There is the MID - Motor Insurance Database. https://www.askmid.com
1 Like
It is for UK residents only…but they have access to DVLA database
1 Like
I don’t get your point Jane ?, both the DVLA database and MID are UK based - MID shows whether a vehicle is insured, in the UK or elsewhere if a green card (or equivalent) has been provided by the insurer.
The MID database says that it can only be accessed in the UK by UK residents. I’ve never used it so I don’t know if this is true or not. The DVLA database does not have those restrictions.
1 Like
Sat here in France on a french IP address (via Orange) and i can access MID
I was in the UK last month when I heard that France was considering going into lockdown. I
conntacted the French embassy in London, to find out if it was imminent and they recommended I return to France sooner rather than later, which is what I did. I am French resident by the way. I would have thought that all UK residents would have left France by now. Strange how people think.
1 Like
Totally agree with your comment. We are second home owners who would normally be in France now but didn’t make it before restrictions were imposed. For various reasons we are not in a position to live permanently in France at the moment. I am very disappointed that some members of this group seem to feel that only permanent residents should remain and those who aren’t permanent are taking services they’re not entitled to. We pay our taxes and contribute to the economy. Please think what you are writing, everyone has a contribution to make and we are in this situation together. The views expressed have made me feel unwelcome in this group.
1 Like
Where is your principle residence, Peter?
If you live in France then your car must be registered here. This means that it must be insured by a french registered insurance company.
Rules are that a french resident has 15 days to notify the authorities of import & should start the registration process (if the vehicle is being driven) within a month.
The UK government have asked UK residents to return home, the opinion of SFN members is therefore not relevant.
3 Likes
Hi Mark,
Principle residence is France.
The car came over permanently at the end of February and I have managed to get the CoC from the manufacturer. Then the coronavirus hit and I assumed that I could not get a ‘Quitus Fiscal’ until Dan kindly pointed out the change of process. Currently filling in the form to email back and then when received I can do the ANTS process. Hopefully that will go smoothly !
Please don’t feel unwelcomed, this site is mostly very tolerant. Some post’s can seem too abrupt/direct, but I find the use emojis can take the sting. 
I know people (UK resident) that could not get back to the UK, unavailable/too expensive transport, but I also know of some that preferred to isolate in rural France.
Just be safe and look forward to when you can next visit France.
4 Likes
Let’s not fall out - we all love France whether we’re residents or visitors, most of us have a stake here and we’re all in this sh1te together.
But the bottom line is that where you’re legally resident does make a difference in all kinds of ways, and I don’t think it’s useful to pretend otherwise. We have a kind of contract of mutual rights and obligations with the government of our country of residence that we don’t have with other countries. UK residents and nationals have certain rights and entitlements in the UK that non-British visitors to the UK don’t have. Likewise the French government has obligations towards its nationals and its residents that it doesn’t have towards non-French visitors, and it needs to focus meeting those obligations. I can see why it might perhaps view having to take responsibility for visitors in times of crisis, as an extra burden administratively. For instance when a French resident goes into hospital, the receptionist takes their social security number and accesses their records. When a visitor goes into hospital there is a whole process to go through to get them into the system, including the issue of how muchof the treatment costs the UK will pay via the EHIC and who’s going to meet the remaining costs. And it’s not a nice subject but I wonder what arrangements if any are there for the repatriation of remains.
There’s also the issue of limited resources. One problem with second home owners is that they tend to gravitate to small villages which means they can have a disproportionate effect on the local population.
I don’t actually see that the financial aspect comes into it at all, because whatever healthcare costs a visitor incurs, France will bill them for. That’s not the issue. But for the record, I’m never convinced by the argument that’s aired on here from time to time, that holiday home owners pay property taxes and consume therefore they contribute as much to the French economy as anyone. I don’t think it holds water because residents also pay property taxes and consume (all year round), but in most cases that’s a fraction of what they contribute. Virtually my entire income goes into the French economy one way and another, and my property taxes are approx one-thirtieth of that.
So it’s not a matter of anybody being cast aside or not welcome, it’s just about all of us being realistic 
6 Likes
wonder how the french tax authorities would respond to any requests for rebates to be applied on the annual impots one pays on a secondary residence, on the basis that one is effectively being denied access? 
usually spend 12/13 weeks a year at our property in 39 but only expect 6 weeks would be possible in 2020 
2 Likes
With a polite ‘Non’, probably.
But you can always ask 
Give them a laugh, why don’t you 
3 Likes
They are only interested in who owns the property on 1st Jan. What you do with it for the rest of the year is up to you.
I can’t see what the obligation would be on a nation to provide access to second home owners during a state of emergency. French nationals are being turned away from their second homes, so why should a foreign national be given special consideration.
3 Likes
Serious answer - In France everything is codified, and the responsibilities and obligations of the State and of its citizens / residents are clearly set out.
Property taxes are governed by the Code Général des Impôts (CGI) https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichCode.do?cidTexte=LEGITEXT000006069577 and by any recent amendments or provision as per the Bulletin Officiel des Finances Publiques (BOFIP) https://bofip.impots.gouv.fr/bofip/1-PGP
If you can find anything in there to support your request for a rebate (which I very much doubt) you should write to the tax office and quote the Article / clause number of the provision that applies.
If there’s nothing on the statutes the tax office won’t be able to make a refund. Tax offices have to adhere strictly to the codes, they have very limited discretion in how they account for public money.
thanks for the information everyone… some useful stuff to consider whilst always applauding the strict controls the french authorities have implemented in an effort to control the virus
tend to use the money from the local vendange work to fund taxes and insurance on the property so if that goes 
ahead would hardly feel sufficiently aggrieved to make some petty claim 
Hopefully the harvests will go ahead. The prospect of no wine being made this year really is too dire to contemplate 
1 Like
Don’t wonder - ask them!