MrCanary Posted April 20, 2007 Share Posted April 20, 2007 I am sure this has been covered before and knowing my memory, I have probably asked before, but....My wife has a Renault Clio taxed in the UK until the end of August.If, in early August, we take it to France and leave it there, what do we need to do documentation-wise?I appreciate we will need to get French insurance cover, but if it stays there beyond August - which it probably will - what do we do then? Will the French insurance sticker on the windcreen be sufficient? And when and how will we need to get it registered in France?Thanks and apologies if this information is so obvious somewhere else! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrCanary Posted April 20, 2007 Author Share Posted April 20, 2007 Doh!Just read the article at the top of this section...However, that article does refer to 'if you are resident in France'. This does not fit our circumstances insomuch that we are mainly resident in the UK and just want the Clio to be at our maison secondaire for when we are there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marina Posted April 20, 2007 Share Posted April 20, 2007 EU guidelines say that vehicles should be registered in the country where they are normally kept, so you will need to register it in France Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickles Posted April 20, 2007 Share Posted April 20, 2007 [quote user="Prasutagus"]However, that article does refer to 'if you are resident in France'. This does not fit our circumstances insomuch that we are mainly resident in the UK and just want the Clio to be at our maison secondaire for when we are there...[/quote]If it is your intention that the car will be based in France then take the article at the top of the section as applying to you.RegardsPickles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnOther Posted April 20, 2007 Share Posted April 20, 2007 A thorny subject which a lot of people, myself included, feel quite strongly about.In these circumstances there is one "Golden Rule" and that is a vehicle must, at all times be fully legal in one country or the other, there is no in between, no Mix-n-Match, therefore to be 100% correct, if it's staying in France longer than 6 months it should be registered, tested and insured in France.If you did keep it there but not re-register it then this gives you a problem because even if the MOT (if required) and Tax stay current most UK insurance policies only cover you for visits to a foreign country, typically 60 or 90 days, not for the vehicle being there permanantly, and don't forget, if something happened in France and questions were asked the burden of proof as to where the vehicle has been is down to you. If you claimed you were on a visit you would likely be asked for evidence such as ferry bookings bearing the vehicle registration number for instance.Even if you found a UK company to fully insure you in France you would fall foul after 6 months because that is the maximum period you are allowed to keep a car there without re-registering, after that it is there illegally regardless.Apparently some French insurance companies will happily take your money and offer to insure you in France without re-registration but apart from this breaking the "Golden Rule" it does not work because similarly, after 6 months the car would be in France illegally thereby invalidating it.Undoubtedly you will have seen countless vehicles in France on UK plates with expired Tax disks but you can be pretty sure that 99.9% of these belong to people who are driving around illegally either through pure ignorance or worse, delibrately and knowingly flouting the law.Don't become one of them and please don't bump into me if you do.....[:@] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrCanary Posted April 20, 2007 Author Share Posted April 20, 2007 Thanks folks....ErnieY - the purpose of asking the questions was to make sure I stay legal. As such, you have nothing to worry about, but thanks for your concern. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnOther Posted April 20, 2007 Share Posted April 20, 2007 I didn't mean to suggest for a moment that you were seeking otherwise....[8-|] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrCanary Posted April 20, 2007 Author Share Posted April 20, 2007 No, no problem - I don't like breaking the law in the UK, but I am terrified of doing it in France...(But I do admit to struggling with speed limits on open roads in either country!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.