Driving an English car in Northern Ireland

Teddykins89

Hi Folks,

I am new to this so please bare with me....

My girlfriend is English and drives and English car.
She plans to live in ROI and commute to NI for about 10 months.
I have 3 questions....

1. Can English cars be driven in NI without having to register the vehicles there?

2. Will she be able to get insured on an English/NI registered vehicle with an ROI address?

3. Will she be able to live in ROI and drive an NI reg car without registering it in ROI?


Thanks in advance folks.....

foggy_lad

Teddykins89 wrote: »

Hi Folks,

I am new to this so please bare with me....

My girlfriend is English and drives and English car.
She plans to live in ROI and commute to NI for about 10 months.
I have 3 questions....

1. Can English cars be driven in NI without having to register the vehicles there?

2. Will she be able to get insured on an English/NI registered vehicle with an ROI address?

3. Will she be able to live in ROI and drive an NI reg car without registering it in ROI?


Thanks in advance folks.....

AFAIK She will have to register a NI or UK registered car here if she is living here. She will most likely be stopped by Customs near the border at some stage and questioned about the vehicle and where she is working/living and they may fine her on top of having to pay the VRT or confiscate the vehicle until it is all paid.

newacc2015

If she has owned the car for more than 6 months. I think she can register the car in ROI without having to pay VRT AFAIK. I dont think an insurance company would insure a UK car, as you arent supposed to drive it. But I would phone an insurance broker and ask. They are far more upfront than insurance companies IMO

Victor

Teddykins89 wrote: »

1. Can English cars be driven in NI without having to register the vehicles there?

Generally yes.

2. Will she be able to get insured on an English/NI registered vehicle with an ROI address?

No. Note there are also motor tax and car test issues.

3. Will she be able to live in ROI and drive an NI reg car without registering it in ROI?

No.

Note that if it is more than about a year old and you haven't lived in Ireland in the last year that you will pay a reduced rate of VRT.

http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/vrt/faqs-vrt.html
http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/vrt/leaflets/tax-relief-transfer-residence.html

slimjimmc

Check with Revenue if she qualifies for a temporary exemption from having to register the car in Ireland for the first 12 months, eg if her personal ties (family, etc) are outside the State she may be considered a non-resident. Revenue will make that determination based on an assessment of her particular situation.
http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/vrt/leaflets/temporary-exemption-foreign-registered.html

As for the tax and MOT, it would remain valid until it expired normally while on UK plates. If she renews just before she comes here then she'll have a full 12 months to play with before next renewal which would cover the temp exemption period nicely. UK road tax applies only to using UK roads so Gardai aren't going to be bothered if it did expire while she was here.

Atlantic Dawn

If she lives in Republic Of Ireland for less than 6 months of the year she's fine, if not the car can be seized.

Nichard Dixon

slimjimmc wrote: »

UK road tax applies only to using UK roads so Gardai aren't going to be bothered if it did expire while she was here.

This isn't true. The best you can say is that now that discs have been done away with that it is more trouble for the Gardai to see that you have no tax. Also the temporary exemption from the Revenue is entirely conditional on all formalities being attended to, the exemption from Irish motor tax is on the basis that all taxes have been paid elsewhere. So the Gadai could sieze your car for no tax and the Revenue for not having complied with the conditions of the exemption. Given the relatively low rates of motor tax in the UK it would be simpler just to pay it.

newacc2015

newacc2015 wrote: »

If she has owned the car for more than 6 months. I think she can register the car in ROI without having to pay VRT AFAIK. I dont think an insurance company would insure a UK car, as you arent supposed to drive it. But I would phone an insurance broker and ask. They are far more upfront than insurance companies IMO

When we brought our UK registered cars over a decade ago, we insured them with the UK reg numbers without any issue at all (ROI address), it was actually more hassle getting the discs updated to the Irish regs than it was to get the original insurance.

That was 10 years ago though.

slimjimmc

Nichard Dixon wrote: »

This isn't true. The best you can say is that now that discs have been done away with that it is more trouble for the Gardai to see that you have no tax. Also the temporary exemption from the Revenue is entirely conditional on all formalities being attended to, the exemption from Irish motor tax is on the basis that all taxes have been paid elsewhere. So the Gadai could sieze your car for no tax and the Revenue for not having complied with the conditions of the exemption. Given the relatively low rates of motor tax in the UK it would be simpler just to pay it.

The condition

The vehicle must have been acquired with all the appropriate taxes paid and these must not have been exempted or refunded in any way.

doesn't refer to annual taxes it refers to taxes due when you acquire the car , i.e. you didn't avail of any UK tax exemption and you paid any tax liability such as VAT or import duties (if you imported the car to the UK from outside the EU.).
http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/vrt/leaflets/temporary-exemption-foreign-registered.html

The Sidewards Man

Have you a link for that slimjimmc?

slimjimmc

The Sidewards Man wrote: »

Have you a link for that slimjimmc?

Apologies, the quote comes from the Revenue leaflet I linked in post #5
http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/vrt/leaflets/temporary-exemption-foreign-registered.html

Nichard Dixon

If the vehicle has not motor tax paid then it is not registered, it may have a number plate but it is not currently allowed to be used on the road.

While you might manage a subtle argument in the case of a vehicle from some obscure place, for the UK there are agreements regarding the mutual requirement for motor tax going back to the foundation of the State and plenty of legal precedent.

Temporary importation is designed to facilitate the law abiding, not delinquents.

Northern Monkey

Deleted User wrote: »

When we brought our UK registered cars over a decade ago, we insured them with the UK reg numbers without any issue at all (ROI address), it was actually more hassle getting the discs updated to the Irish regs than it was to get the original insurance.

That was 10 years ago though.

It's changed a bit now. Insurance companies have to notify customs (I think) if they have a car with a non Irish reg on their books for more than 90 days.