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French car registered to French holiday home ~ can I drive it in the UK?


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[quote user="friend of stouby"]

andyh4, quite curious how you got around your multi country problem...

Thanks for your opinions[/quote]

There are special rules for so - called "frontalier" workers ie those who live in one country and live in another.

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Ah the french and the way they 'think' the laws and rules work......... because sometimes they work just as they are supposed to, even in France and then people rale.

However, your problem, if you end up having one, would be in the UK, and tha would be quite a different kettle of fish.

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I hope the OP realizes that although he (she?) can't drive their French-registered car in the UK, someone else who is a French resident can do so perfectly legally.

So if the OP really has to make a quick trip back to the UK in his French car, he should find a French-resident (maybe a uk expat?) to act as chauffeur. It shouldn't be that hard.

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[quote user="Araucaria"]I hope the OP realizes that although he (she?) can't drive their French-registered car in the UK, someone else who is a French resident can do so perfectly legally.

So if the OP really has to make a quick trip back to the UK in his French car, he should find a French-resident (maybe a uk expat?) to act as chauffeur. It shouldn't be that hard.

[/quote]

Another driver did occur but probably too much bother to involve another person. For the moment we'll just accept that we will be mildly inconvenienced and if the situation arises get around it in the best manner possible until maybe the UK can come into line regarding 'holiday cars'... but of course with a referendum due in the distant future it's hard to imagine the UK creating closer ties for now, but that's a different can of worms.

Thanks
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Quote Pickles

quote friend of stouby

andyh4, quite curious how you got around your multi country problem...

Thanks for your opinions

unquote friend of Stouby

There are special rules for so - called "frontalier" workers ie those who live in one country and live in another.

Unquote Pickles

Indeed there are special rules for frontaliers, but wrt to France and Germany they do not apply to someone living in the Ardeche - essentially you have to live within 30km of the common border.

F o S - Basically I winged it. I was already working in Germany and had a German registered car. When my OH moved full time into our house in the Ardeche, I continued to drive with D plates. I was not driving down every week - cheaper to fly (but not necessarily quicker) - and only in the holiday periods did flight prices rise to a point where driving became more economical than the plane or a TGV.

So on the basis that the car was in Germany most of the time, it would attract less attention on German plates, than on French. When in France it would just look like another holiday maker.
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Your German / French work / live would work easily with a German registered car as you had no fixed border controls, but if you tried that from UK / France with heavily scrutinised border crossings you may have come unstuck.

Pleased that it worked for you though, my original question was to enable us to simplify our lives a little but obviously not at the moment in this instance.
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You might be over thinking this a bit.  I drive a Luxembourg registered car all over Europe including many trips to the UK.  I am Lux resident so there's no problem but in 10 years I have never, ever been asked if I am eligible to drive said car in UK or anywhere else.  I have been stopped in UK for random breath tests and other such stuff and one time some numpty drove into me and I called the cops as he refused to give his insurance details. Asked if I spoke English I always said Yes I am English and I am visiting for weekend/week/whatever.  Never has it dawned on the Thin Blue Line to ask about imports etc, it's completely off their list of things to know - after all, it's a Customs fing innit? Nuffink to do with us.  Oh yes, also I have never been questioned by Border Control about my eligibility to drive a foreign registered car either, for a short stay they're just not bothered and if you did sell or register it in the UK they would pick up any dues at that time.

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This matches my experiences of driving a Swedish registered car in the UK when I was resident in Sweden. While the legal position is as has been stated the enforcement seems to be at a much lower level. I do know of one person who returned to the UK and drove his foreign registered car here for about 18 months before he wrote it off. The car's registration was not one of the things he was charged with so provided the car has valid insurance I don't see it being a major issue especially if it is for only a short period. 
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To quote Iduns post:

'Remember Opas's husband getting arrested for driving a french registered lorry in the UK, and from what I have read he was a french resident AND like all other internationa drivers had a right to do that. So the police do know about this, and in that particular case, it would seem, got it wrong. In this case, it would not be wrong, if the OP brought their car back.'

Do search for Opas posting re her husbands fun and games - does not make happy reading. Depends how lucky you feel.
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I remember the Opie and Opas thread very well and the upshot was that an insurance offence was suspected initially and he was arrested because he could not give a UK address but then, becuase Opie was driving a different car to that which had been booked on the ferry, that gave rise to suspicion that it had been in the UK for longer than permitted.

I still have my doubts that the report of receiving compensation were totally accurate.

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