Thread: Driving in Spain

Hi guys,
We are going to move to Spain, and want to now what the process is for driving a UK registered car there. how long can you use a right hand drive vehicle? Does a car need an MOT every year as it is hear?
Does it need to be registered in Spain, and if so, how soon after moving there?
would appreciate some info. on this matter.

Originally Posted by geoff. Isaac

Hi guys,
We are going to move to Spain, and want to now what the process is for driving a UK registered car there. how long can you use a right hand drive vehicle? Does a car need an MOT every year as it is hear?
Does it need to be registered in Spain, and if so, how soon after moving there?
would appreciate some info. on this matter.

Geoff,

we have just done this in part, we bought a LHD car on British plates that already had the export license. We got our gestor to do most of the paperwork (couple of hundred Euro's including transfe of ownership), just had to get a new ITV ourselves. I do not know if Spain will allow you to actually import a vehicle with the steering wheel on the wrong side so you will need to check up on this as a first step

General consensus seems to be it is a royal pain in the butt and it is much less stressful to sell in UK and then buy over here.

I believe that you can legally drive over here on a foreign plated car for 6 months before having to obtain Spanish plates. Many people seem to ignore this, but the Guardia do have little campaigns, so forewarned etc.

• The vehicle’s registration documents must be returned to the DVLA , in exchange for a certificate of permanent exportation.
• Original docs for the car.
• Documentation that shows when the vehicle entered Spain. This probably needs to be stamped by the port authorities.
• You’ll need a NIE
• An import license for the ” Ministerio de Economía Hacienda” (This you can get from your local office).
• Once imported you’ll need to get the temporary green registration plates from Trafico. These are valid for ten days and will allow you to get to the ITV station and back. This should be straightforward if the car has had no mods and the make and model is known to the chaps in the ITV station.
• You’ll need to pay “impuesto sobre circulación de vehículos” at a rate of 12% of the vehicles market price. This has got nothing to do with what you paid for the vehicle. This value will come out of Hacienda’s little “black book”.
• If the vehicle is less than six months old, you then need to pay IVA (16%) if you live on the mainland or IGIC (5%) for the Canarias.
• Then there’s the 10% Import Duty.

Try these guys reregcar.com, they may be able to give you better advice, but I do not know them, just picked up the website from another forum.

Good luck

Steve

Yes, you can import a RHD car into Spain, up to large 4x4's, but not vans. You are entitled to import one vehicle free of of tax if you are taking up residency in Spain and come from an EU country. You have six months to do this.

Originally Posted by geoff. Isaac

Hi guys,
We are going to move to Spain, and want to now what the process is for driving a UK registered car there. how long can you use a right hand drive vehicle? Does a car need an MOT every year as it is hear?
Does it need to be registered in Spain, and if so, how soon after moving there?
would appreciate some info. on this matter.

Some good info. given so far on how to keep your RHD car in Spain but would recommend selling it asap and getting a LHD vehicle, which is much safer to drive on the roads here. Spanish road tax is much cheaper than UK as well.

I seem to recall when looking into this that you must have had ownership of the vehicle for six months prior to moving to Spain. In retrospect, I actually wish I'd brought our car over with me when I came here 3 & a half years ago, but elected to sell it & purchase a 2nd hand one here. Christ what a headache that in itself can be.. Prices are practically double and you're pushed to find one that's free of dents and done xx000 kms for under 10k (that's the case in Madrid anyway, it may be different elsewhere)

It's better to buy new if you can afford to do so.

Some things to remember about driving in Spain: You have to have 2 Hi-Vis vests inside the car (not in the boot) in case of a breakdown. 2 warning triangles (ok in the boot) spare lightbulbs, spare glasses if worn, if old bill stop you you'll need to produce all your relevant paperwork (insurance certificates etc) and absolutely have your driving licence on you at all times.

Feel free to add if I've missed something.

Bulbs, no longer required to be carried, most new vehicles now have sealed beam units fitted. No longer required to carry insurance as Guardia can now check on new computer system [ no not carrier pigeon strapped to s donkey's back!!!
If you plan to bring RHD motorised caravan things, beware, you may not be able to ITV [mot] it as all the doors would open on to the road when stationary on the side of any road. The only good thing over here is that your MOT sticker is affixed to your windscreen by the examiner and clearly visible at all times.

Interesting. I recently got pulled over for a routine check and had to show everything, but I guess it depends on the coppers at the time.

You actually need one HV jacket for every passenger in the vehicle.Another thing is the insurance cert. is not enough on its own, you have to have proof that you have paid it. Receipt from bank or agent etc.

Originally Posted by Gus-Lopez

.....Another thing is the insurance cert. is not enough on its own, you have to have proof that you have paid it. Receipt from bank or agent etc.

Actually, it is not "LAW" that you should carry proof of insurance in a motor vehicle these days; the Guardia Civil have online access to a central database from their cars to show if a vehicle is insured. Trouble is a lot of old time Guardas still don't seem to know this