Long term outside UK

[Henry Walpole]

According to the UK government website https://www.gov.uk/taking-vehicles-out-of-uk if you take your vehicle outside of the UK for more than 12 months you have to inform them that you have permanently exported the vehicle.

I'm assuming there must be some full timers who have been on a long tour that took them outside the UK for more than 12 months? I'm wondering what you have done in this situation? Do you have to inform the government you have exported and then re-import when you come back? Or do you just disregard this? I appreciate in most circumstances people will need to come back for an MOT but if it was a new van it's not inconceivable that you might want to stay away for over 12 months.

It would be great to hear from anyone who has done this.

 

[gus-lopez]

The problem you have ,& that they do not tell you, is that as soon as you inform them that you are going to be out for over 12 months & therefore "permanently exporting" is that they remove the number plate from the system immediately.
Yes, that means that you are driving around a vehicle that is now unregistered. The insurance company would probably rscind your cover immediately if they found out.

By informing them that you are "permanently exporting" a vehicle they assume that there will be a country that it is being re-registered in. It doesn't occur to them that people might actually be taking a Uk vehicle out for over 1 year.
As you say if it doesn't need an mot it can be kept legal online with tax renewal.
If you are thinking of doing an extended trip I wouldn't even consider mentioning it.
On the occasion we moved here I didn't tell them anything until a long while afterwards.