# How long can you drive a UK registered car in Ireland before it has to be registered?



## hearthway

How long can you drive a UK registered car in Ireland before it has to be reregistered


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## RS2K

*Re: How long can you drive a UK registered car in Ireland before it has to be registe*

1 day.


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## ang1170

*Re: How long can you drive a UK registered car in Ireland before it has to be registe*

One working day is correct, but in my expeience they don't actually check when you do go to register it here.

You're taking a risk, though, if you drive it around.


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## efm

*Re: How long can you drive a UK registered car in Ireland before it has to be registe*



hearthway said:


> How long can you drive a UK registered car in Ireland before it has to be reregistered


 
Depends on the residency of the owner and the reason for driving a non Irish registered car in Ireland


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## Golf_GT_TSI

*Re: How long can you drive a UK registered car in Ireland before it has to be registe*

as long as you want unless u stopped by garda


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## ang1170

*Re: How long can you drive a UK registered car in Ireland before it has to be registe*

The original question is actually unclear. It's one working day if you intend to re-register it here, but if it's a temporary import (e.g. owned by UK resident living here temporarily for example), it's much longer (6 months if memory serves, but you'd need to check this).


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## mercman

*Re: How long can you drive a UK registered car in Ireland before it has to be registe*

If you are non resident in Ireland, you will be asked to prove it. Otherwise it is 1 day. I know somebody who did the correct procedure and whilst waiting for the Customs to confirm all, the other section of the Customs took two cars and put them in storage for months and returned them and not one word of apology. If they catch a person , who is Irish resident driving a car on UK plates they will take the car and charge a large penalty before car is returned.


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## PeterMurphy3

*Re: How long can you drive a UK registered car in Ireland before it has to be registe*



mercman said:


> If you are non resident in Ireland, you will be asked to prove it. Otherwise it is 1 day. I know somebody who did the correct procedure and whilst waiting for the Customs to confirm all, the other section of the Customs took two cars and put them in storage for months and returned them and not one word of apology. If they catch a person , who is Irish resident driving a car on UK plates they will take the car and charge a large penalty before car is returned.



I have heard of a number of people who have had there cars taken off them and lots more getting a severe warning from the gardai who stopped them.  looks like the guards are really clamping down on this


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## tosullivan

*Re: How long can you drive a UK registered car in Ireland before it has to be registe*

I know someone who brought in a diesel before the vrt announcement in the last budget. Has yet to VRT the car and is planning on holding iff until July.
Will the VRO be any the wiser as to when they brought the car in?


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## A_b

*Re: How long can you drive a UK registered car in Ireland before it has to be registe*

i wouldn't be too worried about it. Look at all the hungarian and polish cars that are here and nothing is done about it. I know plenty of people living near me that have been living here for years and not reregistered. Surely there cannot be one rule for them and another for Irish citizens?
I know a few people who haven't reregitered UK cars for weeks/months or not at all and never got stopped etc


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## RS2K

*Re: How long can you drive a UK registered car in Ireland before it has to be registe*



tosullivan said:


> I know someone who brought in a diesel before the vrt announcement in the last budget. Has yet to VRT the car and is planning on holding iff until July.
> Will the VRO be any the wiser as to when they brought the car in?



If they manage to get away undetected until then it shouldn't be a problem.

The car could be impounded though in the interim. The C&E people and the gardai are quite rightly clamping down.


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## tosullivan

*Re: How long can you drive a UK registered car in Ireland before it has to be registe*



RS2K said:


> If they manage to get away undetected until then it shouldn't be a problem.
> 
> The car could be impounded though in the interim. The C&E people and the gardai are quite rightly clamping down.


does teh VRO not ask for any documentation to show date of purchase?


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## Abbeykiller

*Re: How long can you drive a UK registered car in Ireland before it has to be registe*

They don't seem to care too much about that - only interested in the value of it. You have to provide evidence of the purchase details i.e price/date etc but not when you brought it in. In theory if you are not caught driving around in it in Ireland you could say it was sitting in the UK for months after you bought it.


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## chum

*Re: How long can you drive a UK registered car in Ireland before it has to be registe*

do not stop for customs, just keep driving, customs officers do not have legal right to stop you, you stop automatically stop at there stop sign, just ignore the stop sign and keep driving. how come michael flatley has a bunch of british reg cars at castlehyde?


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## westside

*Re: How long can you drive a UK registered car in Ireland before it has to be registe*

Guys,

You should read the following webpage
[broken link removed]

Section 2 "When must I Register?"  states
If you bring a vehicle into Ireland from abroad you must register it and pay VRT by the end of the next working day following its arrival in the State.

Section 3 "How and where do I Register?"  states
A copy of the purchase invoice or other evidence of payment for the vehicle must be provided in all cases. You should be aware that inspection of vehicles being registered is a possibility and you should be prepared to make your vehicle available for any such inspection.


I recently register my car and the VRT guy did not look for the purchase invoice or check the car to verify spec or mileage. However in the past a car I registered was inspected. So it depends on the revenue official in front of you.

You can play lotto with registering the car but you might sit in front of a revenue guy who will ask to inspect the car and view the purchace invoice. If  the invoice shows a date 4 months earlier then you will at the least be forced to pay the VRT as of that date. I would also be concerned about what else may happen since you clearly violated the first rule i.e. car must be registered following day after entry to the state.

at the end of the day it comes down to peoples own attitute. so like to do things by the book others do not.


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## wjc

*Re: How long can you drive a UK registered car in Ireland before it has to be registe*

Hi
Garda cannot legally impound you for driving english reg. They will probably give you a warning and say they are going to send your details onto revenue. If you get stopped by customs, *do not* leave keys in ignition. Put them in your pocket. If you get out of car and keys are in ignition they will try and seize car.


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## mickyd

*Re: How long can you drive a UK registered car in Ireland before it has to be registe*

what if you had the car registered in a relations name living in the uk ?
im thinking of buying a car up north and registering in my brothers name who lives in london
i can insure it here and make him a name driver
if asked i will say that he flys over every week and rather than rent a car he will have his own one here
i reckon i should get away with uk tax also, which is a big saving
i would leave it on uk plates indefinatly
what am i missing ??


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## Joe1234

*Re: How long can you drive a UK registered car in Ireland before it has to be registe*



mickyd said:


> im thinking of buying a car up north and registering in my brothers name who lives in london i can insure it here and make him a name driver
> what am i missing ??



Are you missing the point that you cannot insure your brothers car?  Only your brother, or his wife can insure his car.


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## mickyd

*Re: How long can you drive a UK registered car in Ireland before it has to be registe*

not sure your right on that one but either way the simpler and cheaper option would be to insure it in his name in the uk and go on as a name driver on his policy


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## ang1170

*Re: How long can you drive a UK registered car in Ireland before it has to be registe*



mickyd said:


> what if you had the car registered in a relations name living in the uk ?
> im thinking of buying a car up north and registering in my brothers name who lives in london
> i can insure it here and make him a name driver
> if asked i will say that he flys over every week and rather than rent a car he will have his own one here
> i reckon i should get away with uk tax also, which is a big saving
> i would leave it on uk plates indefinatly
> what am i missing ??


 
What you're missing is that customs are not fools.

It will only be a matter of time before you'll have to start answering some pretty serious questions.  Fine if you're happy to do that and run the risk of the consequences, but if not maybe you should learn to live by the rules like everyone else.


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## mickyd

*Re: How long can you drive a UK registered car in Ireland before it has to be registe*

ive been living by the rules for far too long and have paid MORE than my fair share of tax, vat, prsi, etc etc 
i just begrudge paying the hugely unfair and illegal vrt
did you get out of the wrong side of the bed today ?


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## ang1170

*Re: How long can you drive a UK registered car in Ireland before it has to be registe*



mickyd said:


> ive been living by the rules for far too long and have paid MORE than my fair share of tax, vat, prsi, etc etc
> i just begrudge paying the hugely unfair and illegal vrt
> did you get out of the wrong side of the bed today ?


 
Don't think so! Apologies for being so blunt, but really, posting something along the lines of "here's my scheme for tax evasion, do you think I'll get caught?" on a public forum and expecting any other kind of respose is a bit rich...

As it happens I'd agree with what you say above: nothing like writing a cheque for a four figure sum for VRT as I have done on a few occasions to focus one's mind on what an unfair and illegal tax it is.


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## Joe1234

*Re: How long can you drive a UK registered car in Ireland before it has to be registe*



mickyd said:


> not sure your right on that one



I know I cannot insure my brothers car as I do not have "insurable interest" in it.  Basically you can't insure something you do not own.


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## mathepac

*Re: How long can you drive a UK registered car in Ireland before it has to be registe*



Joe1234 said:


> ...  Basically you can't insure something you do not own.


Unless you've hired it, or the main dealer has given you a loaner for the day.


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## Joe1234

*Re: How long can you drive a UK registered car in Ireland before it has to be registe*



mathepac said:


> Unless you've hired it, or the main dealer has given you a loaner for the day.



Neither of these scenarios were mentioned by the poster to which I was replying.


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## ross81

my Polish neighbours have had a UK registered car for 2 years+ (as far as I can remember, that's just at the current address)! Even though they're not bad people, it still irks me as an Irish citizen that I'm playing by the rules (and paying) whilst they're clearly not AND getting away with it. Are Customs/Gardaí that stupid & incompetent that these people havn't been caught yet, 2 years later? It's annoyed me so much recently that I really want to report them now.


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