Getting started

Go to Settings and enter your MyGAR username and password — the same ones you used to register on this site. You only need to do this once.

Other settings available:

• Principal pilot name — optional, pre-fills your name on declarations
• Autoroutor credentials — makes importing a flight plan very easy
• Mail server fields — advanced users only, not needed for normal use
• Cloud service — see Step 5 below

For UK flights you must enter your MyGAR username and password before submitting a GAR.

The app stores data locally on your device. If you want the same data across multiple devices — say an iPhone and a Windows laptop — you need to set up synchronisation using your own cloud service.

Supported services: iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive.

Select your preferred service in Settings. Once approved, your data will sync automatically between all devices connected to the same cloud account.

You don’t want to re-enter aircraft details every time you create a declaration — save your aircraft once and it fills in automatically from then on.

1. Tap Aircraft on the home screen
2. Tap the Add button (top right)
3. Fill in the registration, ICAO type designator, and operator details — most fields are mandatory
4. Tap the back arrow (top left) to save, or Discard (top right) to abandon

Your saved aircraft will appear in a list ready to select when creating a declaration.

You will need: aircraft registration, ICAO type (e.g. C172, PA28, SR22), operator name and address.

Tap Crew on the home screen. The app will search your contacts for anyone with travel document details saved, and also check any previous declarations.

To add a new person tap Add (top right) and fill in their details. Most fields are mandatory. The Pilot in Command must have an address and contact details.

You will need passport details for each person: number, nationality, date of birth, expiry date.

Faster ways to add people

VCF contact sharing — ask a passenger to share their contact card with you. If their passport’s 28-character machine-readable line is stored in their contacts Notes field in this format:

(6372459179GBR5101016M2306093)Liverpool

…the app will import almost all their details automatically.

Passport scanning — ask a passenger to photograph their passport data page and send it to you. The app uses OCR to read and import the details automatically. Best results come from well-lit images with no shadows or reflections, cropped to the passport page borders. On phones and tablets you can use the built-in camera directly.

Important: on the crew list you must specify the status of each person (crew or passenger) and there must be exactly one Pilot in Command.

Tap Create / Edit on the home screen. Any previously submitted declarations will appear as a list — useful as a quick reference if you are asked for a GAR receipt. First time around the list will be empty — tap Create New.

The declaration screen has three tabs:

1. Aircraft — tap Add Aircraft to select your saved aircraft. All fields fill in automatically.
2. Crew / Pax — tap Add Crew to select from your saved list. Remember to set one person as Pilot in Command.
3. Journey — the route and timing details.

Switch between tabs by tapping them — a blue line shows the active tab.

The Journey tab

• Departure and destination must be ICAO codes unless you have specific permission to use a non-customs airfield. If your location is not in the list, tap the ! icon and enter decimal degrees lat/long. Entering ZZZZ is no longer accepted.
• Green notes below the departure/destination fields show notice periods required for that port of entry — check these.
• Date and time can be entered as UTC or local — the app converts automatically including daylight saving.
• You must enter an ETE (estimated time en route) — destination time is calculated from this and cannot be entered manually.

Three buttons at the bottom:

• Copy old declaration — duplicates a previous form. Remember to update the date and time at minimum.
• Import flight plan — see the Import a Flight Plan page.
• Next — proceeds to send.

Tapping Next brings up the send menu:

• Send — submits electronically to UKBF. The app will alert you to any validation errors first (missing PiC, mandatory fields etc). Allow up to a minute for a response.
• View PDF — for non-UKBF electronic declarations, or to share with a handling agent.
• Share — sends the result to someone else.

Permission to Travel response

If all crew and passengers pass the UK Border Force Permission to Travel check you will see a Permission to Carry Granted screen. This message comes directly from UKBF — not from us. UKBF advise that you should still carry out a manual check for non GBR/IRL passport holders, for example checking online ETAS.

Note that a conventional GAR has already been sent at this point. If there are questions over any crew or passenger you should cancel the GAR while resolving them — UKBF require a GAR to be on file even where there are passenger queries, so that they can cross-reference.

Channel Islands, IoM, Ireland, France, Belgium

For these destinations the app will generate the appropriate PDF declaration form automatically. You can forward it by email from within the app.