Driving Back to the UK??

Hi all Eyeonspain members,

Is there anybody out there driving back to the UK who would like to share travelling costs??  I am man with small dog (Jack Russell) needing to hitch a lift back as soon as possible - I own a Spanish car myself and after reading information on DVLA website realise I'm not allowed to drive it back to the UK........Doh!!

Why on earth could you not drive your car to the UK? Is it road legal in Spain? Do you have insurance? You need to go back and read the DVLA information again.

More importantly, is your dog fully prepared to travel? He needs his passport and all vaccinations up to date. Full details available from DEFRA's website.

(repeated post)

My brother has re-reg'ed his UK car in spain but he still is able to drive it back through any EU country, he pays all his Spanish taxes and is legal to drive back through France & Spain, you will have more to do making sure the dog is legal to get back in the UK

Hi Roberto,

Have definitely read the DVLA site properly, if you go to their page regarding importing a vehicle and scroll down the page it states quite clearly if you are a UK resident you are not allowed to drive a foreign plated car in the UK under any circumstances and the authorities actually have the rights to confiscate and crush the car the same as can be done to English cars if no car tax is displayed.....Inglaterra tiene vida muy complicada......

Iznalloz, are you resident in Spain?  If you are, then there appears to be no problem.

No, not a Spanish resident, so therefore am unable to drive a foreign plated car in the UK...

I apologise, I wrongly assumed you were resident in Spain. I understand the dilemna now - a typical bit of EU bureaucratic idiocy.

Are you intending to import & register the car in the UK? If so, I suggest you speak to your insurance company. They may be able to advise you on how to get around this problem and possibly issue temporary insurance so you can drive it home from the port of entry, pending registration.

If it's only a temporary visit, then as long as the car is properly taxed and registered in Spain and you have insurance cover to drive in the UK, if anyone asks, you're resident in Spain. Not that anyone is likely to ask. I've taken my (Spanish reg) car to the UK before and no one has ever asked me to prove I'm not a UK resident.

Hi again,

Thank you for your input.  I am a totally law abiding citizen and never do anything I'm not legally allowed to do, unfortunately for me were I to try and take a chance with something like this it would be 'sod's law' that I'd be stopped by the British police.  I understand there has been a bit of a clamp down on foreign plated cars being driven by UK residents, in fact I believe I read something on this forum earlier this year, apparently the police force in the UK called it 'Operation Andover.'  Foreign plated cars driven by UK residents were being impounded and either a hefty fine imposed or car to the crusher....not a risk I'm prepared to take.

I  initially started this thread hoping to share costs of a ride back to the UK but so far no response to that part of the thread........

Iznalloz, where will you be departing from?  It may help you get a response if you mention where you are in Spain.

Check out the "moving to Spain" section - there are a couple of people going back to UK who may be able to help ...

Many thanks to all, I am based 20 minutes north of Granada - village is called Iznalloz.....