Foreign registered cars - whats the downside?

[Octopus]

What is the downside of just driving around forever and a day on foreign plates?

The price of cars in Portugal is disgraceful so there is obviously a massive financial incentive not to bother. Why would anyone choose to buy and use a Portuguese car... am I missing something here? I've been ticketed for speeding once, and pulled over loads of times, and they cops don't care that my cars have been foreign registered. They have never once asked how long I've had them here, or anything along those lines.

So can anyone tell me why I should drive around in an expensive Portuguese bought car... as I honestly can't see a single valid reason for doing so...

[ron5000]

Tin hat time

[widge]

Temporary Admission of Motor Vehicles

An EU-registered motor vehicle (including light goods vehicles, trailers, caravans, motorhomes and motorcycles) may be kept in Portugal for 183 days, consecutive or otherwise, in any one period of 12 months, provided all of the following conditions are met:

• The vehicle has been registered definitively in another EU member state;

• the vehicle is registered in the name of a person who is not resident, employed or carrying out any type of paid activity in Portugal, and

• the vehicle is brought into Portugal by its registered owner or keeper.

Vehicles brought into Portugal temporarily may only be driven by their owners, their owner’s spouse or common-law spouse, their owner’s parents or children or their registered keeper, provided none of these individuals are resident, employed or carrying out paid activity in Portugal.

Under the temporary admission regime, foreign residents in Portugal may only use a foreign-registered vehicle if so authorised by the Customs authority.

For the purpose of the legislation on the temporary admission of motor vehicles into Portugal, a resident is defined as spending a period of at least 183 days or more, consecutively or otherwise, in any one calendar year, in Portugal, or whose source of income from paid employment is in Portugal, or whose headquarters or established business activity is in Portugal.

[cereza]

What is the downside of just driving around forever and a day on foreign plates?

The price of cars in Portugal is disgraceful so there is obviously a massive financial incentive not to bother. Why would anyone choose to buy and use a Portuguese car... am I missing something here? I've been ticketed for speeding once, and pulled over loads of times, and they cops don't care that my cars have been foreign registered. They have never once asked how long I've had them here, or anything along those lines.

So can anyone tell me why I should drive around in an expensive Portuguese bought car... as I honestly can't see a single valid reason for doing so...

If they catch you they'll have you by the tentacles - then you'll start squealing ! !

[laserblazer]

And they are tightening up. It's a revenue generator.

[Bruce Wallis]

Personal experience......

For 2 consecutive years I brought my UK reg car down here for 4 months.

Hardly a week went by when, if I used roads like the in road from Lagoa, or the N125, when I didn't get pulled over and have my documents checked.

The GNR made it very obvious that they were logging me, and the duration of the cars stay in Portugal.
At times they asked for proof of my crossing into Europe from the UK, they asked to see my fiscal, and generally, at times got quite officious....often breathalising me or my wife in the middle of the day.

When we came back for the 2nd stint, they wanted evidence that we had left for 6 months after the 1st stint.

Only rarely did they get anal, usually polite and charming, but there is no doubt they are on the case.

The penalty for over staying can range from confiscation of the vehicle, to a hefty fine.

The net result of this????

We bit the bullet, and bought a small Portuguese registered car.

.......life is so much easier

[cereza]

And they are tightening up.

What? - Octupus's tentacles ?

[sunman]

a good friend has been driving UK reg cars in the Algarve for 25 years without any problem at all; he thinks that as long as you have off road parking and don't use the vehicle for business you're fine

oh, and I think EMM must be on holiday

[Bruce Wallis]

a good friend has been driving UK reg cars in the Algarve for 25 years without any problem at all; he thinks that as long as you have off road parking and don't use the vehicle for business you're fine

oh, and I think EMM must be on holiday

Dont you believe it......

The first time they stop him and find that he has no valid tax or insurance they will throw the book at him!!

He's just been very lucky...probably avoids main roads, and certainly the airport!!

[EMM]

Any one can see numbers of Uk reg cars around with out of date tax discs, probably no MOT and therefore minimal if any insurance. There are those who keep their UK cars in their driveways for months at a time and those who just ignore the rules after all how dare the Portguese tell us what to do in their own country.
At the end of the day they all deserve what they get when the law catches up with them.
We know of a few who were given 24hrs to get their vehicles out of Portugal or lose them.
You break the rules you pay the fines.
Anyone realised that the A22 sensors can record reg numbers and are a way of the authorities finding out just how long your UK reg vehicle has been in Portugal if they wanted to.

[Octopus]

Temporary Admission of Motor Vehicles

An EU-registered motor vehicle (including light goods vehicles, trailers, caravans, motorhomes and motorcycles) may be kept in Portugal for 183 days, consecutive or otherwise, in any one period of 12 months, provided all of the following conditions are met:

• The vehicle has been registered definitively in another EU member state;

• the vehicle is registered in the name of a person who is not resident, employed or carrying out any type of paid activity in Portugal, and

• the vehicle is brought into Portugal by its registered owner or keeper.

Vehicles brought into Portugal temporarily may only be driven by their owners, their owner’s spouse or common-law spouse, their owner’s parents or children or their registered keeper, provided none of these individuals are resident, employed or carrying out paid activity in Portugal.

Under the temporary admission regime, foreign residents in Portugal may only use a foreign-registered vehicle if so authorised by the Customs authority.

For the purpose of the legislation on the temporary admission of motor vehicles into Portugal, a resident is defined as spending a period of at least 183 days or more, consecutively or otherwise, in any one calendar year, in Portugal, or whose source of income from paid employment is in Portugal, or whose headquarters or established business activity is in Portugal.

It would be hard to even apply those rules to cars that are not owned by a person. Technically I don't own my own car... my company does. So the rules about only being able to be driven by the owner and their spouse/children etc are now useless.

And with the 183 days in a year thing... unless you have a cop specifically out to get you then how can they possibly enforce this? With no borders around Europe and us being so close to Spain here its going to be a nightmare job to prove your car was or wasn't in Portugal at any specific time.

[EMM]

I bet there is a technicality that states the company owned cars must therefore be in Portugal on business and subject to the same rules if not more stringent ones.
Once you are stopped and on the record the "onus " is on you to prove that the car has been out of Portugal for 6 months, a day trip to Spain is not enough.

It strikes me that given the atitude in the UK to foreign reg cars that flout UK rules and the large numbers of illegal uninsured drivers etc that there are some who live in Portugal are happy to break the law or would they be just as bad back in the UK.

[matoserrao99]

Its simple,
you are breaking the law.
If they catch you - they'll throw the book at you.

If the worse happens and you have an accident or kill someone - they'll investigate and you won't be insured.
They will ask you for proof of the cars time in and out of Portugal, date car logged in with customs, service receipts, uk tax/mot, insurance, petrol receipts from your journey across Europe, ferry tickets etc.

An uninsured driver injuring or killing someone in Portugal will face a minimum 10 years in prison.
After which you'll be deported.
They also have several Portuguese civil codes a lot like muslim law - i.e they injured person / or their family if you cause a death will sue you for compensation for the loss - possibly running into millions, a minimum of 50,000 for a death.
All of your Portuguese assets will be seized / frozen etc etc.

All because you think you know better than the law - what a wanker - you've just been lucky so far.

[widge]

Temporary Admission of Motor Vehicles

An EU-registered motor vehicle (including light goods vehicles, trailers, caravans, motorhomes and motorcycles) may be kept in Portugal for 183 days, consecutive or otherwise, in any one period of 12 months, provided all of the following conditions are met:

• The vehicle has been registered definitively in another EU member state;

• the vehicle is registered in the name of a person who is not resident, employed or carrying out any type of paid activity in Portugal, and

• the vehicle is brought into Portugal by its registered owner or keeper.

Vehicles brought into Portugal temporarily may only be driven by their owners, their owner’s spouse or common-law spouse, their owner’s parents or children or their registered keeper, provided none of these individuals are resident, employed or carrying out paid activity in Portugal.

Octopus you didn't read my post properly; if you had it would be obvious to you that you are in breach of the law.

I don't think you read my post octopus, if you did, read it again ; you clearly don't comply with the law & if caught will be in deep dodo!

Under the temporary admission regime, foreign residents in Portugal may only use a foreign-registered vehicle if so authorised by the Customs authority.

For the purpose of the legislation on the temporary admission of motor vehicles into Portugal, a resident is defined as spending a period of at least 183 days or more, consecutively or otherwise, in any one calendar year, in Portugal, or whose source of income from paid employment is in Portugal, or whose headquarters or established business activity is in Portugal.

It would be hard to even apply those rules to cars that are not owned by a person. Technically I don't own my own car... my company does. So the rules about only being able to be driven by the owner and their spouse/children etc are now useless.

And with the 183 days in a year thing... unless you have a cop specifically out to get you then how can they possibly enforce this? With no borders around Europe and us being so close to Spain here its going to be a nightmare job to prove your car was or wasn't in Portugal at any specific time.

[Octopus]

If the worse happens and you have an accident or kill someone - they'll investigate and you won't be insured.

I will be insured - my insurance company are happy for me to spend as long as I like, in any country I like.

They will ask you for proof of the cars time in and out of Portugal, date car logged in with customs, service receipts, uk tax/mot, insurance, petrol receipts from your journey across Europe, ferry tickets etc.

I couldn't even prove my car was in Portugal last week, never mind not in it through the last 6 months. My car is on Czech plates. I can drive from here to there and back without going through customs once. What is insurance going to prove? Its legally insured through a legit insurance company in the cars country of registration. I don't keep petrol receipts, but if you wanted to be devious about it it would be a simple process to have a family member somewhere else save up their own receipts and post them to you

Service receipts aren't going to help you either - my car is being serviced in Portugal this week. All that receipt tells you is it needed doing while I was here. It could have needed done while I was in Prague for 3 days and it would be stamped as there.

An uninsured driver injuring or killing someone in Portugal will face a minimum 10 years in prison.
After which you'll be deported.

Sounds like nonsense to me... I can forget to renew my insurance, rear end someone and give them a broken pinkie and get 10 years prison?

All because you think you know better than the law - what a wanker - you've just been lucky so far.

Nice to see you're capable of having an adult discussion about it