Foreign cars - insured where?

AdrianC

The rules are very clear and straightforward.

Non-residents can temporarily import vehicles which are legal in the country they're registered in, for a maximum of six months in any twelve.

Residents of the UK cannot drive foreign-registered vehicles here.

Citizenship and nationality are irrelevant. Residence is the only relevant factor. It's that simple.

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

Most EU countries will have very similar, if not identical, rules in place. So - yes - a lot of Brits abroad are as illegal as a lot of migrants here are.

Iceweasel

robatwork wrote: »

Thanks all.

If a for example citizen of Poland comes to work in the UK and becomes a British citizen, shouldn't they register their car in the UK and be subject to UK MOT and UK insurance laws?

I think that you may have confused British Citizen (taking British Nationality) with British Resident (being resident in the UK for tax purposes)

Since April 2013 we now have the SRT - Statutory Residence Test - but for all intents and purposes if someone is in the UK for more than 182 days in a tax year, then they are usually considered to be resident.

So the answer to your question is of course YES - if you become a British Resident then you need to import your car and meet all the other requirements such as MOT and Insurance.

There are 10s of thousands of people of all nationalities all over Europe who are flouting these laws.

Don't get fixated on the Polish - they are not alone - The Irish and the British are no better when they are in a similar position outwith their home countries.

Londoner_1

AdrianC wrote: »

The rules are very clear and straightforward.

Non-residents can temporarily import vehicles which are legal in the country they're registered in, for a maximum of six months in any twelve.

Residents of the UK cannot drive foreign-registered vehicles here.

Citizenship and nationality are irrelevant. Residence is the only relevant factor. It's that simple.

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

Most EU countries will have very similar, if not identical, rules in place. So - yes - a lot of Brits abroad are as illegal as a lot of migrants here are.

There are many rules on paper but none are followed in practice, the police says its nothing to do with them and do not pull any drivers over as there is no system in place to run the checks.

AdrianC

Londoner_1 wrote: »

There are many rules on paper but none are followed in practice, the police says its nothing to do with them and do not pull any drivers over as there is no system in place to run the checks.

Whilst that may very well be true, the question was around the rules. Enforcement of them is a much more flexible situation - and many forces do have regular crackdowns, so there certainly is the scope to enforce.

Johno100

Londoner_1 wrote: »

There are many rules on paper but none are followed in practice, the police says its nothing to do with them and do not pull any drivers over as there is no system in place to run the checks.

But there is a system in place in the rest of the EU, It's just that the UK is so scared of giving Johnny Foreigner driver details of UK drivers it has opted out, so there is no reciprocal arrangement. But hopefully that will change next year.

http://www.driving.co.uk/news/news-dvla-to-hand-over-names-of-british-drivers-caught-on-camera-in-europe/

robatwork wrote: »

Thanks all.

If a for example citizen of Poland comes to work in the UK and becomes a British citizen, shouldn't they register their car in the UK and be subject to UK MOT and UK insurance laws?

A Pole coming to the UK is no more likely to become a UK citizen than is my friends daughter who packed her belongings into her battered old KA and drove down to the Costa del Sol to work in a bar, there is no point as they are both EU countries with a right to live and work there. And I don't suppose Spanish motoring laws have even entered her pretty little head.