From a EU point of view it all depends where you are registered as a resident and present in that country.
EU law states that if you are out the country for more than 6 months you must register the car in the state you are currently living in.
https://europa.eu/yo...q/index_en.htm.
I know of French people living in Belgium who have had expensive fines (1500 euros +) for not re-registering their car locally. Similar stories in Austria. But then it depends on how arsy the local police are in enforcing those laws.
Having a modified mini project and living abroad, I researched this extensively. The above comments are useful but what I often found is that depending on who you talk to you get different answers, event at government administration levels. Keep in the mind the UK has a much stronger car culture and therefore the information is well documented and publicly available. In other countries, unless you are a professional in the automotive market registered with the competent authorities, it's very difficult to get a straight answer as an individual. The truth is the system is pretty complex, and it all pivots around obtaining one piece of paper. Here's what I learnt and I hope it helps point you in the right directions.
You cannot register - anywhere - a vehicle without approval (homologation), so to understand vehicle registration you need to understand type approval in the EU.https://en.wikipedia...i/Type_approval
Then, once you know your rights as an EU citizen, learn how those are laws are applied and the structures available nationally (these are DREAL and UTAC in France I believe).
In summary there are 3 types.
1. EU type approval. This is what every modern car sold in the EU has since '96 and allows it to marketed across the EU without any legal barriers
2. National limited series
3. Individual type approval (IVA). Anyone can submit for this, professionals of the trade AND individuals.
2 and 3 are national, ie approved according to the laws applicable in that country only. Whilst the free movement of goods still applies, this means to be legally approved in another country the car can be subject to homologation testing if no equivalence is found or the governing laws are sufficiently dissimilar between the countries to allow a match (EU directive 2007/46/EC - Edit notably that directive states that the country where the vehicle is to be registered cannot impose the same tests run in another member state, unless the government of that country can demonstrate a risk to public safety. The law is written in the interest of the consumer). Prior to the introduction of EU type approval all approvals were just national, since no other structure was in place.
So these days EU countries use the European Certificate of Conformity (= proof of EU Type Approval) for re-registering cars between member states as standard practice, and as a consequence any car pre'96 is more complicated to register. Agreements exist, but being outside the scope of everyday procedure, robotic brainless and carefree bureaucracy can makes this suuuuuper fun as nick mentioned (like telling you contact the manufacturer for a certificate, or being bounced around clueless administrations).
In France, for classic cars, the better informed will steer you towards the FFVE (Fédération Française de Véhicules d'Epoque) to deliver an Approval certificate if you don't have one or it doesn't suit the French authorities. Expect problems / difficulties if your mini is modified (no homologation, no registration, but check what you can get away with before stripping everything out). Make sure the numbers on your V5 match those on the car (engine, vin, etc). Paperwork primes.
Note you can import US cars for example, but they must go through their stringent and expensive approval system under their national type approval scheme (their version of an IVA, known as RTI for Réception à Titire Isolé). Each approval test is 1500 euros. No discounts for retests.
France has also been know to request these tests for vehicles registered in other member states, even if the exact same model was on sale and registered in those member states and France (pre'96 so national type approval). You may be confronted with ridiculous emissions standards if they send you down this path. Unfortunately procedure trumps common sense (nobody wants to get fired or sued in case of litigation), so best be well informed of your rights in this case.
By the way, do not confuse MoT (or Contrôle Technique) with type approval. The Mot is just a regular spot check once the car is registered of some of the national road safety laws. Depending on the country, they are not able to deliver the type approval paperwork that says your car complies with all those national laws. It depends on the amount of road worthiness testing that country requires for a particular vehicle and the system in place.
Some useful links:
Registering your car in another EU country - Moving for more than 6 months: https://europa.eu/yo...ad/index_en.htm
European Consumer Centre - cross border car registration:https://www.europe-c...d-registration/
I thoroughly recommend having a good read through the report linked in that page (the first part is about car purchase, skip to registration). It's probably the only document you'll find on the net with that comprehensive level of information complied for cross-EU car registration. I think as mentioned above, France is one of the strictest (https://www.europe-c...PORT_europe.pdf)
If member states are not applying EU law, SOLVIT is the place to go (it's a free service): http://ec.europa.eu/solvit/
Cross EU country registration problems is one of the areas they regularly deal with and have been helpful to more than a few. You have to have an actual problem first before wasting their time. They won't help you weasel your modified car into your new country (tried it prior to been well informed, but glad they exist), they apply the EU law book and seek resolution out of court if your case is legally enforceable.
http://www.paca.deve...s-rti-r210.html(french IVA - use google translate if you need to)
https://www.ffve.org...vehicule_ancien (importing a classic car in france, also in french)
Oh and if a no deal Brexit happens, people in this situation are thrown a Thor size spanner in the works. I would expect current procedures to be void as EU law no longer applies. I would be like importing a car from outside the EU with applicable import taxes.
For some, it's been relatively simple, others an administrative nightmare. Be prepared for a bit of a battle, but don't give up your mini!
Once you get through this, you'll never b***h about UK registration and road vehicle safety laws again. It's pudding by comparison.
Edited by superchiwawa, 30 November 2018 - 01:39 AM.
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