That does put you in an iffy position Brian....11 months of the year means you are domiciled in France regardless...if you have an accident and they investigage you could find your insurance nul and void...as has happened to some folks in my area. How do you manage health wise if you are a UK resident? do you have a GP here?
I suppose the real answer to this whole sorry question, is, it comes down to honesty. How long are you in the country, if you here for the 183 days then you are considered as living here and therefore should be paying French tax, would be in the healthcare system and abiding by French law. You are either resident or your not. It's simple.
You can insure a UK registered car in France but only for a limited time, Banque Populaire did mine for me for three months and were then fairly flexible during the next six months it took to get the matriculation in France. Previously I had a French registered car which spent most of its life in the UK and my French Insurers were very accommodating, I returned to France for the Controle Technique and that was all.
Again, Jon you are right. Having been an insurance underwriter in the past in the UK for many years, I can back this up.
We have our UK registered car (here permanently!) with Bruno Sellier, Agence Cognac. They are agents for Generali. Email: cognac@agence.generali.fr Tel: 05.45.82.03.20 We've been with them for years, periodically changing cars, and had no problems.
My circumstances are slightly different in that I am not a UK resident either. I can tell you that in the event of a serious incident, the history of where the car has been and for how long will be investigated. I think ANPR is now at all channel ports but even if not, ferry/chunnel bookings will be checked. My bil is a VOSA inspector and he confirms this to be the case.
I fully accept that you may get away with this for years but if you are genuinely resident in France, I wouldn't risk it.
Judith, have you got a link to the DVLA site that confirms this? I assume it would have to return to the UK for a MOT if 3+ years old on an annual basis anyway.
Jon you are quite right, although there are those who do bend the rules. But if the **** hit the fan it could cause all sorts of problems.
Sorry girls and guys, but the answer to this is simple. I have a friend who is a gendarme and it is against the law if you are domiciled here to have an English plate. If you intend to live here, you must change to French plates within a month. You will find this on Service-public.fr the government official website. If you live here for 185 days of the year, then you are considered domiciled in France and therefore this law applies. As for Stuart Collins, If you actually tell them that you live here they will not do it. We know this we tried them on the advice of others, but were honest about where we were domiciled. You can of course give them an English address and hope for the best, but IF you were involved in a serious accident and it was investigated then your insurance would be invalidated and you would be liable for the costs.
Not necessary Jon, we exported the car, details are available from the DVLC on how to do this, you can keep the English plates forever or change to French you have a choice.
Carly, we exported our car to France and it is insured by AXA, it still has English Number plates. For anyone who is interested it is for sale, as we have bought another car. It is in excellent condition, the upholstery is spotless, owned by a careful driver from new, regularly serviced by Citroen. It is a Citroen Zantia turbo estate with almost 2 years of Controle Technique on it and we have the recent invoice for all work necessary which came to 750€. We would be happy for our Grandson to drive it, we have that much confidence in it. It is valed at £1,700 on Glass's Guide. We would accept £1,500 for a quick sale, due to lack of space. It was registered from new 18th December 1999. We live near Clermont Ferrand in the Auvergne. Please contact me if anyone is interested on 04 737 127 06
Be careful. If you are properley resident in France this is all very iffy. I'm not yet and take advantage of the '6 months then register in France' rules. After 6 months the non french reg car goes home. As I understand it, if you are fully resident then you have a month to change to a french reg.
Hi I have 2 cars here both on uk plates and both insured here it’s been that way for five years now and I have had no problems,I have even had two claims and been paid out on them, I have been stopped by police on routine checks and showed my log book and French insurance and had no problems,I was with AXA but have now moved,only because this other company were cheaper and I got the same deal,don’t know if it’s right or wrong but it works for me.
Thanks for the two replies. I will be intending to drive back to the UK 2-3 times a year in the school holidays so for now I will be complying with the annual return policy of Suzanne's insurance company. I am still not decided how long I intend to stay in France - we have a home here and there - but it all depends how the children get on at school and whether or not my husband's business will continue to afford him the luxury of spending every other week in France. I will certainly speak to the insurance company and explain our current predicament and review, in 6 months time, if i will need to then look at a more permanent option. Many thanks again
Agree Tracy - it works for us currently as we're regularly going back & forth, we have a UK address as well as our French home. Once my hubby finishes working in the UK after his current stint, we'll be re-registering our LHD car to a French plate as we won't intend being in the UK again for a few years at least.
Just need to get a certificate of conformity from BMW UK as trying to get it last time from BMW France was a nightmare!
HI Carly,
The link that Suzanne offered, I'm sure will be very useful to some of the people on SFN who commute regularly between the two countries. However, if your car is remaining in France the whole time, then it will need to be re-registered in France, there is no legal way round it as far as I am aware.
If it is a new car and registered in your names it is very simple to do, much easier than trying to find a way round it. For reference a car insured in France is then automatically insured in most other European countries including the UK. Also insurers will find any way to wriggle out of a claim, which will be simple for them to do if the car is permanently in France.
Thanks for that - I have submitted a quote enquiry to them and will see what they say. Thanks again. Carly
Hi, we used Stuart Collins insurance which gives a full year green card - no charge. The condition is that the vehicle must spend 1 day in the UK and you have to use a UK address. It's an AXA policy.
Stuart Collins & Co Established 1969 has been running a scheme for the past 30 years offering a motor policy for UK registered Cars (Left or Right hand drive) with annual foreign use. This is a UK motor policy therefore it includes use here also without limit of time.
The policy documentation includes an Annual Green Card because although you will be told they are not necessary it is a fact that European Authorities are used to seeing them and it may make your life easier when travelling.
We are also able to arrange UK rated policies for UK citizens who find it necessary to work or reside outside UK but wish to keep a Vehicle at their property in UK for use when they are here.