UK, Ireland / Taking a UK-registered car to Poland [35]

Hi there.

I have a british car here in Poland because when I first came here I wasn't sure how long I was going to stay so I didn't want to buy a Polish car. There aren't tax discs in Poland (road tax is included in the price of fuel) but if your car is registered in the UK you need a valid UK tax disc. Also if your car is registered in the UK you need a valid MOT certificate from the UK. You can't have a british MOT done abroad so you will have to take the car back to the UK once a year. Your biggest problem will be insurance. I have never found a british insurer that will insure my car abroad for more than 90 days. If they get a whiff that you are planning on leaving it there permanently they won't give you the insurance. You will need to take out Polish car insurance which may be problematic if the car is right hand drive. It's slightly easier to get insurance if you have a left hand drive car.

If the car is left hand drive already then apparently it isn't that difficult to register it in Poland. I am sure there is plenty of bureacracy but the standards in the tests are slightly lower than in the UK. I have heard that the cost is 1200-1500zł but don't quote me on that! It's only what I have heard and could be way off!

I think it is pretty much impossible to register a right hand drive car here. You would need to have it converted which would be really expensive. Honestly it is a lot simpler just to buy a car here.

You are required to carry all the documents (registration certificate, insurance, MOT, drivers license, passport) with you at all times when you are driving. I have never been stopped by the police but apparently it isn't uncommon. I am not sure how knowledgable the Polish police are about what foreigners should carry with them but I wouldn't take the risk. I have been stopped en route to Poland in Germany twice (both times they were stopping all cars on the stretch of motorway) and they checked all my documents thoroughly and seemed to know perfectly well what I should have.

Hope that is helpful! Good Luck!

UK, Ireland / Taking a UK-registered car to Poland [35]

I really don't think you could do that. Remember that the DVLA knows if you haven't renewed your tax disc and if you don't renew it you have to declare the car off road. I think you could probably get in quite a lot of trouble if the car was declared off road and you were caught. It's up to you but I really don't think it would be worth the worry.

UK, Ireland / Taking a UK-registered car to Poland [35]


Wow that would be great! My insurance is up for renewal in a month or so, so that would be really useful!

UK, Ireland / Taking a UK-registered car to Poland [35]


Mister H, I wasn't responding to your post but to the previous one (by the original poster)...I forgot to put in a quote so sorry for being unclear. Reading it again I can see how you would think I was replying to you...but it would make me a real idiot!

Anyway I'm going to suggest that while there are a lot of cars on the UK roads for lengthy periods of time without being registered in the UK, a lot of the cars with foreign plates belong to holiday makers too.

I also think paying for road tax through fuel is a better idea. It would mean that those who use the roads most/ drive gas guzzlers pay their fair share. And of course it would save fools like me paying it twice over!

Rearding the insurance, unless you use a specialist broker, you will find that car insurance is only valid in other countries for limited periods of time. Usually 30-90 days. Espana, your friend's insurance is probably invalid.

UK, Ireland / Taking a UK-registered car to Poland [35]


Because it's still not valid if you have the car abroad permanently and besides...I have a nice car. I don't think I would feel comfortable with anything less than fully comp!