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Going into France and Spain for a year


MRANDMRSWILLSON

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We are planning a year's trip to France and Spain from next April. I have checked on HMRC and the Government website but can find no bureaucratic obstacles to our being out of the country for 365 days. Has anyone encountered any problems when planning this sort of trip? The only hurdle I've come up against is finding breakdown cover for that number of days. Does anyone have any advice? Any help and advice would be welcomed.

 

 

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fesspark - 2014-12-19 4:16 PM

 

if i am not mistaken after 6 months abroad your vehicle has to registered in the country you are in ? fesspark

 

The UK’s rules for taking a UK-registered vehicle out of the UK for up-to/over 12 months are summarised here:

 

https://www.gov.uk/taking-vehicles-out-of-uk/for-12-months-or-more

http://www.findlaw.co.uk/law/motoring/other_motoring_topics/9923.html

 

The rules for ‘temporarily importing’ a vehicle to France or Spain (eg. visiting those countries in a motorhome) are stated here

 

http://www.rac.co.uk/travel/driving-abroad/countries/france

http://www.rac.co.uk/driving-abroad/spain

 

and it will be noted that the ‘a total of 6 months in any 12 months period’ rule applies in both cases.

 

Even though, in principle, the 6-months-rule could apply to Mr and Mrs Willson’s motorhome if they travelled in France or Spain for more than a total of 6 months in 12 in either country, it’s hard to see it being practicable for the French or Spanish authorities to be able to tot up the lengths of the Willson’s stays in each country accurately (and, in any case, I can’t see the French/Spanish authorities being the least bit interested in attempting this). It’s worth being aware of the 6-months rule, but I don’t think it’s going to matter where the Willsons are concerned..

 

 

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MRANDMRSWILLSON - 2014-12-19 4:13 PM

 

Hi Pjay. Thanks for fast response. Yes, all the personal side of things is taken care of and our Camping and Caravanning Club insurance covers us for a full year. We are going to let our house and I've found out that you do have to let the HMRC know if you don't want your rental to be taxed at source.

 

I think you are very brave to let your house out for a year. I would not do it, I've seen what happens to let out houses. They have needed a complete overhaul after.Hope you take a big deposit first. Don't kow where you live, but if possible get one of the services to rent, that way you get some gaurantee. We get a lot of Navy rentals here, as the are always looking for 4 or more bedroomed house

Best of luck anyway

PJay

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MRANDMRSWILLSON - 2014-12-19 3:44 PM

 

We are planning a year's trip to France and Spain from next April. I have checked on HMRC and the Government website but can find no bureaucratic obstacles to our being out of the country for 365 days. Has anyone encountered any problems when planning this sort of trip? The only hurdle I've come up against is finding breakdown cover for that number of days. Does anyone have any advice? Any help and advice would be welcomed.

 

It would seem that you should be able to obtain breakdown insurance for your trip via “Intana” that provides the Camping & Caravanning Club policies.

 

The relevant CCC Intana 2014 documents that can be downloaded through this webpage indicate that a ‘Long Stay’ policy is available for a single trip with a duration not exceeding 12 consecutive months.

 

http://www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk/travelabroad/travel-insurance/

 

Whatever breakdown insurance cover you decide on, make sure you check for any restrictions on vehicle age, size or weight.

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You will also probably need Full timing insurance for the van at considerable extra cost.

Although Comfort and some others say covered for 365 days abroad it does not include full timing of which a trip of 365 days would be seen as full timing, they have separate full time insurance and you may find if you rely on the basic insurance under the T&C's of the policy you may be uninsured.

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In the posting of 19 December 2014 4:13 PM MRANDMRSWILLSON says “ ...our Camping and Caravanning Club insurance covers us for a full year”.

 

From the C&CC website this appears to be the case, but I note that this webpage

 

http://www.clubcareinsurance.com/motorhome-insurance/buyers-guide

 

advises as follows:

 

"Travelling abroad

 

If you like to take your motorhome overseas on holiday, then you need to ensure that your policy allows this. Some insurers limit cover to 90 days, while others allow the full 365 so if you are planning a lengthy trip, make sure that your insurance will cover it. Club Care policies offer 365 days cover in the EU and associated countries (this may be limited to 125 days per trip, depending on which policy underwriter is selected).”

 

It should be made clear in MRANDMRSWILLSON’s present insurance documentation whether a trip-duration below 365 days abroad applies. If there’s any doubt over this, it would be wise to confirm the position ASAP. Coordinating the house rental and vehicle-related arrangements - motor insurance, breakdown insurance, UK vehicle tax (possibly an MOT test) - will be tricky enough without something unexpected popping up at the last minute.

 

 

 

 

 

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