# residency card and car import



## portugaldreaming (Jul 10, 2016)

Hi there, I have just moved to Portugal after being here a few years ago, and will be applying for my Australian age pension.

Just a couple of clarifications. In order to import a car (for which I have all the details from this forum - cert. of conformity etc.), a residency card is one of the pre-requisites. 

I recently updated my passport to show my Portugal address and was given a "Certificado de Registo de Cidadao da Uniao Europeia" with Euro stars on an A4 size piece of paper. This is the residency card that is used for 5 years before applying for permanent residency?

And the next question is, if I import my car successfully, am I considered a tax resident regardless of whether I stay here for less than 183 days? 

Thanks for your attention!


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## RichardHenshall (Jul 26, 2009)

portugaldreaming said:


> ... And the next question is, if I import my car successfully, am I considered a tax resident regardless of whether I stay here for less than 183 days? ...


Ownership of a Portuguese registered vehicle does not make you a tax resident of Portugal.

See here for the usual requirements for tax residency.


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## portugaldreaming (Jul 10, 2016)

RichardHenshall said:


> Ownership of a Portuguese registered vehicle does not make you a tax resident of Portugal.
> 
> See here for the usual requirements for tax residency.


thanks for the document which is similar to others I have read. The key is in this paragraph (using google translate):

"Having stayed for less time, there they have, on any day of the period referred to in the preceding paragraph, *housing in conditions that suppose their current intention to maintain and occupy their habitual residence;* 

The bolded bit applies to me. I have no intention of keeping a rental property beyond 183 days. So theoretically, I could transfer my car into PT registration and keep it in storage for the time I am not here.


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

I'm not sure I understand the question but if you mean can you import & matriculate free of tax/matriculation fee the current process is: 

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...ificados/499-certificado-importacao-automovel 

Note: A resident of Portugal is NOT legally allowed to drive a foreign registered vehicle that has not begun the matriculation process.


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## portugaldreaming (Jul 10, 2016)

travelling-man said:


> I'm not sure I understand the question but if you mean can you import & matriculate free of tax/matriculation fee the current process is:
> 
> 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:
> 
> ...


Thanks TravellingMan, I think it was your original post that I already gleaned the material from. At the end of this post you say "A resident of Portugal is NOT legally allowed to drive a foreign registered vehicle that has not begun the matriculation process. "

What does "resident" mean in this instance? I have only been here for a few weeks and have my residency "card" - the piece of paper with Euro stars on it, that is given when the passport is updated with one's current address.
So am I legal or not? Should I get started on the matriculation process? I thought I had 6 months grace before that process started?


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

The document you refer to is called the Residencia & is valid for 5 years and it is that document that proves you to be a registered resident of Portugal so (legally) you may not drive a foreign registered car unless it has begun the matriculation process. 

You did have 6 months grace to begin the matriculation process but that changed in the last budget & you now have 12 months grace................ so the easy answer is to begin the matriculation process asap so that you can drive your car without breaking the law. 

Going slightly off topic, although they changed the grace period from 6 months to 12 months, they don't appear to have changed the law that says a foreign registered vehicle may only remain in Portugal for 6 months before either beginning the matriculation process or being removed back to the country of registration for a further 6 months.................... So welcome to the less that wonderful world of confusing variable Portuguese bureaucracy. lol!


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## portugaldreaming (Jul 10, 2016)

thanks for that confirmation TravellingMan, I best get cracking on the matriculation!


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## portugaldreaming (Jul 10, 2016)

Another factor that I have not seen mentioned anywhere in this forum is that you have to fill out a DAV form from Customs - a border recognition form of when one enters into the country with the vehicle. I showed them tollway receipts which they said would not suffice. Wondering how to establish that date "officially"

Also, "Peter" says in another post describing his import of a UK vehicle that he had to get a statutory declaration from the British consulate in Lisbon:

"Statuary Declaration this is a legal form that you have to have if you want to import your car without paying import tax. When you go to the Consulate you need, and I quote from the Consulate site: 
"This will be issued once you have taken a statutory declaration and on presentation of your passport, tax-payer’s ID card, your residence certificate and vehicle registration document " The fee for this bit of Paper is 157€."

I am wondering if I can get this. I am a dual UK/Australian citizen but my car is Swedish registered. I have most of the documents proving that I lived in Sweden for the past few years. 
Customs also requires:

"a. Application for ISV exemption, model 1460.1 (available on the customs portal - forms), duly signed to be submitted within six months, counting from the date of transfer of residence or of the termination of functions;

b. Certificate of official residence, proof in another EU state for a period of 6 months, issued by the entity administered with compentencia for the control of inhabitants or, if there is no consular certificate stating the date of commencement and cessation of residence."

I do not have the above documents because I was only ever a regular visitor to Sweden for less than six months. But I have plenty of invoices and bank statements to prove that I was there. Customs are very pedantic about this certificate however, and so far calls to Swedish consulate and Swedish finance have drawn blanks.


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## RichardHenshall (Jul 26, 2009)

portugaldreaming said:


> ... I do not have the above documents because I was only ever a regular visitor to Sweden for less than six months. ...


AFAIK the ISV-free import concessions are specifically for those who are moving their country of residence (and bringing their possessions). It would appear that you will probably not qualify as you owned the car in a country where you were not resident.


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

To get the tax free matriculation you need to have owned it & been a registered resident in the country of registration for at least 6 months


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## portugaldreaming (Jul 10, 2016)

Yes, I have owned it there for over two years. When I read all the info on this forum before I left, there was no mention of the "registered resident" status, I guess it is assumed that most people are not in my position. 

Thanks for both these replies, I will still keep asking, they may make an exception for me as I am also applying for Australian pension from Portugal. Have also already spent 100 euros on conformity certificate. Failing that, and not wanting to make the three day trip back again to Sweden, I could sell it to a Swedish national who could drive it back.


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

Don't hold your breath on them making an exception for you.


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## portugaldreaming (Jul 10, 2016)

Latest update in the DAV application, which I have put on hold now. The only document I am missing is the first criteria, the certificate of residence, which I cannot get because I was not a resident of the country I resided in before driving here. 

The second piece of strange information I got today, when a local Portuguese friend rang customs: If you apply for the DAV and fail to qualify for no tax on the import, then you do not have a choice to take the car back to the originating country - you have to pay the import tax. I worked out that my humble old 2002 Volvo that is worth 3,300 euros, would be due for 14,389 euros tax! LOL!

I said to my friend, are you sure, that does not sound right? She said the person on the phone told her this several times as other expats have been caught out on this. Its seems a bit weird that you do not have a choice to take the car back to the country of origin. I have asked her to see if she can find this in writing somewhere on the web. I might have to nip this sorry saga in the bud.


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## RichardHenshall (Jul 26, 2009)

I have no idea about this issue in Portugal but I can imagine that it might be difficult to backtrack if the vehicle has been formally exported from its original country. It would then be in some kind of limbo.


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## portugaldreaming (Jul 10, 2016)

If it fails the DAV it seems to me that no "formal export" has taken place.


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## RichardHenshall (Jul 26, 2009)

FWIW this UK Government document states the following:

_"If your application for tax-free importation is turned down, you will be notified by the Customs authority and have to declare to them, within a period of 30 days, what you intend to do with the vehicle."_

No indication that you are without the choice to abandon importation.


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## portugaldreaming (Jul 10, 2016)

thanks, now that sounds a bit more reasonable! A classic case of conflicting information in government departments in this country!


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