Driving an Irish Registered Car in NI

Iceweasel

bowlhead99 wrote: »

If you're not actually committing any crimes in it, it's unclear what punishment they would seek to give you if you were stopped. I'd guess a police officer with any sense who had randomly stopped you just for fun, would probably be placated when you said yes I'm just here as a tourist for a day, going back to Dublin tomorrow with this car I've rented from them, and played dumb.

If your car was caught on a speed camera the NIP would get sent to Ireland, and may not end up coming back to you, which is why they don't want UK people using foreign cars to zoom around our roads flouting our traffic laws and illegally parking without worrying too much about where the tickets are getting sent.

How can a UK resident be a tourist in the UK for a day?

The OP is not a tourist/visitor.

But he is allowed to use a non UK registered car if it is on lease or hire.

The only question is whether the hire company allow it.

bowlhead99

Iceweasel wrote: »

How can a UK resident be a tourist in the UK for a day?

The OP is not a tourist/visitor.

I live in London. A tourist is someone who is travelling or visiting somewhere for pleasure. If I am in Belfast for a day I'm perfectly able to say "I am a tourist", park up and travel around on an open top bus enjoying the sights just like I might in Cardiff or Edinburgh or Carlisle (weather permitting). I'm a tourist and am over in their city for a day or so before driving the car which belongs to an Irish company back to Dublin to conclude my holiday.

The policeman may be curious why you are driving an Irish car in Northern Ireland if you have a UK licence and credit cards and no Irish accent. However, he does not want to get into a conversation that goes "Please don't arrest me you dumbass policeman, what are you going to charge me with, attempting to illegally import and drive my foreign registered car in the UK when this paperwork explains that it is clearly NOT my car and is leased/hired from this hire company in Dublin for a very limited time, and is due back to them tomorrow according to this paperwork, and I haven't done anything to cause any harm to anyone apart from calling you a dumbass just then."

But he is allowed to use a non UK registered car if it is on lease or hire.

Agreed, the earlier reference to the gov.uk site on Temporary Imports that says "you must tax and register your car in the UK if you become a UK resident" is just a red herring because the car is not 'your car' it is simply leased to you on a short term basis by a foreign company and EU rules allow you to drive such cars across borders (of course, only to the extent that the owner of the car, the hire car company, doesn't mind it being driven across borders).

AdrianC

bowlhead99 wrote: »

I live in London. A tourist is someone who is travelling or visiting somewhere for pleasure. If I am in Belfast for a day I'm perfectly able to say "I am a tourist", park up and travel around on an open top bus enjoying the sights just like I might in Cardiff or Edinburgh or Carlisle (weather permitting). I'm a tourist and am over in their city for a day or so before driving the car which belongs to an Irish company back to Dublin to conclude my holiday.

But you are a UK resident in the UK, your home country. You are not a temporary visitor to the country.

melanzana

There will be no problem legally between driving in SI and NI.

But I would check with your car rental company first. There are sometimes small charges for moving the car from S to N and vice versa. Nothing that will cause any hassle for you though.

The points you mention relate to importing a car from another jurisdiction and driving it in UK. That does not apply here as you are renting a car.

Other than that, off you go and enjoy it.

bowlhead99

AdrianC wrote: »

But you are a UK resident in the UK, your home country. You are not a temporary visitor to the country.

Correct. I did not say I was a temporary visitor to the country. Any reference to me being a temporarily visiting resident of another country or someone seeking to temporarily import their car, has been made up by you. I said I was a tourist there for a day in a rented car from Ireland which would be my explanation to a policeman. Which is fine. Iceweasel then wanted to question whether I was a tourist, which according to the dictionary, I would be.

AdrianC

melanzana wrote: »

The points you mention relate to importing a car from another jurisdiction and driving it in UK. That does not apply here as you are renting a car.

Yes, you are. In the Republic of Ireland, then temporarily importing it into the UK.

Iceweasel

bowlhead99 wrote: »

I live in London. A tourist is someone who is travelling or visiting somewhere for pleasure. If I am in Belfast for a day I'm perfectly able to say "I am a tourist", park up and travel around on an open top bus enjoying the sights just like I might in Cardiff or Edinburgh or Carlisle (weather permitting). I'm a tourist and am over in their city for a day or so before driving the car which belongs to an Irish company back to Dublin to conclude my holiday.

As far as the UK temporary importation concession regards foreign registered vehicles driven by foreign tourists is concerned, a UK resident cannot be considered a 'tourist'.

Sorry bowlhead, perhaps I should have included the word foreign before tourist.

AdrianC

bowlhead99 wrote: »

Any reference to me ... seeking to temporarily import their car, has been made up by you

Oh, sorry. I must have completely misunderstood the entire thread. So you won't be temporarily importing a foreign-registered car to the UK and (as a UK resident) driving it within the UK?

So what HAS the entire thread been about? I'm clearly very confused.

melanzana

AdrianC wrote: »

Yes, you are. In the Republic of Ireland, then temporarily importing it into the UK.

I think you are wrong.

A person from any country renting a car in SI has the right to drive it in NI aswell. There are no restrictions except maybe a small charge for bringing it back to point of origin where it was rented.

If you OWNED a car in SI and drove it in NI for a certain period, i.e. imported it there for your own use then there may be a problem.

But in relation to a rental car NO. Otherwise tourism would be dead, caput, over.

AdrianC

You are conflating UK road traffic law and the hire company's terms and conditions. The hire company may well permit their car to be used across an international border. They may not. It's a contractual issue alone - at least, until there's a question of insurance coverage or use without the owner's consent...

As far as UK road traffic law goes, who said anything about "a person from any country"?

AFAICT, the situation is very clear. Apart from a very few exceptions, UK residents cannot legally drive foreign-registered vehicles in the UK.

One example exception that's been referred to is a leased vehicle. I've not found the actual legislation, but I very much doubt that the law gives much of a toss about how a particular vehicle is financed. I'm certain I've seen it elsewhere as a company vehicle being driven in the course of business, which does make a lot more sense, especially when you consider international haulage.

There is some extrapolation to say that covers a short-term rental car, and that it would include what insurance would call social, domestic and pleasure purposes. I am sceptical, and there has been no link posted to support those claims.

The fact this is Eire and NI is irrelevant. The only difference to any other situation is that that is the UK's only land border with another country.