A foreign car in Spain?

Q.

I was interested in your recent article on using a non-Spanish registered vehicle in Spain. The Local Police stopped me in my UK plated car. I said I had been driving for two months in Spain, which was true. They told me that I was only allowed one month before I need to register the car as a Spanish vehicle. They sent me to the Customs office at Malaga who told me I had to import my car and pay taxes, or return it to the UK. Your article said I am allowed 12 months on UK plates in Spain. Which is correct?

W.S. (Costa del Sol)


A.

Are you a tourist or a resident? As a tourist, you have six months in a calendar year to operate a foreign-registered car in Spain. If you arrive July 1, you have six months in that year, and the first six months of the following year. If you intend to take up residence in Spain, you can import your car tax-free but you must do this within 30 days of the date on your residence certificate. That is where the police got the 30 days.

Send your questions for David Searl through lawyers Ubeda-Retana and Associates in Fuengirola at Ask@lawtaxspain.com, or call 952 667 090.

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David Searl

You and the law in spain Send your questions for David Searl through lawyers Ubeda-Retana and Associates in Fuengirola at Ask@lawtaxspain.com, or call 952 667 090.

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