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Relocating

Posted: Wed May 18, 2022 3:02pm
6 replies175 views2 members subscribed
Cordas

Posts: 12

2 helpful points

Location: La Florida

Joined: 21 Apr 2022

Buying a property in Spain, we plan after getting all the paperwork sorted out ie visas

Bank account etc, to drive over via ferry bring with us our dogs .

Being a resident which we would be , we can’t drive unless we have Spanish driving licence ! How do we get over this …..Help .Thank you 

tebo53

Posted: Wed May 18, 2022 3:13pm

tebo53

Legendary helpful member

Posts: 4776

4960 helpful points

Location: Benidorm

Joined: 29 May 2018

Posted: Wed May 18, 2022 3:13pm

Cordas wrote on Wed May 18, 2022 3:02pm:

Buying a property in Spain, we plan after getting all the paperwork sorted out ie visas

Bank account etc, to drive over via ferry bring with us our dogs .

Being a resident which we would be , we can’t drive unless we have Spanish driving licence ! How do we get over this …..Help .Thank you 

You can't get over the fact that you will need to take the Spanish driving test. I understand that the theory can be taken in English but you will need to learn a certain amount of Spanish driving instructions.

Best book into a Spanish driving school asap.

Steve 

Cheryl

Posted: Wed May 18, 2022 4:26pm

Cheryl

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Posts: 2973

3533 helpful points

Location: Albatera

Joined: 8 Jun 2017

Posted: Wed May 18, 2022 4:26pm

You have 6 months to pass the driving test here so as Steve suggests I would start looking at theory questions now and find a driving school to start the ball rolling as I imagine there is a waiting list.

PeterPan

Posted: Wed May 18, 2022 4:34pm

PeterPan

Very helpful member

Posts: 640

580 helpful points

Location: Almoradí

Joined: 1 Aug 2020

Posted: Wed May 18, 2022 4:34pm

Cordas wrote on Wed May 18, 2022 3:02pm:

Buying a property in Spain, we plan after getting all the paperwork sorted out ie visas

Bank account etc, to drive over via ferry bring with us our dogs .

Being a resident which we would be , we can’t drive unless we have Spanish driving licence ! How do we get over this …..Help .Thank you 

You'll be able to use your UK driving licence for up to 6 months after becoming resident. 

There is still a chance that the UK government may relent and allow Spain access to their driver database, which would allow the exchange of driving licenses. However, as Steve has pointed out, you may need to take a Spanish driving test within 6 months. There is a long waiting list for the tests and you would be advised to get yourselves book in early.

On the upside, if you pass your test, you will have a UK licence & Spanish licence.

Good luck.

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Darro

Posted: Wed May 18, 2022 4:42pm

Darro

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Posts: 1452

1260 helpful points

Location: Catral

Joined: 8 Sep 2021

Posted: Wed May 18, 2022 4:42pm

Your licence is not the problem as you have 6 months from date of arrival to take a Spanish test.

More of an issue is that as Spanish residents you are not permitted to drive a foreign registered vehicle plus your UK insurance is in question as normally UK residence it a prime requirement.

You have a legal and contractual obligation to inform your insurer of any material change in your circumstances and changing country of residency is about as significant as it can get so don't make the mistake of thinking that saying stum means everything will be fine. 

TBH it's difficult to envisage how you can do what you propose legally. One option, once you actually have your residency (TIE) which of course means being in Spain, would be to buy a Spanish car and drive it back to UK to collect your dogs.

Alternatively you could get shot off your car in UK and fly to Spain using a pet courier to transport the dogs for you.

Another option would be to drive down with them BEFORE you actually switch residency then leave them in kennels or whatever while you return to UK for your visas.

 A tricky one.

PeterPan

Posted: Wed May 18, 2022 11:09pm

PeterPan

Very helpful member

Posts: 640

580 helpful points

Location: Almoradí

Joined: 1 Aug 2020

Posted: Wed May 18, 2022 11:09pm

Darro wrote on Wed May 18, 2022 4:42pm:

Your licence is not the problem as you have 6 months from date of arrival to take a Spanish test.

More of an issue is that as Spanish residents you are not permitted to drive a foreign registered vehicle plus your UK insurance is in question as normally UK residence it a prime requirement.

You have a legal and contractual obligation to inform your insurer of any material change in your circumstances and changing country of residency is about as significant as it can get so don't make the mistake of thinking that saying stum means everything will be fine. 

TBH it's difficult to envisage how you can do what you propose legally. One option, once you actually have your residency (TIE) which of course means being in Spain, would be to buy a Spanish car and drive it back to UK to collect your dogs.

Alternatively you could get shot off your car in UK and fly to Spain using a pet courier to transport the dogs for you.

Another option would be to drive down with them BEFORE you actually switch residency then leave them in kennels or whatever while you return to UK for your visas.

 A tricky one.

You will have at least 1 month to matriculate your UK vehicle onto Spanish plates. There are many company's that could assist you with this and, while not in your area, I would strongly recommend the likes of https://www.spanish-number-plates.com/ Leigh (Graham has retired) is an expert and sorted our car while we returned to the UK. There are others nearer but make sure you understand the process.

Your UK licence will be OK during the matriculation process and you will probably find that the Spanish insurance is a little cheaper & includes breakdown cover. We found road tax a lot cheaper from £260 to 87 euro. You'll need to alter the Spanish insurance when you become resident and the car has been matriculated but your broker will advise.

Good luck with your journey.

As an aside....Spanish residents are allowed to drive UK cars, as long as they do not own them. I'll leave that for you to think about.

Golandrina

Posted: Fri May 20, 2022 6:30am

Golandrina

Super helpful member

Posts: 1633

1209 helpful points

Location: Almoradí

Joined: 24 Mar 2018

Posted: Fri May 20, 2022 6:30am

It may help if you have a look at the N332 website which is run in collaboration with officers of the Guardia Civil for English speaking people, and the Trafico department of the Guardia Civil deals with anything to do with driving in Spain.   It has an English version of the Spanish equivalent of the Highway Code.   

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