Question regarding visit to Ireland

keithclancy

Just a quick one.

I'll be in Ireland for 6 months from December until may.

I'll be taking my Dutch plated car with me for that period and will be commuting over and back by plane to Germany. My house in the Netherlands will remain my primary residence for registration.

If I get stopped by customs what are the best documents to show them that I don't live in Ireland ?

I know i'm not liable for VRT as I'm not resident there, I'm just wondering what to carry in the car that's sufficient to get the least amount of time being hassled by customs without having to carry reams of paper around with me.

dieselbug

Drivers licence (great if it's Dutch) passport maybe. Definitely a couple of utility bills cofirming your Dutch residence.

Once you are tracable that's what's important.
They need to be satisfied they can find you if need's be.

Sabre Man

Car insurance with your name and address in the Netherlands?

What will you be doing in Ireland? Do you perhaps have a temporary work contract you can bring with you?

ironclaw

Assuming you are permanently employed in the Netherlands, I'd carry a letter from the employer stating the same along with your residency there. Seems to satisfy most officers. The more the better!

biko

Any fordener I know of that got stopped in a fordner car just produced their fordner licence and that was it.
I suppose it helps to have clear insurance documents but I don't think it's required.

Are you Dutch or Irish living presently in NL? If you're Irish it could be more tricky as Irish people aren't supposed to drive fordner cars over here (mainly UK cars but still).

CiniO

I can't really advice OP as I just don't know what documents are most suitable, but IMO it should be the other way.
Not OP should be forced to prove his innocency by carrying god knows what documents, but customs should be able to prove that he is resident in Ireland and illegaly driving his foreign car if they wanted to prosecute him for it (f.e. by proving he was working and living in Ireland for more than 183 days in a year, etc).

Just my 3 cents.

biko

Let's focus on how it is and not on how it should be.
That will keep this thread on information rather than a wish list.

CiniO

Well afaik OP is Irish.
Probably carrying ferry ticket confirming when he arrived would be handy, as well as his dutch bank statement or sth similar to confirm he lived there up until he moved here.

Marcusm

IN any event, you are supposed to carry your registration document and insurance certificate around as in "international traffic". On my extended stays in Ireland, I tend to leave these at home but always have my UK licence with UK address plus a recent utility bill. The only time I was stopped was at a mandatory drink driving check point and they didn';t want any of it. The car had been in Ireland about 18 months at that stage (with me travelling over and back from time to time).

keithclancy

Mmm ... Well I still have an Irish license (i'm Irish), it expires in 2 years, I'll renew it then for a Dutch one. They advised in the City Hall here that its valid until the expiry date as its an EU License.

Most of my bills are electronic, Gas, Electric, Water, Cable Internet.
Bank statements also.
My Insurance is Dutch with my Dutch Address on it.

I work permanently in Germany on a German Contract ... Does that even matter?!

Been living in the Netherlands for 7 years.

biko

Irish person (Irish licence) driving foreign car is usually a no-no, as I said earlier.
Some info here http://vrt.ie/vrtDetail.php?page=23

The vehicle may not in any circumstances be driven by a State resident.

BUT, since you're not resident here any more it can get tricky

keithclancy

biko wrote: »

Irish person (Irish licence) driving foreign car is usually a no-no, as I said earlier.
Some info here http://vrt.ie/vrtDetail.php?page=23

BUT, since you're not resident here any more it can get tricky

I don't think being Irish or having an Irish license has anything to do with it.

Or at least according to that link anyway

dieselbug

keithclancy wrote: »

Mmm ... Well I still have an Irish license (i'm Irish), it expires in 2 years, I'll renew it then for a Dutch one. They advised in the City Hall here that its valid until the expiry date as its an EU License.

Most of my bills are electronic, Gas, Electric, Water, Cable Internet.
Bank statements also.
My Insurance is Dutch with my Dutch Address on it.

I work permanently in Germany on a German Contract ... Does that even matter?!

Been living in the Netherlands for 7 years.

Might be better not to mention water bills, bit of a sore point.

CiniO

keithclancy wrote: »

I don't think being Irish or having an Irish license has anything to do with it.

Or at least according to that link anyway

It has absolutely nothing to do with it.
What matters is residency.
If you are resident in Ireland - you can't drive foreign registered car, except if you are just importing it, and planning to finish importation procedure (inspection, VRT) then you can drive it up to 30 days before this procedure is finished.

If you are not Irish resident, then you can drive foreign registered car, but I think car can not stay in Ireland for more than 12 months, and you can not become resident during that time.


Nationality or licence you have, has nothing to do with it, but it's surely easier for foreign national with foreign licence to prove they are not resident in Ireland than Irish national with Irish licence.

ardmacha

CiniO wrote: »

Nationality or licence you have, has nothing to do with it, but it's surely easier for foreign national with foreign licence to prove they are not resident in Ireland than Irish national with Irish licence.

If you have an Irish licence with some Irish address on it, then there is kind of presumption that you live there.

JohnBoy26

biko wrote: »

Let's focus on how it is and not on how it should be.
That will keep this thread on information rather than a wish list.

biko wrote: »

Any fordener I know of that got stopped in a fordner car just produced their fordner licence and that was it.
I suppose it helps to have clear insurance documents but I don't think it's required.

Are you Dutch or Irish living presently in NL? If you're Irish it could be more tricky as Irish people aren't supposed to drive fordner cars over here (mainly UK cars but still).

Which isn't this when the op is not a resident in Ireland. Also how is this mainly confined to UK cars? Does the law not cover all foreign reg vehicles being driven by residents?

CiniO

ardmacha wrote: »

If you have an Irish licence with some Irish address on it, then there is kind of presumption that you live there.

You can't have any different address on Irish licence than Irish address, so no option for foreign resident to change it.
Also there is no requirement to have up-to-date address on Irish licence...

So having an Irish licence with Irish address is hardly any proof or indication that person is resident in Ireland.

Marcusm

keithclancy wrote: »

Mmm ... Well I still have an Irish license (i'm Irish), it expires in 2 years, I'll renew it then for a Dutch one. They advised in the City Hall here that its valid until the expiry date as its an EU License.

Most of my bills are electronic, Gas, Electric, Water, Cable Internet.
Bank statements also.
My Insurance is Dutch with my Dutch Address on it.

I work permanently in Germany on a German Contract ... Does that even matter?!

Been living in the Netherlands for 7 years.

You have your Dutch residence or ID card? Dutch or GErman bank cards? I suspect these would be sufficient unless someone clocks you for each of the 6 months (such as in a small town or village) and pulls you to see if you are taking the piss. That together with reg cert, insurance, print out of ferry ticket booking should do for most Guards or customs, I would expect. I take it as read that you are back for a specific reason for the 6 months and are perfectly happy to disclose this to the authorities. You are simply exercising your rights and have an entitlement to do so. It's not that you are relocating the car for 6 months, allowing family members to drive it while you are flying over occasionally.

Del2005

Could you not contact Revenue and ask what documents you need to prove that you aren't resident or do you need to get a temporary exemption?

braddun

The vehicle may not in any circumstances be driven by a State resident


The vehicle may not be disposed of or hired out in the State or lent to a State resident

The period of time that the vehicle is in the State does not exceed 12 months

pa990

keithclancy wrote: »

Just a quick one.

I'll be in Ireland for 6 months from December until may.

I'll be taking my Dutch plated car with me for that period and will be commuting over and back by plane to Germany. My house in the Netherlands will remain my primary residence for registration.

If I get stopped by customs what are the best documents to show them that I don't live in Ireland ?

I know i'm not liable for VRT as I'm not resident there, I'm just wondering what to carry in the car that's sufficient to get the least amount of time being hassled by customs without having to carry reams of paper around with me.

Just leave a few utility bills in the glove box... that or give me a call

Mikko Mallikas

Don´t have time to write anything in detail, but have a read of this thread on my experiences.http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056523114