Driving here on foreign plates feels like it should come with a pile of forms. For a genuine visit, it mostly does not. The rules only get serious when the visit stops being a visit, and knowing where that line sits saves a lot of worry, and a possible fine.
Visiting on foreign plates
GOV.UK says you can usually use a car with foreign number plates without registering or taxing it here if all of these apply:
- You are visiting and do not plan to live here
- The car is registered and taxed in its home country
- You use it here for up to 6 months in total, in one visit or several shorter ones over 12 months
The 6 months is a total across any 12-month period, not a fresh allowance each time you arrive. Three two-month trips in a year uses it all up.
One extra rule catches people out. GOV.UK says the car must be registered here if you want to move it between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
No import tax for a visit
A visiting car does not pay VAT or customs duty on the way into England, Scotland or Wales, provided all of these apply:
- It is for your own private use
- You are not a UK resident
- You do not sell, lend or hire it out here
- You take it out of the UK again within 6 months
GOV.UK says you claim this relief on form C110, and take the car through the nothing to declare channel when you arrive.
Proof to carry
If the police stop you, GOV.UK says you must be able to show that you can use the car here without registering and taxing it. It gives a ferry ticket as an example of proof of when you arrived, and a letter from HMRC as proof the car qualifies as a temporary import.
Keep these in the car
0 of 5 done
When you need Q plates as a visitor
Some visiting cars need temporary Q number plates from the DVLA. GOV.UK says that is the case if your plates show characters that cannot be identified here, Arabic script for example, or if the car is not registered in its home country.
You have to claim the VAT and duty relief first. GOV.UK says to fill in form C110 after the car arrives and send it to HMRC's NTAS team to be stamped, then contact the DVLA.
Staying longer as a student or worker
GOV.UK says you might be able to use foreign plates for longer than 6 months if you normally live outside the UK and are here for a set period as a student or worker. When that customs relief runs out and you are still here, the car has to be registered and taxed.
When it stops being a visit
GOV.UK is plain about it: if you become a resident, or stay longer than 6 months, you must register and tax the car here. At that point, the car is an import and goes through the normal import steps.
| Feature | Visiting | Moving here or staying on |
|---|---|---|
| Time limit | Up to 6 months in 12 | None, the car becomes an import |
| UK registration | Not needed | Required |
| UK road tax | Not needed while taxed at home | Required |
| VAT and duty | Relief on form C110 | Due, unless a relief such as Transfer of Residence applies |
| Approval or MOT | Not needed | Needed before registration |
Do not drive it once it should be registered. GOV.UK says you can be prosecuted for using an imported car on a public road before the import steps are complete, unless you are driving it to a pre-booked MOT or approval test.
Switching to British plates
If the car is already here, the steps are the same as for any car that has arrived. We run them on our own site in Castle Donington, from the customs side to the DVLA.
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Within 14 days of arrival
NOVA
HMRC is told the car is here. Without NOVA, the DVLA will not register it.
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At NOVA
VAT and duty
Tax is paid, or a relief such as Transfer of Residence is applied. It must be settled before registration.
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Preparation
UK changes
A left-hand drive car needs its headlights set for the left, and a km/h speedometer needs mph.
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Test day
Approval
IVA, MOT or a Certificate of Conformity, depending on the car’s age and origin.
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Within 10 working days
DVLA registration
We register the car through our DVLA account and it gets its UK number.
If the car came in on a visit and is now staying, tell us the dates it arrived and what was declared at the time, and we will work out the right route. Our NOVA guide and the V55/5 guide cover the two DVLA-facing steps in more detail.
Moving here for good
If you are moving your home to the UK, Transfer of Residence relief may mean no VAT or duty on the car at all. You need to have lived outside the UK for at least 12 months in a row, owned and used the car for at least 6 months, and be moving here to live. The application goes to HMRC on form ToR1, and the reference needs to be in place before the car is cleared.
Our Transfer of Residence guide covers the conditions and the form, and our moving to the UK planning guide puts the car alongside the rest of the move. If the car is left-hand drive, our guide to left-hand drive cars in the UK explains what changes.
Without a relief, the usual rates apply: 20% VAT on a car from the EU, or 20% VAT plus 10% duty from outside it, with 5% VAT and no duty for cars over 30 years old. The import tax calculator works out a figure.
Clean air rules still apply
Foreign plates do not take a car out of London's ULEZ. TfL says non-UK vehicles must meet the emissions standard or pay the £12.50 daily charge, and that its checker holds details for many non-UK vehicles. Our ULEZ guide explains how to prove a car meets the standard.
Questions people ask
How long can I drive a foreign-registered car in the UK?
GOV.UK says up to 6 months in total over 12 months, in one visit or several, if you are visiting, do not plan to live here and the car is registered and taxed in its home country.
Do I pay import tax on a car I bring for a visit?
Not if it is for your own private use, you are not a UK resident, you do not sell, lend or hire it here and you take it out again within 6 months. You claim the relief on form C110.
What happens if I stay longer than 6 months?
GOV.UK says if you become a resident or stay longer than 6 months, you must register and tax the car in the UK by following the normal import steps.
Can I drive the car while it is being registered?
GOV.UK says you can be prosecuted for using it on a public road before the import steps are complete, unless you are driving to a pre-booked MOT or approval test.
I am moving to the UK. Do I pay VAT on my car?
Possibly not. Transfer of Residence relief can mean no VAT or duty if you have lived abroad for at least 12 months, owned the car for at least 6 and are moving here to live. You apply to HMRC before the car is cleared.
Staying on and need the car on British plates? Tell us where it is on the quote form.
