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Entering by boat: Canary Islands (Spain)

What to do to enter Canary Islands (Spain) by sea: the procedures, the papers to present and the ports where you can clear in.

Check with the authorities before you leave (last checked on 28 October 2026).

The steps

  1. Before arrival: every non-EU crew member has a valid passport and, if their nationality requires it, a Schengen visa.
  2. Arriving from outside the Schengen area: go to a port with a border control post.
  3. On arrival: show passports and the crew list to the border police. Non-EU nationals are registered in the EU Entry/Exit System (EES: fingerprints and photo).
  4. Keep the ship’s papers on board for customs checks.

Papers to have on board

  • Passports for the whole crew
  • Visas, if your nationality requires them
  • Crew list
  • Boat papers (registration certificate)

Good to know

  • The EU Entry/Exit System (EES) has been fully running since 10 April 2026: non-EU nationals are registered biometrically at each Schengen entry and exit.
  • No official advance notice for pleasure craft was found: check with the arrival marina.

Ports of entry

The ports where you can clear in, and the services available there.

Fuerteventura

Gran Canaria

La Palma

Lanzarote

Tenerife

Prepare your arrival with Hullteam

In the app, free: the map of every port of entry and its offices with their contacts, the crew list and the entry forms filled in for you, ready to print or send to an agent.

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Sources

This information is gathered from public sources and sailors’ experience. It does not replace the country’s authorities, whose word is final: check before you leave.