay under temporary import for six months at a time, up to two years in total, with no guarantee. The boat must then leave Costa Rican waters for 90 days. Importing stacks a selective consumption tax and 13% IVA on the duty, which is why Costa Rica is one of the most expensive places to import a boat.

In Panama a foreign-flag boat needs a navigation permit from the Panama Maritime Authority, valid up to a year; agents report a base fee of about $185. Duty, the selective tax and 7% ITBMS are due only if the boat is nationalized.

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The Bahamas: the cruising permit

A foreign-owned boat can stay 12 months on a cruising permit: $300 up to 34 ft, $600 from 34 to 100 ft and $1,000 from 100 to 150 ft. Pleasure boats import duty-free, but VAT of 10%, a 1% processing fee and an environmental levy still apply, so even a duty-free import costs a little over a tenth of the value.

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The EU: 18 months for non-EU owners

A boat registered outside the EU and owned by a person established outside the EU can stay up to 18 months under temporary admission, with no duty or VAT. Both conditions matter: an EU resident cannot use it, even for a U.S.-flag boat.

Importing a U.S.-built boat into the EU is duty-free from July 2026 to the end of 2029, so the cost of importing is mostly VAT, 21–25% depending on the country.

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Australia: security unless it sails in

A boat that sails into Australia under its own power can get a control permit with no security. A boat shipped as cargo cannot. Its owner, as a tourist or temporary resident, can bring it in for up to 12 months as a temporary importation, lodging a security equal to the duty and GST that is refunded when the boat leaves. For a U.S.-built boat that security is the GST alone, ⁦$10,000⁩ on our reference boat.

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When the boat arrives as cargo

Most temporary regimes were written for boats that arrive under their own power and clear in with the crew. A boat that arrives on a ship is declared to customs as cargo at the port of discharge, and the temporary regime has to be requested in that declaration, before release. Once a boat has been cleared for import, the duty is due and the temporary path is closed.

So tell us before booking which path you want. We give the destination agent the owner's passport, the registration and the intended regime so the request is filed before the ship arrives, and we choose a discharge port that handles it.

If you import: duty and tax by country

The full stack for the same boat in every country this guide covers, at the standard rate and for a U.S.-built hull.

Which path fits you

• Temporary admission fits a non-resident who will use the boat privately for a season or a few years and take it home or onward afterwards.
• Import if you will live there, sell the boat there or charter it. Temporary regimes end when the owner becomes resident or the boat is used commercially, and the tax is then due anyway.
• If the boat was built in the U.S., get the builder's certificate of origin before shipping. It removes the duty in Mexico, Central America, Australia and the EU and lowers the import price a lot.