Staying for the winter

[Sparky]

Hi i need some advice, my husband and i have been holidaying in PP for 26years, as i am retiring later this year we want spend the winter there, up to 6 months. Will we need to register with the authorties and how long can we keep the car there before changing to spanish plates? Your help would be very much appreciated .

[Mariquita]

As long as you do not stay for more than 180 days you are okay to remain a UK resident and for your car to be registered, taxed and insured in the UK. You need to make sure that you do not go over this as you could be considered to be a resident in Spain for tax purposes.

You will need to notify your car insurer that you want fully comprehensive cover for Spain and you will need your insurer to issue a bail bond for the car (otherwise your car can be impounded if it is involved in an accident). We use National Farmers is they charge no extra for this sort of cover.

The other problem you may have is getting long term insurance cover for both yourselves, and for your house whilst you are away. We use the Camping and Caravanning Club as they are well geared up for this and are one of the companies to offer up to 180 days cover.

Let me know if you have any other questions as I might be able to help.

[Sparky]

Thanks Mariquita, thats a great help. I think we will quickly decide if PP life is for us and if so we will make the move permanent. So i might have some more questions for you later if thats ok. We will be over May3rd for 2 weeks holiday, cant wait !! Best regards to you.