Gibraltar Travel Forum

Hi,

Doing some research into my car which is needing an MOT. The car is UK registered and r/hand drive. I have it insured in the UK for use on the continent. I live about an hour from Gibraltar and would like to know if i can MOT my car in Gibraltar. If it needs to be registered in Gibraltar for an MOT, how much and how hard is this to do (also can a non-resident do it)? If i can register in Gibraltar will i need to pay import tax as it is already paid to the HRH inspectors?

So many questions.... any help would be appreciated, i have looked into some web-sites, but none seem to say what i need to find out.

Cheers!

You wouldn’t be able to have your UK registered car MOT'd in Gibraltar. Firstly you would have to have it registered in Gib plates and pay import duty (there is no VAT in Gibraltar but there is import duty). Also I wouldn’t think that you could do it as a non-resident, but I am, unsure about that. If you are planning in staying in Spain permanently why don't you register it in Spain?

Thanks for that, it is what i thought the answer may be.

The reason i am looking for alternatives to registering the car in Spain is to cut down costs and annoyance. As you may know Spain is a very bureaucratic country where not a lot gets done quickly. So i thought i would try to spare myself a scary insight into the world of Spanish paperwork (which we have already gone through when we bought our house and my partner became resident).
Also i thought i'd try to avoid costly conversions ie lights etc, and paying import duty (after paying tax in one country you wonder why you need to pay an import duty to another especially in the EU, and does it not mean i now contribute extra income to the country just by bringing my car into it e.g. mechanics, diesel tax, parts etc).

Just looking into my options and just trying to prolong the inevitable which looks inevitable and i'll take the plunge soon.

Cheers.