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Warning: Police check foreign cars
We all know that many Europeans really live full time in Spain without obtaining a residence card, perhaps working illegally as well, and continue to operate their cars on non-Sp anish plates.
The Spanish traffic police have been very lenient about these cars in the past but they are now starting to crack down. In some areas where many foreigners live, they have stopped the cars they see regularly on the road and politely asked the drivers to clarify their situation.
When the UE driver says that he comes and goes and that he is never in Spain for more than six months in one year, the police politely ask him for documentary evidence.
They understand that it is difficult to produce a passport stamp inside the UE these days, so they will accept practically any paper, such as a recently dated airline ticket or train ticket or any other evidence that the person has travelled within the last six months.
If you are coming to Spain by car, we advise you to take all the trouble necessary to obtain an exit stamp from your home country. Even if you have to go and search for a border officer, take the time and do it. This proof of your date of departure can be very handy later.
The police are also interested to observe whether the car is insured in its country of origin, or whether it is insured by one of the international companies. EU legislation requires that a car be insured in its country of registration. This means that no Spanish company can insure a vehicle registered in another country.
This is a problem because your home country’s insurance companies will not insure the car without a valid inspection certificate. And you cannot obtain this because your car is in Spain. The Spanish vehicle inspection is not legally valid in your home country, although some international insurance companies will accept it.
The police also observe the last date of the vehicle inspection. If it is a UK car, and its last MOT in Britain dates from 10 years ago, this would arouse suspicion. The law says that a foreign-registered car may stay in Spain as long as it is road legal in its home country. This means that a UK car must have a current MOT. In practice the police do not usually insist on this but they can do so if they choose.
If the car has been inspected in Spain, in order to obtain the insurance, this is another piece of evidence. If the driver cannot produce any documents to prove his own absence from Spain, they have levied fines of €1,800 and more. They then require that the car be either imported into Spain and issued with Spanish registration, or immediately taken out of the country You have been warned.
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