Whats with your focus on an MMSI number? It is not issued by the IMO, rather the ITU and is probably not what you think it is.
You should change your name to LMGTFY.
No problem, just wanted to look up the boat on marinetraffic and see what it looks like. Thats about it.
That would be nice 
Thank you Tugsailor for all those precious information regarding the US. For what I know, a foreigner is allow to work on board when the vessel in the area I am gonna sail such as France, Spain⌠. So in my case I do not need to have a green card or to be registered in the UD.
Also, the vessel is under US flag but the owner is Mexican. He will make a contract from his Mexican company and give my another option through a US company⌠So it does sounds illegal for now.
Also I feel more comfortable to know that is a commun procedure
What about you being an independent, did you open a limited company in the US?
I will definitely have a look to the IRS, thanks
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Back from pm. Based on the fact that you are a French citizen, working on a US flag vessel for a Mexican national giving you a choice of employment with either a US or Mexican firm is a bit of a twist and I recommend that you consult someone with reputable experience in this field.
A good place to start would be to contact some of the International Yacht crewing agencies and get their advice since theyâre in the business to deal with yachts under various flags and crew from various countries. You donât have to tell them you already have a job lined up. Some are free to register with and I expect theyâll have answers for you. The larger ones have offices in Miami and the Med.
PS Ignore DSD. Contacting the IRS would be a complete waste of your time. They are a ponderous government bureaucracy in the business of collecting taxes from US residents, not giving free advice to foreign nationals with complicated situations on how to structure their business affairs.
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Listen to Lee Shore. Heâs giving you good advice.
There is no reason for you to concern yourself with US tax laws; it doesnât apply to your situation.
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Whatever you decide to do just be Safe - and always beware of somebody trying to not pay you for your services in a timely manner. That would not be fun for you, your bank account, or prior financial obligations. I pay vendors sub-contractors / vendors for the jobs they perform across the US and in some parts of Canada. I have been in business with my own US corporation in good standing since 1993, and have had a few clients rip me off for small amounts. You have to watch accounts receivables very closely. If a client goes past 30 days I decline assignments until they get up to speed. Asking the person you are working for to please pay me on a Monday morning is never fun.
You will not be able to run around the world chasing a few thousand bucks. You can call, send emails, and letters etc⌠and if they ignore them there is not much you can do.
In business, I have always had the philosophy to do things honestly. People or businesses that are dishonest at some point get caught, or it comes back to haunt them with bad karma.
You never mentioned if these were day charters or longer etc� Does this person have references?
Advice to live by.
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I never said contact them. I said take a look at the IRS website to get a better understanding of the guidlines. I did suggest contact a tax professional that is familiar with this type of arrangement. The sound advice I have outlined in this thread to Anne provides value.
Which part about Anne being a French citizen with no green card or other ties to the US and the IRS being an American government agency charged with administering the tax code for US citizens and legal residents is challenging your comprehension?
Lee I do not want to argue with you about this. That was very nice of you to provide help to the poster thru the forum PM system. I hope you have a nice relaxing weekend, and earn a few bucks at the same time on your boat.
Anne, I hope that some of my suggestions will help, you seem to be the kind of person that does things correctly, thatâs why you asked. I doubt your intention was to come on an internet forum and ask how to scam the system. Thank you for clarifying that you will be primarily sailing near France, Spain. That sounds really fun, I am sure you will meet some interesting people. If you can save some money thatâs always a good thing. I hope you also have a good upcoming weekend. If you end up accepting the job best of luck and congrats.
One of the forum members steamer who is an engineer used to sail on big yachts, he might be able to give you some good suggestions.
Really? Is he (or she) a US citizen of Mexican descent or a Mexican citizen claiming to be the owner of a US flag vessel? I suggest someone take a look at the citizenship requirements for ownership and registration of U.S. flag vessels.
this whole deal has a bad smell to it. For one thing, hiring a green deckhand with plans to obtain a âyachtmasterâ ticket to become the master next year sounds like a real bar stool plan from the beginning.
The fact that you came here for advice about a yacht issue (and a small one at that since a shiny new âyachtmasterâ is all that is needed to sail as master) indicates you have little knowledge of the yacht business and even less about crew issues and international regulation of recreational and/or commercial yachting operations.
Lee Shore gave the best advice, contact a large and well founded yacht management company for information and advice. They all have websites so you donât have to go to Fort Lauderdale (there are none in Miami) or Antibes (best choice) or Monaco but a face to face meeting will get you a lot more information.
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Good points. Small yachts are commonly state registered and I donât know what the citizenship or residency requirements are. They may change from state to state. In any case, a US yacht capable of crossing oceans is usually documented with the CG and is assigned a federal registration number. To qualify, the registered owner must be a US citizen or in the case of a corporation, the principals must be US citizens and the master must also be a US citizen and hold an appropriate CG license.
They are easily identified. State registered vessels display their numbers on both sides of the hull near the bow. Documented vessels only display their registration numbers on a plaque in an interior space.
I thank all of you for your participation and wishes. All your advices helped me to get a better idea and also to understand where to look for informations. That was very precious.
I will try to do my best, also I am confident that as soon as I will start, meeting sailors from all over the world will help me to find my way.
Greentings
The percentage of US citizen ownership requirements for a documented US vessel vary depending on the type of trade the vessel is engaged in.
There are a many US flag yachts that are documented US flag vessels owned by US (typically Delaware) registered corporations. The managers of the corporation owning a documented US yacht must be US citizens (typically the corporate lawyers), but 100% of the corporate shareholders of the corporation owning the yacht can be foreign citizens.
Also, there are many dual nationals that are citizens of both the US and Mexico.
I can certainly see why a Mexican, or Canadian, or other foreign citizen, would want an American flag yacht for cruising in US waters. Mostly to avoid post-911 restrictions and reporting requirements.
I can see why Canadians also want to avoid 8% HST and high provincial sales taxes on their yachts, not to mention import duties on non-Nafta sourced yachts. I donât know about Mexican yacht taxes, but I hear they are high.
US flag yacht registration at $237 with no annual fees is the cheapest in the world. The US also has no yacht inspection, and no master or crew training or licensing requirements under a certain tonnage (200 GRT ?), and very little enforcement against illegal crewed charters, which are routinely done by many yachts.
When it comes to yachts under 200 GRT (thatâs probably 99% of them) the US is a great flag of convenience. No licenses required. No MLC compliance required. No inspections. Etc. etc.
Blah blah blah, the OP stated the area of operation is France and Spain, not the USA. Port state regulations will apply in all aspects.
If the boat is available for charter a whole new universe of regulations come into play.
With regard to FF yachts cruising US waters, they âmayâ be eligible for a âcruising licenseâ or permit that allows the boat to avoid repetitive departure and entry procedures.
The yacht business is riddled with fictions concerning private, pleasure, commercial charter, and crew rights of pay and benefits. The EU has clamped down on many of the taxation, labor, and social aspects of operating foreign flag âyachtsâ in EU waters and an EU citizen wanting to play games with the taxman may find themselves in deep water.
The foreign flags make a big distinction between a small âprivate yachtâ (no charters) and a âcommercial yachtâ (passengers for hire or Crewed charterboatâ.
Iâm out of date on the yachting and charterboat scene. Undoubtedly somethings have changed. Iâve never been to the Med, so I have no idea what they are doing over there.
Thanks Steamer for your participation, also you are right, face to face at Antibes or Monaco will be the best. Will see how to organise it.
Also regarding the boat, it is located in france, new from the factory so nothing to do with the US water. It will be only for private use (the owner and his family, Mexican citizens for what I know) and will stay in the Mediterranean sea for a few years. US flag is obviously convenient!
Indeed for me the yacht business field is a complete discovery as it will be the first time to work for somebody elseâs boat and it sounds very complex from my position, it is why I wrote on the forum, to get to know from experienced sailors.
By the way, I am not a biginner, I have my experiences at sea but in a different way. I have been living aboard of a 43 feet sailing boat for about 4 years in the Greek water. I also chartered it. I have an Offshore Sailing Licence, recognised professionally in Greece but as leasure in Europe. I also passed the ICC and STCW just to be able to work on commercial sailing boats. The owner knows all this and hope him to respect his words.
I am conscious to have a lack of knowledges and experiences but I am not afraid of working hard to reach my goal (YM). Yes, I am impressed about the size of the boat but I am counting on the saison coming to get to know it better in order to feel confident in the future.
Letâs cross the fingers