driving spanish car in the UK

I am with Darro on this one. What you propose to do is bring in a car from Spain and drive it on UK roads without first clearing it with Customs. You could chance doing it and probably the chances of being stopped are quite low but it would depend on the type of "nerves" you have.

Bee

Mickey Braw wrote:I thought a Spanish resident was not allowed to drive a foreign registered car in Spain.
And that same applied for UK residents in the UK.
Is this not the case.

That was my understanding too Mickey! I’m fairly sure that if you’re resident in Spain (and therefore hold a Spanish licence) you’re not allowed to drive foreign reg cars in Spain. The same principle applies to UK licence holders driving non UK cars in Blighty.

Of course it goes on but as Darro says, it’s not actually legal.

hi all, thanks for the info which i will be looking into before i decide to do anything.
like i said, i am not a spanish resident i own a property, have a spanish registered car and a UK driving licence. the car in question is 30 years old and needs some tidying up due to sun damage caused by leaving it at the airport, when i return to the uk after visiting.
i am not importing it from spain to uk, i want to bring it back to do the work with help from a few friends that are going to help me and help source the bits i need. i will then be driving it back to spain to leave it there for my use when i visit my property as i have always done.
i would never drive a car anywhere in the world without proper insurance which is why i was asking the question in the first place.
so, what i am trying to find out is, can i drive my spanish registered car from spain to my house in the UK on my UK driving licence and still be insured with my spanish insurance company??

In the old days when we were able to import cars from the UK without having to pay an arm and a leg in customs duty we just asked our Irish Insurance company to do a temporary transfer to the UK registered car. So it's your UK insurance co you would have to do the transfer with.

Bee

Bee wrote:In the old days when we were able to import cars from the UK without having to pay an arm and a leg in customs duty we just asked our Irish Insurance company to do a temporary transfer to the UK registered car. So it's your UK insurance co you would have to do the transfer with.

Bee

yes, to be honest if its all this red tape involved, i don't know if i can be bothered. the gov.uk website is near impossible to navigate round, i am getting yes you can/no you cant answers. for something that was not an issue before we left the EU to turn into this is ridiculous. pre brexit i drove my car back and forth around 5/6 times between spain and uk to bring stuff back and forth with no issues, its a right pain. think ill just drive my motorhome to spain, take parts and tools over and do the work on my property.

bass2112 wrote:

Bee wrote:In the old days when we were able to import cars from the UK without having to pay an arm and a leg in customs duty we just asked our Irish Insurance company to do a temporary transfer to the UK registered car. So it's your UK insurance co you would have to do the transfer with.

Bee

yes, to be honest if its all this red tape involved, i don't know if i can be bothered. the gov.uk website is near impossible to navigate round, i am getting yes you can/no you cant answers. for something that was not an issue before we left the EU to turn into this is ridiculous. pre brexit i drove my car back and forth around 5/6 times between spain and uk to bring stuff back and forth with no issues, its a right pain. think ill just drive my motorhome to spain, take parts and tools over and do the work on my property.

FACTS..

Let me assure you, you can drive your Spanish car in the UK under your Spanish insurance for up to six months, if your insurance renewal is due, you need to renew it, even if you are in the UK. I have done it many times. You do not have to apply to HMRC, you simply have to have a copy of your ownership documents and insurance, as well as your driving licence. On entry to the UK, you may have to prove you own the vehicle if asked. But your passport will be stamped, on entry and exit. Do not exceed the allowed 180 days. I re registered my BMW in Spain then brought it back to the UK under Spanish plates and insurance, I then reimported it into the UK,
I have drove my Spanish car, bought and registered in Spain, through France to the UK. Again no issues. You do not need a Green Card, your Spanish insurance covers you for England. Anyone who says different is wrong.
You must not approach customs and ask for import documents, they will expect you to re register it in the UK, simply drive into the UK and allow them to stamp your passport, if they ask about your car tell them you are visiting the UK but returning within a few weeks. Which is what you say you are doing, if you have a return ticket show them the ferry/train booking. But I don’t even think you will be asked.
Note I am not a Spanish resident. I own a villa in Ciudad Quesada. In average I have brought my Spanish car to the UK under Spanish insurance 2 times each year.

Also, if you go into London and surrounding areas you need to register your car with the TFL, we didn't and got 4 fines totalling £3k despite our car being compliant, the system doesn't recognise foreign registrations and sends fines out automatically to your home address in Spain

As a UK resident it is against HMRC rules. On crossing the UK customs border you are required to declare any item or items totalling more than £350.00. failure to do so is a very serious offence. A friend of mine who did just that finished up paying over £10,000 in fines, storage and transport cost to get his Range Rover back. He was a non Spanish resident driving on UK licence. Had he not paid the vehicle and all its contents would have been auctioned off.

bass2112 wrote:hi all hope someone can help. i am a non resident, own a property and have a Spanish registered car. i want to drive my car back to the UK so i can get some bits and pieces done to it, then drive it back probably a month or so later. i have been told i wouldn't be insured to drive it in the UK because of Brexit and not being a Spanish resident, so my spanish insurance would not be valid.


i have tried to get an answer from linier directa but they don't even seem to know. is this true and if so why?

thanks, bill.

You can't legally drive your Spanish registered car in the UK if you're a UK resident.

See link https://www.gov.uk/importing-vehicles-into-the-uk/temporary-imports

" You can usually use a vehicle with foreign number plates without registering or taxing it in the UK if *all of the following apply:

• you’re visiting and do not plan to live here
• the vehicle is registered and taxed in its home country
• you only use the vehicle for up to 6 months in total - this can be a single visit, or several shorter visits over 12 months"

PLEASE BEWARE

I know this from experience

UK Ports have ANPR systems that record when your vehicle enters the country

Foreign residents are allowed to drive foreign registered Cars in the UK for up to 6 months

UK residents driving a foreign car have a 2 week grace period to register the Car with the DVLA

ANPR systems, of which there are many in the UK, actively monitor vehicle registrations, and verify them against a database

The Police around the Ports, actively stop and check suspect vehicles, and impound the vehicle of transgressors

I would not risk it again, especially with a cherished car