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Post by fidobsa on Sept 4, 2015 11:55:56 GMT 1
Although I have had my house in Croatia for over a year now, I am still not actually moved in. One of the reasons is that I want to get my LDV 3.5 tonne van road legal so I can use it to move my stuff. It is a UK registered, right hand drive van which I bought in 2011 to move from Scotland to Hungary. I have been trying to find a garage or mechanic who can check it over, take it for an MoT at a government testing station, complete the paperwork and get it registered on Hungarian plates. I had been planning to remain officially a resident of Hungary as the health care costs are lower than in Croatia.
I have not been able to find anyone to do this re-registration in Hungary and am now wondering if it would be possible to get it registered in Croatia instead? Can you register a right hand drive vehicle in Croatia? If so, do you have to first be registered as a resident? Is it possible to retain multiple residency or would I also have to get my car and motorcycle on Croatia plates? If I do need to register myself as a resident, what does that entail? In Hungary I can register the van for my own use but am not allowed to sell a right hand drive, is that the same in Croatia? The MoT is every 2 years in Hungary, is that the same in Croatia?
Sorry for asking so many questions at once but I am trying to weigh up the pros and cons.
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Post by Ribaric on Sept 4, 2015 19:58:17 GMT 1
What January said. You can sell a RHD vehicle in HR but, in this case, that's a moot point.
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Post by crojoe on Sept 4, 2015 23:32:16 GMT 1
A lot of questions... MOT here is every year. Without becoming resident you will be able to do nothing, you need a personal ID number (OIB) for anything legal or come to that almost anything. Importing your van also difficult and probably not worth the effort IMO, I think it also needs to be less than 7 years old to be made possible. Sell it (in UK) or go back to UK and get it legal every year, or buy one here for which you will need an OIB. Becoming resident in Croatia is fairly easy now, but if the rules are enforced correctly you will need to also register into the Croatia health system. I have not heard that you can not sell A RHD vehicle, but in any case if it is not registered in Croatia and you are not resident here then it can really only be sold without papers, for spare parts etc. We sold our Mazda 6 for spare parts around October 2014, received a bill of purchase from the HR company (got it notarized), jotted a short note to say the car was scrapped in HR due to engine problem (all true) and sent it all off to DVLA who 10 days letter sent e notice the car was officially scrapped. Very easy! |
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Post by fidobsa on Oct 15, 2015 12:10:58 GMT 1
If you can only import a vehicle that is less than 7 years old, what happens if you have one older than that (eg my 2003 LDV) and want to use it long term in Croatia? In theory I could keep it on UK plates as I still have a UK address, although it might mean taking it to UK for an MoT once a year.
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Post by crojoe on Oct 15, 2015 15:03:08 GMT 1
If you can only import a vehicle that is less than 7 years old, what happens if you have one older than that (eg my 2003 LDV) and want to use it long term in Croatia? In theory I could keep it on UK plates as I still have a UK address, although it might mean taking it to UK for an MoT once a year. Not just in theory, it is what you have to do in practice, and yes it does mean taking it back for MOTs....but be aware this is not within the rules as you are not supposed to drive about in a UK registered vehicle long term. I think three months is the max permissible period to do this. You will more than likely get away with it but keep trips into Zagreb to a minimum as that is most likely place to be pulled up and asked about it by customs. No problem! To stay within the technicalities, you could always do a quick trip across the Slovenian border every 3 months, but then that's probably a waste of time as how would you prove you where over there in the last 3 months unless you keep a coffee receipt from the trip in your car (or Slovenian vignette ... not a very good financial option). That's said, if you still have a UK card, UK insurance, UK address & valid MOT then it should be no problem (from experience). It's when you have HR residency and exchanged your UK card for an HR one, then it's a major problem ... bordering illegal now. Just make sure with your UK car that you do the MOT each year. Always renew your road tax just before the MOT runs out (take it off SORN) as that way you can technically drive on the UK road from port of entry to your nearest MOT station if the MOT has expired. You can also SORN the car for most of the time you are abroad (since the road tax is only for UK roads.. save some money). Luckily, road taxation is all done online now... no more tax disc (a bit of a pain as no visual reminder). Just don't let the tax disc run out whatever you do, as that's a big NO NO in the UK (although technically again you are allowed to drive from your address or point of entry to nearest booked MOT station to get vehicle MOTed, then taxed ... can't tax without valid MOT... and often UK police don't always know this... but it's fact and on paper by DVLA). By the way, it ain't HR customs that would pull you up but the traffic police if they so choose (no more "customs" at the Slovenian border). |
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Post by Ribaric on Oct 15, 2015 15:10:30 GMT 1
There's a recent amendment to the regulations. The 7 year part has been deleted but you cannot import a vehicle which fails to conform to Euro-Emissions class 3 or better. Generally that means 2001 or younger. Just check your vehicle on line before doing anything.
The 3 month rule still applies to foreign registered vehicles and it's a one-off, not 3 months per year.
The UK DVLA rules stipulate that you cannot SORN a vehicle if it is not in the UK. You can lie about it of course but your insurance company will not cover you if your vehicle is SORNed. In the end, fiddling about is probably far more trouble than it's worth.
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Post by crojoe on Oct 15, 2015 15:18:40 GMT 1
There's a recent amendment to the regulations. The 7 year part has been deleted but you cannot import a vehicle which fails to conform to Euro-Emissions class 3 or better. Generally that means 2001 or younger. Just check your vehicle on line before doing anything. The 3 month rule still applies to foreign registered vehicles and it's a one-off, not 3 months per year. The UK DVLA rules stipulate that you cannot SORN a vehicle if it is not in the UK. You can lie about it of course but your insurance company will not cover you if your vehicle is SORNed. In the end, fiddling about is probably far more trouble than it's worth. I agree that you should always stay within the law, and paying £150+ for tax isn't that bad, but there are so called "gray areas". I believe most UK insurance companies only offer third party when driving on the continent, especially in parts of Eastern Europe. I guess if you plan to settle here then best to just buy a car here, even if they are twice the price (which they seem to be compared to UK prices). |
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Post by fidobsa on Oct 19, 2015 7:11:35 GMT 1
That is just ridiculous if you can't SORN a vehicle that is out of the country. The tax is supposed to be a "road fund licence" i.e. people wearing out the roads with their vehicles contribute to the road maintenance costs. If your vehicle is not in the country it can't be wearing out the roads!
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Post by crojoe on Oct 19, 2015 8:00:56 GMT 1
That is just ridiculous if you can't SORN a vehicle that is out of the country. The tax is supposed to be a "road fund licence" i.e. people wearing out the roads with their vehicles contribute to the road maintenance costs. If your vehicle is not in the country it can't be wearing out the roads! Like I said before, you got to have a valid V5 certificate, MOT and insurance. Road tax goes to the government, nothing to do with vehicle safety or insurance cover. I don't know what is actually connected these days online as once upon a time it was all separate. The UK Police can tell (they say) if you car is MOTed, insured and taxed. When abroad all you have to prove is V5 ownership document, insurance and maybe MOT. You will never be asked if you have UK road tax. In fact I have never been asked for an MOT certificate either, although if your car is a rust bucket I have heard Austrian police may ask for it (Aussie Friend of mine drove around Europe in a banger) and got fined in Austria(and he had a valid UK MOT..Ha). The big question is what info does your insurance company hold and look at if or when they may need to make a pay-out. I've insured plenty of cars over the years without MOT and tax, plus had one payout (without any request for Tax disc). But once again, it's down to you as I suggest you stay within the law at all times. |
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Post by fidobsa on Oct 19, 2015 11:36:44 GMT 1
I'm assuming Paul meant you can't legally do SORN even if the vehicle is parked up and not in use.
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Post by Ribaric on Oct 19, 2015 15:06:56 GMT 1
I'm assuming Paul meant you can't legally do SORN even if the vehicle is parked up and not in use. I'm not sure that's different from what I meant but, in real terms, you can only SORN a UK registered vehicle if it is in the UK. No matter what you may be doing with it, if it's outside of the UK then it is not permissible to SORN it, indeed, the SORN application makes that very clear. As far as I know, only one UK insurer, Stuart Collins ^ Co., will give you full year insurance out of the UK and there are numerous strings attached to it. |
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Post by crojoe on Oct 19, 2015 19:42:44 GMT 1
I'm assuming Paul meant you can't legally do SORN even if the vehicle is parked up and not in use. I'm not sure that's different from what I meant but, in real terms, you can only SORN a UK registered vehicle if it is in the UK. No matter what you may be doing with it, if it's outside of the UK then it is not permissible to SORN it, indeed, the SORN application makes that very clear. As far as I know, only one UK insurer, Stuart Collins ^ Co., will give you full year insurance out of the UK and there are numerous strings attached to it. There are a few others that offer 365 days on continent (usually third party), but don't have this list with me. But I have never had a car abroad for that long as always make at least 2 trips a year to UK (the wonders of having an LPG vehicle) and cheap channel ferry crossings (its now the vignettes in Slovenia and Austria and tunnels that kill the enjoyment of a savings). |
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