# Car - How long



## spanish_nomad (Sep 12, 2016)

Hi 

We went to Spain with our car on the 30th August 2016.

We stayed in Los Gallardos and Manilva for 153 days.

On the 8th February 2017 we moved to Portugal - with the intention of staying until 8th April 2017.

Total time in Spain/Portugal is 222 days or 7 months and 10 days.

In total we spent approx 5 months in Spain and 2 months in Portugal. 

We entered Portugal from the 29th Jan 2017 and leave on 8th April 2017 (70 days).

At the time of writing we are less than 6 months in total.

From the research we have done, as UK citizens we believed we could spend 6 months in Spain with our car and six months in Portugal with our car.

Today we got stopped by the police and we had to show documents.

Whilst the police were happy, with the exception of not having the ferry ticket for us and the car from Portsmouth to Bilbao.

My question is can we have 6 months in Spain with our car and 6 months in Portugal with our car. Some of these days are in 2016 and some are in 2017.

We don’t want to break any laws.

Question is the 6 months allowed in Spain seperate from the 6 months in Portugal or is the 6 months cumulative.

Thanks for reading.


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

The short answer is you're allowed to keep your foreign registered car in Portugal for 180 days before removing it back to it's country of registration for a further 180 days but remember it must be taxed, tested & insured in it's country of registration all the while it's here. 

If you get caught with an overstayed vehicle or if it's not currently taxed, tested & insured then the cops have the right (and often do) confiscate the car on a permanent basis. 

Hopping from Portugal to Spain & back again etc does not renew that 180 day requirement.


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## spanish_nomad (Sep 12, 2016)

Thanks. We did research this and we came to the same conclusion.

We were stopped today and asked for our documents. 

Everyone was polite - but we found it unnerving.

We are only going to be in Portugal for slightly more than 2 months - so hopefully we will be in compliance.

We found it very difficult to find an exact answer on the internet to reflect our circumstance.

Many thanks for your help.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

spanish_nomad said:


> Thanks. We did research this and we came to the same conclusion.
> 
> We were stopped today and asked for our documents.
> 
> ...


Sorry but you won't. Read TM's post carefully. Out of UK for 6 months and it has to go back to UK for six months. Your 180 days out of the UK is up on the 28th February.


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

baldilocks said:


> Sorry but you won't. Read TM's post carefully. Out of UK for 6 months and it has to go back to UK for six months. Your 180 days out of the UK is up on the 28th February.


Quite correct. 

The UK insurance will almost certainly only cover you for a total of 6 months out of the UK (it'll probably be tucked away in the small print) so after that, you have no insurance on the vehicle either.


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## spanish_nomad (Sep 12, 2016)

Thanks for the quick responses.

Our insurance is not an issue - we bought a socialist policy it states:

"Geographic Limits
The policy gives the policy cover selected by you without limit of time across all of the 28 states of the EU plus three that are not fNorway, Switzerland and Serbia) if a country not included is required please contact us to see if we are able to accommodate you."

The issue is as described in my original post.


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

The car can stay 6 months in Portugal if it has UK tax, test & MOT for the duration but then you must return it to the UK for at least a further 6 months before returning it to Portugal. 

Sorry if I didn't make myself clearer.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

travelling-man said:


> The car can stay 6 months in Portugal if it has UK tax, test & MOT for the duration but then you must return it to the UK for at least a further 6 months before returning it to Portugal.
> 
> Sorry if I didn't make myself clearer.


But he has already spent x amount of time out of the UK in Spain which has to be deducted from his initial 6 months out of the UK.


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

baldilocks said:


> But he has already spent x amount of time out of the UK in Spain which has to be deducted from his initial 6 months out of the UK.



Hmmmmmm........That's a VERY good point but as I understand it PORTUGUESE law says 180 days in Portugal before returning to country of registration.

However, as you effectively point out UK & EU law may well dictate 6 months out of the country of registration....... I'm not sure which would rule nor whether it'd be enforced or is enforceable..


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## Strontium (Sep 16, 2015)

You are OK, Your car is less than 12 months total out of UK, - V5, insurance, tax, MOT in date all the time - less than 6 months Spain, less than 6 month PT. Return ticket is only so they know when you will be leaving.




_*DVLA says Taking a vehicle out of the UK




2. For less than 12 months

Take your V5C (log book) with you if you’re taking your vehicle abroad for less than 12 months (also known as temporary export). If your V5C needs updating, allow 6 weeks before you travel to get it back in time.

UK-registered vehicles that are exported temporarily remain subject to UK law. That means you need to make sure it’s taxed in the UK while it’s abroad.

To do this you’ll need a current MOT certificate and insurance.

You’ll also need to make sure you meet any international or national conditions for licensing and taxation.*_




ttps://www.gov.uk/taking-vehicles-out-of-uk/for-less-than-12-months


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