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Driving a UK car in Belgium...
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Can anyone offer advice about how best to drive a UK registered car in Belgium? I have to keep my car on UK plates, drive it in both the UK and Belgium. I have home addresses in both countries (registered at a commune in Belgium, on the electoral role in the UK, etc). I want to know if it's possible to drive with UK plates (and UK insurance, etc) or if I need to insure the car in Belgium (is it possible to insure in Belgium with UK plates)?
I've seen plenty of UK cars over the time I've been here so there must be a way of doing this (I hope)...
Thanks in advance for any advice...
Hi Not at all clear why you don't own just one car here and drive it there. Or park yours in UK and leave yours here whilst there. However I have a friend whose colleague had a holiday home in France. Bought his car in France insured it in France. Lived here drove it here, holidayed there drove it there. Stopped by police during a spot check they do these some time put up a lot of cones and pull over anyone they fancy. I imagine you may have seen them. Of course fr plate they pulled him. He got a very very large fine for this. Far out weighed any insurance saving. We are talking a couple of thousand euros for this offence. So ask your self how much you want to do this.
The only way you could maybe get around it would be not to own the car but to have someone resident in the UK own it. Then be an insured driver here, but that is really going about it in a long way. Also it would be very complex in an accident. However you also do need to drive it in the UK regularly. To keep the insurance active. Have friends who drive a camper all over Europe all winter and they must return to UK for x days per six months I believe.
We switched our UK licenses because the photo ID was going out of date. It really puzzle our commune. However we explained the address wasn't correct and we couldn't get it renewed to the new address and they were fine with that. Very simple to get a photo one here if you have a full UK license. Plus they do not expire every five years like the UK phot parts do, so that much better than the UK.
Just looked at the linked story that is supposed to prove a licence without an up to date address is invalid. It does not prove that at all, it's proves out of date licences will get you fined. I drove in Belgium for YEARS on my UK licence and never once was it's validity questioned. And of course, when I did come to swap it for a Belgian one simply because it was falling apart, it was obviously accepted as a valid licence or they would not have changed it!
Article states paper licences are no longer valid from 2015and also states you have to advise DVLA of address changes -- and DVLA does not accept addresses outside the UK --- BUT the best source would be to contact DVLA direct -- best to be sure. Personally I would rather be very very sure than get an unpleasant suprise
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