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Just to clarify Boboals post. You do not need to register your driving licence if you are here more than 3 months. You do not need to register it at all, unless you want to.
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Just to clarify Boboals post. You do not need to register your driving licence if you are here more than 3 months. You do not need to register it at all, unless you want to.
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Yes, I didn't mean it was mandatory and should have put advised rather than supposed. The certificate of entitlement they give you helps if you lose your license as the UK will only issue a similar document valid for use in UK only. But then we're back to keeping the UK one or changing to a Spanish one.
While we're at it, every time I open a thread, submit or edit a reply, Homer comes up with his we've messed up message. Probably why haydng posted 6 times.
The reply or edit does work even though it says it hasn't but it wouldn't accept a new thread on the forum help board which is why I've added it here. This message was last edited by bobaol on 26/03/2014.This message was last edited by bobaol on 26/03/2014.
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Kathyslad
You are correct you do not have to register your UK licence if you are a visitor.
However I believe once you become a resident of Spain you must change your UK licence to a Spanish one as Spain will be your main permanent place of residence and you would also be in breach of DVLA rules for not informing them of change of address (circumstance) even if you still have a property in UK. Some expat residents use a realtives address in UK which is also wrong
My view is simple - why take uneccesary risks. It is not diffcult to change your licence or the plates on your car or to buy a Spanish car.
So why do people always try and find a way round it or take risks (laziness, stupidity or ignorance???). I think Spain has been very lenient in this and many have abused this leniency thinking they are safe or right under EU directives, agreements, treaties etc but they are not so let's hope the clampdown works.
Emigrating to a non EU (or non EEA) country like USA, Australia, South Africa etc you would have no choice but to take a driving test (convert your car if you took it with you) or the authorities would be down on you like a ton of bricks
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Tadd1996
Old information, I' m afraid. Spain was pulled up by the EU a couple of years ago by making people change their EU driving license for a Spanish one. You can drive with your UK driving license provided it is the EU photocard model. It is, after all, a EU license. Taking that logic to its extreme, we should all change passports as well.
However, we have changed ours because of various reasons.
It is easy to do.
If you lose your driving license, the DVLA will only issue a temporary one (valid for 30 days) which is only valid in UK for that period. They will not issue a new one with a foreign address.
When your license runs out (and they are only valid for 10 years, not until you're 70) DVLA will not issue a new one if you do not have a UK address.
There is no need to inform the DVLA of a change of address if you are moving abroad. It says so on their website. Now, try telling a British policeman that if you are visiting UK and driving with a license with an invalid address on it.
However, you should have your UK license registered at trafico if it is not the EU model. Why anyone should do this I don't know as it is just as easy to change it to a Spanish one.
You do not need a medical examination to obtain your Spanish license unless it has less than 1 year before it runs out or until you are 70.
Try explaining all this to a member of the Guardia Civil who is not quite up on traffic laws.
Below is a statement from the head of trafico in Malaga, a similar statement was issued by the head of trafico in Alicante:
In 2009 there was approved the new Rules of Driving License in Spain. These rules established that in the 19th of January of 2013 it would come into force a law that said that all European residents who have been living in Spain for more than 2 years, and had not got the European driving license, had to be inscribed in the office of Trafico in Malaga. The inscription means that they have to renovate their UK licenses. For doing that, they need to go to Trafico and hand in the following documents: application form of renovation, pay taxes of renovation (less that 30€), medical certificate, and a photo. In case the residents don't update their UK licenses in Trafico, they will be fined with 200€.
Not all residents have to renovate their UK licenses. All residents who have the European driving license, that is the plastic card with the date of expiration in the front side, don't have to renew their UK licenses. Their driving license is correct. But those residents who have the old format UK driving license, that is a paper, they need to go to Trafico to renovate their licenses.
Apart from renewing the UK driving license, the resident has another option, he can apply for the Spanish driving license. The drawback of this election is that they will have to leave their UK driving license in Trafico, since the law establishes that it is illegal to have more than one driving license, one Spanish and another British. So, the disadvantage would be that if the resident decides to return to UK he will have to apply again for the driving license in UK. If he finally decides to apply for the Spanish driving license, he needs to go to Trafico and fill in an application form, pay taxes (27,40€; it went up this year, last year was 26€), and a photo. In case the UK driving license is going to expire in short, he will need also a medical certificate. Only in that case he will need a medical certificate.
I've also read your web page that somebody asked if there was 2 years grace in which this law come into force. You can anwer that it is not correct. The law entered into force the 19th of January of 2013. Maybe the person who informed her read the publication which Trafico made in its web page in which established an example saying that if a person started to live in Spain in 2013, in 2015 (2 years after) will have to renew his UK driving license. This question has been answered too by the Manager of the Driving License Department in Trafico.
This message was last edited by bobaol on 30/03/2014.
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bobaol
happy to be corrcected but from the DVLA website
If you’re moving abroad, you can’t register your new address on your British driving licence. Contact the driving licence authority in your new country of residence.
To change your address you must fill in the section provided on the paper counterpart. The address must be one in Great Britain where we can contact you at any time (we do not accept PO box addresses).
So informing the Spanish what address would you put on your licence if you have moved from your UK address?
Putting an address on a UK licenece that is not your main / permanent residence may be wrong or deemed as falsifying documents (i.e. using a relatives address)
_______________________
“The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance; it is the illusion of knowledge”
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Sorry, I can't see what point you are trying to make? Why would you register your driving license in Spain with a British address? You'd obviously give your Spanish address. The only time you would give your old UK address is when changing the license over to a Spanish one so the DVLA can check their records.
The changing of the address on the license is only applicable to those still living in UK, not moving abroad. As there is no address on Spanish driving licenses it would be pointless anyway. There is still no need to inform the DVLA when you move abroad but, as I said, try explaining that to a British policeman if you are there on a visit.
And surely that's the idea about this new rule having foreign registered cars that stay in Spain put on on Spanish plates? They will know your address when you re-register it.
Much, much easier to just get a Spanish license.
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Sorry, I can't see what point you are trying to make? Why would you register your driving license in Spain with a British address? You'd obviously give your Spanish address. The only time you would give your old UK address is when changing the license over to a Spanish one so the DVLA can check their records.
The changing of the address on the license is only applicable to those still living in UK, not moving abroad. As there is no address on Spanish driving licenses it would be pointless anyway. There is still no need to inform the DVLA when you move abroad but, as I said, try explaining that to a British policeman if you are there on a visit.
And surely that's the idea about this new rule having foreign registered cars that stay in Spain put on on Spanish plates? They will know your address when you re-register it.
Much, much easier to just get a Spanish license.
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As there is no address on Spanish driving licenses it would be pointless anyway.
Not long after I came to Spain, in 1988, it was a requirement that a resident driving on a UK D/L (perfectly legal at the time) had to register the UK D/L with Trafico. Of course having done that, one did not need to notify any change of address as the registration included ones NIE, and one must notify changes of address in connection with the NIE.
The same applies to Spanish D/L’s, they bear the NIE.
This message was last edited by johnzx on 30/03/2014.
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Hi here,
need your help, friends.
The matter is that I am non resident of Spain or the EU at all - I live in Russia, and visit Spain not more than 90 days in every 180 days. And, as a result, no more than 180 days per year.
I have a property in Spain. And I took my car to Spain from Russia with me, and leaved it here in Spain.
Since I am non resident in Spain, and my car is on the Russian plates - must I do something to have my car be legally here in Spain? Will the car be fined if it is just staying in Spain and waiting for my short visits?
Thank you very much in advance for the reply,
Regards,
Darrr
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Darr..
To the best of my knowledge the car must be re-registered onto Spanish plates if it is to remain here permanently, whether you are here or not. In any case (and it matters not a jot whether the car originated within or or outside of the EU) it must be street legal at all times in its country of origin. So in your case, any requirement for periodic safety checks and payment of Russian road tax must be kept up to date. If Russia has a requirement for periodic safety checks like Spains ITV test or the UK's MOT test these can only be carried out in the counrty of origin, ie Russia, even if it means driving it back there once a year... If the vehicle or its documentation is not compliant with the regulations of its home country it is effectively illegal everywhere...
The Spanish ITV test has no legal validity for vehicles which are not Spanish registered.
Whether or not you choose to keep the vehicle street legal in Russia is up to you of course but the Guardia Civil do have the legal right to confiscate and destroy vehicles illegal vehicles. There is also the question of motor vehicle insurance to consider; Is the vehicle insured? If it carries Russian Insurance does it cover the vehicle for extended periods abroad?
fb
This message was last edited by foxbat on 22/06/2014.
This message was last edited by foxbat on 22/06/2014.
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Thank you so much, foxbat, but the details are following:
1. here in Russia I must get the technical inspection (with is necessary, sure - this is "your" MOT, as I understand) - once in every TWO years.
2. I have a car insurance for the EU ("green card") for the whole year.
So, legally if it is not forbidden in Russia to go by car somewhere from the date of one MOT, and up to the date of the next MOT... so in this case I don't have to get these spanish plates?? I just have to go to the country of car origin (to Russia) once in every two years - to get this technical inspection?
Immigration officers on the border said, in Russia there is no limit for the car that we take abroad.
And ... let's say, I must (!) get the spanish plates (because car is in Spain for longer than 6 months per year, and all the foreigners all have to do this, etc.)... so, in this case I MUST take the car from the registry books here in Russia COMPLETELY???? and re-register it in Spain?? and pay all the incoming taxes if it is almost new?
And what if in two years - let's say, I sell a summer home in Spain - ... what? take the car from the registry books in Spain, throw the spanish plates, get the car back to Russia ... and re-register it again???
Sorry,
it is all not really clear to me.
Regards, Darrr
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Juan
The new law still only applies to residents.
Darr
I would guess that 100's of non resident home owners keep foreign registered vehicles at holiday/part time homes in Spain without having a problem, I know 5 or 6 up our road alone. Darr as a non resident you are free to use your car for vacational visits as long as it is legal in it's country of origin and it is insured, where you fall foul of the law is leaving it here all year round. So you have a choice, don't leave it here or risk any possible consequences if you do. The consequences could just be a warning to start with or a warning and a fine.If the car is kept in a closed garage or property it is unlikely you will ever have a problem
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Team GB,
you're perfectly right - the new law modifications refer to only residents or business owners. The link, that you posted, says that "other than those which are here for vacation visits only".
So, there will be no problem for cars from outside the EU (or Spain) which legally come with the valid insurance and the valid MOT.
Great. The problem in my case was that spanish residents frightened me that I will absolutely have exact problems, if I have a car with russian plates in Spain. Now it is clear that this is not true while it is a "vacation car".
Concerning the other restriction - about the kids on the front seats of the car... sounds surprising that it was otherwise before in Spain. We have the same restriction for years, here in Russia (12 years old or 140 cm height).
Thank you all, friends, again for the discussion!
Wish you all the best
(and sorry for my English as well )))))
Darrr
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Oh, Sorry, it was your link, Juan, about the new restrictions. Thank you so much for it!
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Hello again, friends.
kindly ask you to post a link on an official source which describes and make legal this Law (Ley sobre Tráfico, Circulación de Vehículos), I can't find it anywhere.
thank you so much in advance,
Darrr
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Nigel
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Thank you very much, Nigel!
Have a nice weekend
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