Serious full timing question (1 Viewer)

[JJ]

Thanks to being a member of the wonderful EU, my UK driving licence is fine for Portugal.

My Hymer now has Portuguese plates and is insured with Zurich Insurance. I guess it is the Portuguese bit of the company.

Thanks to the UK being a member of the brilliant EU as is Portugal, I can drive in the UK with my Portuguese vehicle and Portuguese insurance.

Indeed we lucky members of the EU with motorhomes are free to roam all over Europe unhindered by petty restrictions.

Why, I can can even get plumbing jobs in Lisbon or Porto if I want...


JJ :Cool:

 

[Coolbeanz]

I have full timed for over 25 years.

I have an address I use for my UK licence and bank account.

In Portugal I have an address for insurance and bank etc.

In my experience if I don't bother the bureaucrats, they don't bother me.

I just went fulltiming... No one has bothered with me since.

JJ :Cool:

PS. Hymer insurance (plus recovery and any driver) around €245.

How do you get on with the limit of 6 months in any 1 country per year? Have you applied for residency or do you only spend 6 months there? Would anyone actually know if you were there longer? And if you do have residency is it easy to get with no fixed abode? I am a bit concerned at what happens if we have used up our 6 months allowance for a country but then need to drive back through that country en route to the UK. Would this cause a problem? We are about to become longtermers so I am trying to gather as much info as possible to avoid too many errors

 

[JJ]

I can't remember how long I have spent in any particular country.

I move around.

In the convenient EU no one stamps your passport anymore.

I have never found anyone in the slightest bit interested in how long I have been anywhere.

The only place I have ever had a hint about "six months" is on Fun.

JJ :Cool:

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[knokinonabit]

On renewal, which, in our case, will be when we reach 70, we will be required to change to French driving licences as we will then have to give our address here.

As I understand it you are still using your UK licences, so presumably you still have an address in the UK. If not, by definition, you are breaking licencing rules by being a French resident and giving a UK address where you no longer live.

Please feel free to correct me and tell me to mind my own business if you want :thumb:

 

[JJ]

But I don't live in France...

JJ :Cool:

 

[knokinonabit]

But I don't live in France...

JJ :Cool:

opp5
Sorry JJ.
My last post was meant for Anna. :Blush:
Wasn't very clear was I . oh:

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[Anna]

Yes, with respect, I would like to correct you

I knew this question would be raised! Our UK issued licences are European and we've been stopped by the gendarmes, for routine checks, a few times over the last 12 years of living in France, as French residents (ie we fill out French tax forms) and on checking our driving licences, never had any problem.

The following explains it better than I could:
EU-licence validity and regulations

Note: An EU-issued licence has the characteristics of a person's EU country of residence.

For example: if a driver resident in France exchanges a licence issued in another EU country for a French one, and then relocates to another EU country, the licence remains valid but the regulations and restrictions (such as the period of validity) of the new country of residence now apply to the licence.

The regulations of the driving licence of a French resident apply to the licence holder when they are holidaying elsewhere. For example, French licence regulations will apply to a British citizen who is resident in France but holidaying in the UK.

Using a valid EU-issued licence in France

"An EU-member state driver's licence is valid in France provided the following conditions are respected:

The licence is valid in its issuing country
The driver has the right minimum age for the licence category
The licence mentions whether a person wears prescription spectacles, or is licensed to drive an adapted vehicle
The driver has not been suspended or barred from driving in the country that issued the licence
The licence was not issued while the person was barred from being issued a licence in France
An exchange becomes compulsory if the licence holder commits a driving offence in France - this is so that points can be deducted.

Replacement of licences

When the EU licence of a French resident expires, the licence holder must renew or replace it by applying to the French authorities. This is also the case if the licence is lost or stolen (a certificate from the issuing authority may be required).

Note: Obtaining a French licence through exchange can simplify matters in case of loss or theft and when obtaining motor insurance. After the French licence has been issued, the original will be kept by the French authorities and returned to the issuing authority."

 

[Anna]

opp5
Sorry JJ.
My last post was meant for Anna. :Blush:
Wasn't very clear was I . oh:

France, Portugal, any European, doesn't really matter concerning a European driving licence.

BTW I totally agree with you on the 6 month thingy, nobody seems to care, except the Brits, who seem to be obsessed with putting everything in it's box, so to speak. It's not until you live in a different country that you realise that we've been brainwashed! ...... No offence intended to anyone, just my opinion

 

[knokinonabit]

Thanks Anna.

But that still doesn't answer the question of the permanent address as printed on the licence.
If you change address then that should be altered on the licence.
I believe your explanation covers holidays rather than migration.
My licence is also a Euro one, but it has my residence address on it.
If you have moved to France then surely you must alter your address on your licence in accordance with the Euro regulations. Unless of course you have a UK one that you are using and it is the one on your licence.

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[Nigel&Debbie]

The issue here is dependent on the interpretation of the word 'resident'.

Basically, if you are an EU licence holder (having obtained your licence in the normal way as opposed to exchanging a non EU licence under the exchange scheme), you can drive in another EU country for up to 3 years from the date you became a resident.

If you exchanged your non EU licence under the exchange scheme in one EU country, and then take up residence in another EU country, you can drive for a period up to 1 year from the date you became resident.

During this time, you are required to swap you licence under the exchange scheme. Beware: the swap must take place within the above time scales otherwise your rights cease to exist.

For a person who resides in the usual way, it is easy to check date of residency through rental/lease agreements and bank/government records. Not so easy for a full time traveller.

This is EU law and applies throughout Europe.

Lots of people do get caught with this rule within the UK and lose their grandfather rights to driving i.e. they are returned to Provisional Licence Holders (the UK authorities also inform the other EU states of the information and their original licences are cancelled as well!!!).

The above is correct as it was my job before I retired to administer this process for many years.

 

[Anna]

The issue here is dependent on the interpretation of the word 'resident'.

Basically, if you are an EU licence holder (having obtained your licence in the normal way as opposed to exchanging a non EU licence under the exchange scheme), you can drive in another EU country for up to 3 years from the date you became a resident.

If you exchanged your non EU licence under the exchange scheme in one EU country, and then take up residence in another EU country, you can drive for a period up to 1 year from the date you became resident.

During this time, you are required to swap you licence under the exchange scheme. Beware: the swap must take place within the above time scales otherwise your rights cease to exist.

For a person who resides in the usual way, it is easy to check date of residency through rental/lease agreements and bank/government records. Not so easy for a full time traveller.

This is EU law and applies throughout Europe.

Lots of people do get caught with this rule within the UK and lose their grandfather rights to driving i.e. they are returned to Provisional Licence Holders (the UK authorities also inform the other EU states of the information and their original licences are cancelled as well!!!).

The above is correct as it was my job before I retired to administer this process for many years.

Sorry, but the above is out of date.
My info was taken from an expat website, Anglo info, so not for holidaymakers either.

It's official that your UK licence is deemed to be European and it doesn't matter if you have an old UK address on it!

FYI: The European Driving Licence

Find out how long your EU-issued licence is valid in France...

On 19 January 2013, a single model of driving licences was implemented throughout the EU, with harmonised categories. Licences issued before this date remain valid until they expire, but must be replaced by 2033.

Driving Licence Issued by an EU or EEA Member State
A driver with an EU-member state driver's licence who takes up residence in France is not required to exchange the licence for a French one.

Note: French licence regulations apply to the non-French EU licence regarding:

The period of validity of the licence
Medical checks
Minimum driver's age (18 years)
Penalties and restrictions, including suspension, withdrawal and cancellation of the licence


PS We're French residents with no UK address, in fact no wish to ever return! Better everything here in our opinion and no ferries/tunnel charges to fork out for either when going south for the winter (can't seem to be able to put a smiley on an edit... So just have to imagine a big grin lol!)

 

[JJ]

Before I post the following I assume that you will all do what you think is best for you and not copy me...

I pay taxes.

I passed my test.

I have a valid UK licence.

My vehicles are taxed and tested and insured.

Frankly I don't even know what address is on the paper part of my licence. I haven't looked at it for years.

I have been stopped a few times, once in the Hymer and two or three times in the Black beast. These events took place in Portugal, Spain and France.

No one asked where my address was or where I was "resident" or whether I had "full time" insurance or how many months I had been in the country or any of that kind of bureaucratic nonsense.

If any "authority" wants to detain me because my paperwork doesn't comply with the "rules" of the day they are welcome. I have more time on my hands than they do.

People can only be snowed under with nonsense "jobs worth" stuff if they allow themselves to be.

Living an "alternative lifestyle" can be very uplifting and spiritually rewarding.

One if my inspirations is Romeo, a German (I think) character, who roams the highways and byways of Europe on a tractor pulling an old railway workers' trailer.

No tax, mot, insurance, residential paperwork...

Sometimes the police pull him in... he shows some sort of I D and thats it.

If they haul him into the police station he just goes with them peacefully. Sometimes they make some kind of inquiries.

Eventually they him go on his way.

There are so many different ways we humans can pass our time on this earth.

I have found a way that suits me perfectly...

Living in a motorhome is wonderful.

Sorry to go on so...

JJ :Cool:

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[knokinonabit]

To Anna.

Thank you for the time you have taken to enlighten me. :thumb:

To put Smileys on an edit click the Advanced button.


To JJ.

You didn't "go on", you just explained it like it is.

Thank you for indulging me. Your life style sounds wonderful and I hope you enjoy it for a lot longer than you already have.





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