Move from UK to Ireland with car, drive with UK plates for 3 months

coylemj

What's the consequences of someone moving to Ireland with a UK car and not registering it straight away? Say they're living here for 3 months now in a rented house, drive the car every day still with the UK plates and appear to be blissfully unaware of the possibility that the car can be seized? This is a private car being driven by him and her, not a commercial vehicle.

My reading of the regulations suggests that they would be exempt from VRT if they registered it. The car dates from Sept. 2015 according to the MoT Checker. I don't want to be seen as a nosey parker but neither do I want them to have the car seized and them forced to export it after paying a hefty fine.

Should they even attempt to register the car now or would it be better to bring it back to the UK, leave it there for (say) a month (so it looks like they were here on holidays during June, July & August), then drive it back here and register it?

bazz26

How long are they resident here?

Sixtoes

bazz26 wrote: »

How long are they resident here?

eh.... 3 months...

bazz26

Sixtoes wrote: »

eh.... 3 months...

Eh... living here for 3 months and being resident here are two different things.

coylemj

bazz26 wrote: »

Eh... living here for 3 months and being resident here are two different things.

Could you elaborate on the difference please? You can take it that this is not a holiday, it's definitely a 'move' to Ireland in any man's language.

bazz26

For tax purposes:

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/money_and_tax/tax/moving_country_and_taxation/tax_residence_and_domicile_in_ireland.html

http://www.revenue.ie/en/jobs-and-pensions/tax-residence/index.aspx

coylemj

bazz26 wrote: »

For tax purposes:

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/money_and_tax/tax/moving_country_and_taxation/tax_residence_and_domicile_in_ireland.html

http://www.revenue.ie/en/jobs-and-pensions/tax-residence/index.aspx

My question specifically relates to motor vehicle registration and possible liability for VRT, those two links you provided are about income tax and talk about being resident here if you're in the country for at least 183 days in the year. Your UK registered car would be seized long before you clocked up 183 days in Ireland.

All motor vehicles in the State, other than those brought in temporarily by visitors, must be registered within 30 days of the date they first arrive in the state.

http://www.revenue.ie/en/importing-vehicles-duty-free-allowances/guide-to-vrt/vehicle-registration-tax/vrt-and-registration.aspx

bazz26

Yeah but what's Revenue's definition of "temporary"?

I think they may be related as in if your resident here for tax purposes then you're obliged under law to re-register the car and pay VRT. There are certain circumstances though where they may not have to re-register the car here due to their residency status but I don't have any links to that.

coylemj

bazz26 wrote: »

I think they may be related as in if your resident here for tax purposes then you're obliged under law to re-register the car and pay VRT. There are certain circumstances though where they may not have to re-register the car here due to their residency status but I don't have any links to that.

I don't believe they are related at all. The people I am talking about have moved here to live, that means that they are obliged to register the car within 30 days of bringing it into the country. It has nothing to do with income tax and the residency rules around that.

mdebets

coylemj wrote: »

I don't believe they are related at all. The people I am talking about have moved here to live, that means that they are obliged to register the car within 30 days of bringing it into the country. It has nothing to do with income tax and the residency rules around that.

It's actual a 12 months exemption you get. If you are planning to stay in Ireland for under 12 months, you can get exempt from registering the car, but you have to proof it (e.g temp contract). But you still have to apply for the exemption within 30 days. If you stay longer than 1 year, you have to register it when you enter the country.

CiniO

coylemj wrote: »

I don't believe they are related at all. The people I am talking about have moved here to live, that means that they are obliged to register the car within 30 days of bringing it into the country. It has nothing to do with income tax and the residency rules around that.

Only people who are resident in Ireland are obliged to register foreign car within 30 days.

People you are talking about, moved here 3 months ago so their residency status is not certain yet.
They might be gone before 183 days and they'll never become resident here.
Also they might be on temporary work contract which will mean they might not become resident here even if they are longer then 183 days.
Also they could be students in which case they won't become resident at all even if they study for 5 years or more.

It's silly to assume they are fully resident just after being here for 3 months.

shaunr68

CiniO wrote: »

It's silly to assume they are fully resident just after being here for 3 months.

Indeed, and incredibly difficult to prove even if they do intend to stay. Things are complicated enough when moving house and especially so between countries that it's likely on their list of things to get around to. I drove a UK reg vehicle for about 8 months when I moved here (on UK insurance with full EU cover), until I changed vehicle for an Irish reg car. I was aware that in theory Revenue could seize the vehicle but having been in the country for such a short time it would be very difficult for them to prove that I was tax resident - or for most of this time, to show that I intended to become tax resident over time! I was renovating a cottage at the time, not working in Ireland and not claiming anything from the state, and regularly travelling between here and the UK with household stuff and DIY materials.

Marcusm

Assuming that they qualify for an exemption then there is no effective penalty for a delayed reregistration; the penalty is based on the VRT payable but there is not, so far as I can tell, a date by which an exemption application must be made. I know of one person who did is 2 years after she moved. I chased her a number of times and she went to Nytgrove (as it then was) but claimed the queries were too long.

When I moved back here last year, I did have one of my cars here from a December through to April before reregistering. My house purchase here had been delayed and I was splitting time between London and Dublin. I made the final move in april, ceased the rental there and reregistered immediately. Would have been easier to do it earlier with parking permits e C but couldn't prove the termination of prior UK accommodation and acquisition of Irish accommodation - perhaps they're similar. I had neighbours last year who were in the same boat.

bmwguy

Is the person English or Irish? If they are English, have an English accent, UK driving licence etc. I can't imagine any car being seized.

ants09

Temporary exemption
General
A vehicle registered abroad may be granted temporary exemption from the requirement to be registered in the State.

You do not need to apply if the period does not exceed 12 months. When you do apply, you must produce evidence of eligibility to any Revenue office.

If you are a State resident, you are normally not allowed to drive an unregistered vehicle in the State (although there are limited circumstances in which it is allowable).

Foreign students
You can bring a passenger car or a motorcycle into the State provided it is registered in the country of your normal residence. You can extend the 12-month time limit until you have completed your course of studies.

Exceeding the time limit
If you exceed the time limit you must remove the vehicle from the State or apply to register it in the State.

If you transfer residence to the State while your vehicle is temporarily in the State, you should immediately contact any Revenue office and apply for exemption from payment of tax.

Del2005

shaunr68 wrote: »

Indeed, and incredibly difficult to prove even if they do intend to stay. Things are complicated enough when moving house and especially so between countries that it's likely on their list of things to get around to. I drove a UK reg vehicle for about 8 months when I moved here (on UK insurance with full EU cover), until I changed vehicle for an Irish reg car. I was aware that in theory Revenue could seize the vehicle but having been in the country for such a short time it would be very difficult for them to prove that I was tax resident - or for most of this time, to show that I intended to become tax resident over time! I was renovating a cottage at the time, not working in Ireland and not claiming anything from the state, and regularly travelling between here and the UK with household stuff and DIY materials.

They don't have to prove anything. They will slap a fine or lift it and then wait for you to provide the evidence, customs have way more powers than the Gardaí.

shaunr68

Del2005 wrote: »

They don't have to prove anything. They will slap a fine or lift it and then wait for you to provide the evidence, customs have way more powers than the Gardaí.

Surely Revenue could not justify such action in the case of a foreign registered vehicle without any evidence whatsoever that the driver is actually resident in Ireland? Someone should tell all the tourists around this time of year to beware. There are a load of German, British and Dutch registered motorhomes and campervans travelling around the west coast all ripe for crushing and juicy fines.