To be the registered owner of an aircraft registered with the Isle of Man Aircraft Registry, you must qualify as specified by our civil aviation legislation:
- Prior to 1 August 2022: The Air Navigation (Isle of Man) Order 2015 (as amended) Part 1, Article 5 – (1) (2) (3) (4) and Exemption/Permission 2021/055.
- From 1 August 2022: The Civil Aviation (Aircraft Registration and Marking) Order 2022, Article 7.
The Registry have provided the legislative details below and also a list of qualifying countries and territories. This information is also available to download in Registry Publication 2 – Qualified Ownership.
Please contact us as early as possible if you are considering registering an aircraft with us or changing the owner of an aircraft that is already registered in the Isle of Man. This will enable us to guide you through the process and make the experience as seamless as possible.
Any aircraft may use one of the following criteria:
- Only the following persons are qualified to hold a legal or beneficial interest by way of ownership in an aircraft registered in the Isle of Man or in a share in such an aircraft:
- the Crown in right of the Isle of Man, the United Kingdom or any part of the United Kingdom;
- Commonwealth citizens;
- Nationals of any European Economic Area (EEA) State or Switzerland;
- British protected persons;
- bodies incorporated in some part of the Commonwealth or having their registered office, central administration or principal place of business in a part of the Commonwealth; or
- undertakings formed in accordance with the law of the Isle of Man, an EEA State or Switzerland and having their registered office, central administration or principal place of business within the Isle of Man, an EEA State or Switzerland.
Only “transitional aircraft” may use the following criteria (“transitional aircraft” are aircraft (typically airliners) which are awaiting a commercial lease or sale):
- The following persons are qualified to hold a legal interest by way of ownership in a transitional aircraft registered in the Isle of Man or in a share in such an aircraft:
- bodies incorporated in or having their registered office, central administration or principal place of business in any of the States or territories listed below; or,
- undertakings formed in accordance with the law of and having their registered office, central administration or principal place of business within any of the States or territories listed below.
- The States or territories referred to above are:
- Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region);
- Japan;
- People’s Republic of China;
- United States of America.
Exceptions for all aircraft:
- If an unqualified person resides or has a place of business in the Isle of Man and holds a legal or beneficial interest by way of ownership in an aircraft or in a share in an aircraft, the IOMAR may register the aircraft in the Isle of Man if it is satisfied that the aircraft may otherwise be properly registered.
- If an aircraft is chartered by demise to a person who qualifies under the above criteria, the IOMAR may, whether or not an unqualified person is entitled as owner to a legal or beneficial interest in the aircraft, register the aircraft in the Isle of Man in the name of the charterer by demise if it is satisfied that the aircraft may otherwise be properly so registered. Such an aircraft may remain registered during the continuation of the charter.
“Commonwealth” means the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, the countries mentioned in Schedule 3 to the British Nationality Act 1981 and all other territories forming part of Her Majesty’s dominions or in which Her Majesty has jurisdiction and “Commonwealth citizen” is to be construed accordingly;
Akrotiri | Ghana | Rwanda |
Anguilla | Gibraltar | Saint Lucia |
Antigua and Barbuda | Grenada | Samoa |
Australia | Guyana | Seychelles |
Bahamas, The | India | Sierra Leone |
Bangladesh | Isle of Man | Singapore |
Barbados | Jamaica | Solomon Islands |
Belize | Kenya | South Africa |
Bermuda | Kiribati | South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands |
Botswana | Lesotho | Sri Lanka |
British Antarctic Territory | Malawi | St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha |
British Indian Ocean Territory | Malaysia | St Kitts and Nevis |
British Virgin Islands | Maldives | St Vincent |
Brunei | Malta | Tanzania |
Cameroon | Mauritius | The Gambia |
Canada | Montserrat | Tonga |
Cayman Islands | Mozambique | Trinidad and Tobago |
Channel Islands | Namibia | Turks and Caicos Islands |
Cyprus | Nauru | Tuvalu |
Dhekelia | New Zealand | Uganda |
Dominica | Nigeria | United Kingdom |
Eswatini | Pakistan | Vanuatu |
Falkland Islands | Papua New Guinea | Zambia |
Fiji | Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie & Oneo Islands | Zimbabwe |
EEA States
Austria | Germany | Malta |
Belgium | Greece | Netherlands |
Bulgaria | Hungary | Norway |
Croatia | Iceland | Poland |
Cyprus, Republic of | Ireland | Portugal |
Czech Republic | Italy | Romania |
Denmark | Latvia | Slovakia |
Estonia | Liechtenstein | Slovenia |
Finland | Lithuania | Spain |
France | Luxembourg | Sweden |
Other Qualifying Countries
Switzerland |
For transitional aircraft only: Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region), Japan, United States of America, People's Republic of China. |