SORN. Question for the panel

[jimbaerselman]

I was under the impression that you can only use a car in a nother EU country for up to 6 months after that you have to import it to that country and pay their tax etc a bit like the boat problem. No doubt enforement of this varies widely.

Sort of. You have to declare it. It is then listed, taxed and insured in the same way as local vehicles. If you are temporarily in the country, it does not have to be re-registered. If you're going to live in the country, you will be expected to re-register. I don't know what the defining line is for re-registering . . .

[duncan99210]

Most places it is 6 months then has to be either removed or registered locally - certainly the case in Spain and Greece, where I've looked into the thing. However, enforcement is patchy to say the least, so you takes your chances. Penalties for not doing as you're meant to are usually siezure of vehicle until registered and a fine - and don't forget storage charges until you get the vehicle back......

[SAMYL]

Also another point just in case people don't realise.

If you have a TAXED car and even lock it in your garage away from the road it MUST also be insured. If you don't insure it, but it has tax you'll shortly receive a fine.

How do you tax a car without having it insured and in possession of the insurance certificate?

[Tranona]

How do you tax a car without having it insured and in possession of the insurance certificate?

Because the insurance only has to be valid when it is taxed. It might either run out or you can cancel insurance but still have a valid road fund licence.

[JonJon]

Similarly, I think with a driving license you only get so long before you have to apply for a local one, most EU countries accept the British one in exchange - unless it has expired or you've left it after the alloted time. Then you have to start again with a local test. Oh what a tangled web we weave......

[prv]

Similarly, I think with a driving license you only get so long before you have to apply for a local one, most EU countries accept the British one in exchange - unless it has expired or you've left it after the alloted time. Then you have to start again with a local test. Oh what a tangled web we weave......

I don't think that's correct these days. I was looking into this the other way round for my German housemate. Certainly in her case her German license would be valid in the UK indefinitely, no need to swap it for a British one. I believe it's meant to work like that between all EU countries. It only gets complicated when you have a non-EU license; a Canadian friend could drive on her Canadian license for a year, and then had to take a test to get a British license. And licenses from some other countries (presumably with lower standards) have less validity or none at all here.

Pete