# My vehicle in Portugal



## Katy18167

Hi. We are coming over to Portugal with a van and caravan in the near future and plan to stay indefinitley. Can someone help me with the rules for importing a British vehicle after we have been there over 6 months? We don't know where to start.


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## Macroomite

I put the words: car vehicle in the 'search this forum' search box, and a whole number of earlier threads came up which may help you to start.


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## travelling-man

Both vehicle & caravan will need to be matriculated here if they're staying here & to make things more complicated a foreign registered vehicle cannot legally tow a Portuguese registered caravan & a Portuguese registered vehicle cannot legally tow a foreign registered caravan.

Also a Portuguese registered caravan must be insured to a particular Portuguese vehicle so only a specific vehicle can tow a specific caravan (or trailer over a set weight) & I think the reason for those rules is simply because the bureaucrats wanted to make life difficult for people just because they can. lol! 

However; The full process is: 

Tax free car import from the UK (Only)

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/7 05591/Car_Importation_Leaflet_-_May_2018.pdf 

Tax Free Car Import from elsewhere in the world

Each adult new immigrant is allowed to import one motor vehicle free of import tax IF (note the big IF) the vehicle meets the required criteria which is: 

The importer can prove the vehicle has been registered to the him/her for at least 6 months previously (in the country it's coming from) & that he/she has lived in that country for that time period, the importer must provide a Certificate of Conformity or if the vehicle was manufactured pre CoC they will accept a downloaded copy of the original sales brochure that shows the tech spec of the vehicle.

The vehicle must be standard or any (obvious) changes to the vehicle must be listed on a letter from a main dealer or manufacturer listing all changes from standard stating & that all said changes from standard are acceptable replacements.

The matriculation process must be started within 12 months of the applicant getting his/her Residencia. (it was previously 6 months) Whilst you can do the matriculation process yourself, it's much easier if you have a local agent do it for you & current (at time of writing (March 2018)) cost is usually about €400 plus the one off matriculation inspection of about €75 + annual road tax.
Road tax is calculated on engine size & emissions and priced as a new car on the date of matriculation not on year of manufacture. If you do go the tax free import route, you are not allowed to sell the car for 1 year unless you repay the tax you've previously avoided but if you did pay the tax then you can sell it any time you wish.

If you pay the import tax it's calculated on age of vehicle, engine size & emissions NOT on value & is often VERY expensive, especially for cars with large engines/high emissions & some cars can cost tens of thousands of Euros & one day difference in the date of manufacture from one year to the next can sometimes mean a massive increase/decrease in tax payable so do your research on the simulator link below very carefully.

You're allowed to keep a foreign registered car in Portugal for 180 days maximum before you either matriculate it or remove it back to the country it came from for a further 180 days. The only exception to this rule is for some (but not all) students on some (but not all) study permits
If you have a foreign registered car in Portugal, it must be taxed, tested & insured in it’s country of registration all the time it’s in Portugal & if the GNR catch you with an overstaying vehicle or without tax, test or insurance, they can & often do, permanently confiscate the vehicle which they will then sell or destroy. Note that whilst a foreign registered vehicle can be put through a Portuguese IPO/MOT inspection the pass certificate has no legal standing & is not a replacement for the test certificate from the country of origin.

During the Portuguese matriculation/registration process the vehicle has to be submitted for a one off matriculation inspection which is a greatly enhanced safety inspection which includes a rolling road test & if the vehicle comes from a country that drives on the left the headlight units will need 
to be changed. Beam deflectors are not acceptable. 

Once matriculated the vehicle is subject to the ordinary Portuguese IPO annual inspection.
If importing from the UK you will be expected to provide a ‘Car Importation Certificate’ which is basically an affidavit & you obtain that from the UK High Commission. Details of how to obtain that here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/notarial-and-documentary-services-guide-for portugal or you can contact them through their Facebook group at ‘Brits In Portugal

You can calculate the import tax (if payable) & annual road tax payable here:

https://aduaneiro.portaldasfinancas.gov.pt/jsp/main.jsp?body=/ia/simuladorISV.jsp 

Act here: https://dre.pt/web/guest/pesquisa/-/search/226204/details/normal?l=1 

Note: The required ownership period prior to matriculation used to be 12 months but was reduced to 6 months in January 2018. 

https://www.portaldascomunidades.mn...tificados/499-certificadoimportacao-automovel 

Note: A resident of Portugal is NOT legally allowed to drive a foreign registered vehicle that has not begun the matriculation process and/or is owned by anyone else.


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## baldilocks

The OP says that vehicles being imported are a VAN and a caravan. I'm not sure what the policy is in PT but in ES a RHD van cannot be matriculated onto Spanish plates because the driver cannot see through the vehicle. Unless we are talking about what Americans call a 'van' which is just an estate car/MPV


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## travelling-man

baldilocks said:


> The OP says that vehicles being imported are a VAN and a caravan. I'm not sure what the policy is in PT but in ES a RHD van cannot be matriculated onto Spanish plates because the driver cannot see through the vehicle. Unless we are talking about what Americans call a 'van' which is just an estate car/MPV



Very good point but my guess would be that assuming it post dates the issuance of the CoC & it has that document then it probably could be matriculated. 

Probably worth consulting a matriculation agent to confirm that before departure though.


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## Katy18167

*Katy18167*

Thank you for all the helpful advise so far.
We are beginning to think it may be easier just to buy a portuguese caravan and van when we get there! Is this a practical solution? Can we drive them on a british licence and can we buy vehicles when we don't have residency? Thanks in advance Katy


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## travelling-man

You don't need Residency to buy a vehicle but you do need a NIF number to buy it & an address to register it to & you need to either exchange your UK licences for Portuguese ones or register your UK licences with IMT before 90 days after Brexit is complete & if you don't then you'll have to redo the test. 

Current UK advice is to exchange licences not register them & on the subject of Brexit, you need to register residency here before Brexit is complete because after it you may well lose the right of residency & it may well become a privilege to be applied for.................. But I'm sure you must know that already


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## Katy18167

*Katy18167*

What is an NIF number? We have fiscal numbers if thats the same thing! We had to have those to buy our land out there but we are struggling to apply for residency because it does not have an address although we have been told that it did have an address so we are in the process of trying to find that out!


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## travelling-man

NIF is the Fiscal Number


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## Katy18167

*Katy18167*

Great stuff thanks. At least we have those then thank goodness. Do Portugal have caravan dealerships like the Uk? All I can find is second hand private sales in the Algarve which is fine but I would like to look round a store if possible.


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## travelling-man

I understand there are caravan & camper dealers but I think mostly in Algarve & similar areas


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## Katy18167

*Katy18167*

Thank you. Can I chuck another scenario at you? Our plot that we plan to live on is in central Portugal near serta. If we came over with our british van and british caravan and pitched the caravan permanently on our own land not to be towed again (it will just be our home) would it still need to be imported? (we have been told not but I am wary) We then plan to drive the british van back to the uk, sell it, then fly back and buy a portuguese van!!! Bonkers I know but we won't be towing the caravan around. We do intend to visit friends in the Algarve every once in a while but we'll just go in the Portuguese van and use it for all travel within Portugal.


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## Strontium

Just a question but have you looked into the legalities of the land for living on? Is it classed as "Rustic"?


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## travelling-man

Land in Portugal falls under a variety of designations such as ‘Urbano’ ‘Rustico’ & ‘Touristico’ etc & the designation dictates what can be done on that particular piece of land. 

Be warned that some unscrupulous sellers and/or agents will blatantly lie to you about land designations & what you can/cannot do on them and the only way to be 110% sure before you buy is to go along to the appropriate Camara (Town Hall) and ask the planning department staff about the exact piece of land you’re interested in. 

Urbano can be used for human habitation and may well already have a house on it & if it doesn’t then you can apply for and probably will get planning permission to build a house on it. 

Rustico is rustic land that can be used to grow agricultural crops, keep agricultural animals and (subject to planning permission) you can build things such as animal night shelters & storage buildings for agricultural equipment etc but you cannot usually have any human habitation on it at all………….. not even on a temporary basis or (despite common myth) buildings without foundations etc. 

Touristico land can be used for tourism but you may well be expected to build shower & toilet blocks if you intend to use it for yurts or similar. 

Whilst it is sometimes possible to change designations it’s not usually easy or cheap & in most cases, probably not worth the hassle simply because there is so much land for sale that already has the designation you need. 

This video might shed some light on what you can/can’t do & should/shouldn’t do with regard to permanent & temporary homes on land with the various classifications etc. 






This link is an example of what can happen if you build or live on land with the wrong designation: 

http://portugalresident.com/expat-f...mbshell-threat-of-eviction-in-western-algarve 


These 3 links all give details of land/house/licencing laws etc:

::: DL n.º 555/99, de 16 de Dezembro 

https://bdjur.almedina.net/register.php?jump=/item.php?field=node_id&value=1146930 

https://dre.pt/pesquisa/-/search/618126/details/maximized


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## baldilocks

T.M. Your first link, unfortunately, returns a 404


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## travelling-man

baldilocks said:


> T.M. Your first link, unfortunately, returns a 404


Thanks....... I'll take a look.


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## Katy18167

Hi. This is all very interesting as we are at present trying to trace the official address for our plot. We do have a building on it that is registered as storage and there is planning permission to build 200m2 footprint on 2 floors. Having said this we have never been told the plots classification (urban or rustic) and whatever we were told we would not have been put off buying it! It is in the middle of nowhere and we are determined to squeeze every inch of enjoyment out of it whatever the legalities. I'll keep everyone posted as we find out more but we have no intention of building on it so will just stay in a caravan. If we get the address it means we can buy a portuguese van and maybe get residency!!


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## Strontium

Land/houses etc are known as articles and each has a unique article number, this is then checked on the land registry and gives the classification, area etc. Land has often been sub-divided so a a bit of land may be more then one article. The Promissory Contract (contrato de promessa de compra e venda) should have all this information and carticle numbers lassifications, buildings, trees etc and contain any conditions. Often Habitation is one article and the garden a separate article as one is habitation and one is rustic. If you read the Promissory it will have how much you agree to pay, when and what you are buying.


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## Katy18167

*Katy18167*

I've just had a look through the deeds. I was going to attach a photo but can't do that on here. They say inscrito na matriz sob os artigos 4778 urbano e 4140 rustico. Is this what you mean? If so what do the numbers mean?


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## Strontium

They are the article numbers which are on the land registry which have a map with the article outlined and a description etc. Often lawyers (and others) can get a copy if they are registered to do so for a small fee. I'd advise, if not already done, to check the land registry info against the physical property in case there are any anomalies like the garden is only 50% of the size you think it is or some building extension has not been included. Rustic should have been offered to next door (by registered letter?) at the same price you are paying as they have first chance to buy. 

Also you may like to check if money has been borrowed against the property as this debt goes with the article/property to the new owner which may come as a nice surprise when buying a "cheap" property.


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## Katy18167

*Katy18167*

We do have a map which I can only assume is from the land registry! It shows the article but only as one not a division of the two (urban and rustic) The article numbers are not on the map and no description. Unfortunately I can't attach it for you to see otherwise I would.


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## Strontium

I've just looked at paperwork for a couple of rustic and urban articles, each article has separate paperwork and each has the area defined with description, ie rustic 382 squ meters, 3 orange trees, 7 olive trees and a series of grid references to stone boundary markers or permanent boundry fixtures (corners of a house) . If you are buying then this paperwork and the Promissory description should match and also match the physical boundary markers. The obvious problem here is when someone dies their property is divided equally between their offspring so though you think it is one piece of land it can easily have been subdivided but the paperwork not updated and are often not updated till a sale is immanent as it costs money. It's why, on the promissory, the vendors details say they own the articles (with a description) and have the right to sell them.

Is the paperwork you have for this given to you by your lawyer as you are going through the buying process or from some other source?


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## Katy18167

*Katy18167*

It was given to me by the lawyer. And I think it is the topography report/map. Is there any way I could forward it to you to see? We have the deeds but I don't think we had the promissory contract! I could ask for it!


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