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UK Embassy asks Spain to extend British driving licence validity again

The UK ambassador to Spain on Tuesday said he had requested another extension to the validity of UK licences in Spain past the looming December 31st deadline, adding that “negotiations are progressing” regarding a licence exchange deal.

uk driving licence exchange spain
This is the third extension UK authorities request from the Spanish government for the validity of UK driving licences in Spain. Photo: Michal Jarmoluk/Pixabay. Insert: gov.uk

UK Ambassador in Spain Hugh Elliott on Tuesday took to the Embassy’s Facebook Page ‘Brits in Spain’ to offer the latest update for UK licence holders. 

“I know you’ve been really concerned about whether you will continue to be able to drive using your UK driving licence in Spain beyond the end of this year,” Elliott said in the video message.

“As I have said in the past, the UK government that includes our team here at the embassy, have been working really hard to reach an agreement with Spain so that you, residents here, can exchange your UK driving licences without taking a test.”

A deal between Spanish and British authorities could also potentially enable anyone who didn’t register their intent to exchange their UK licence for a Spanish one before December 30th 2020 to carry out the exchange anyway.

It is unclear yet if any future agreement would be beneficial just to British residents who are protected under the Withdrawal Agreement or other UK licence holders who have moved or will move to Spain to become residents since Brexit came into force on January 1st 2021.

“Now, those negotiations are progressing but they haven’t yet reached a conclusion,” the British ambassador in Madrid stressed. 

“So what we’ve done is to ask the Spanish government for an extension to the current December 31st 2021 deadline. 

“That’s in order for you to be able to continue to drive on your UK driving licence here in Spain in the new year.

If granted, this will be the third extension Spain gives British licence holders since Brexit meant their UK-issued documents became unrecognised by the common EU framework, the first extension being announced in June 2021 and the second one in October.

“I’m expecting them to grant this extension before the end of the year,” Elliott said confidently. 

A third extension would give UK licence holders who reside in Spain and registered their intent to exchange more time to do so at Spain’s often-overburdened DGT traffic authority; and for those who didn’t register their intent, more time to drive legally in Spain and potentially sit their Spanish driving test as a safeguard.

“This is a message for British citizens resident in Spain and for other residents driving with a UK driving licence, and I know that does include some Spaniards,” Elliott highlighted.

“Many of you have also rightly pointed out that Spaniards resident in the UK are able to exchange their Spanish licence for a UK one without taking a practical test”. 

After a long wait for answers, UK licence holders in Spain are now hoping that a reciprocal agreement can finally be reached to solve this Brexit-induced obstacle.

Unless Spain has a bilateral agreement with a third country for the recognition and exchange of licences, most non-EU driving licence holders have six months from their arrival in Spain to use their foreign licences.

After that, they have to sit theory and practical tests and get a Spanish licence from scratch.

This doesn’t apply to British tourists with UK licences visiting Spain who are for example renting a car during their holidays. The issues affect UK licence holders who are residents in Spain.

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How to change the registered address for your car if you move in Spain

If you move within Spain and change address, you'll also need to change the registered address for your car in order to pay vehicle tax. Here's how to do it.

How to change the registered address for your car if you move in Spain

When you buy a car in Spain the driving authority, the Dirección General de Tráfico (DGT), asks you to register your car so that you (and they) can have a reference of where it is, who owns it and, crucially, where you’ll pay tax on it.

This information is necessary because paying vehicle tax in Spain (known as Impuesto sobre Vehículos de Tracción Mecánica or IVTM) depends on where in the country you live, and differs slightly depending on the municipality where you are registered.

You pay the tax in the municipality in which the vehicle is registered, and though the exact amount depends on your area and the type of car you have, generally speaking the annual tax is between €112 and €300 for the year.

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: What you need to know about road tax in Spain

IVTM is a tax you pay at the municipal level, that is, to your local town hall. According to the DGT, “the Traffic Tax of a vehicle is a mandatory tax that is applied on all motor vehicles, allowing them to circulate on public roads throughout the country”.

But what happens if you move?

Well, it depends. If you’re moving but staying within the same municipality, not much, but if you’re moving across the country to a new part of Spain, you’ll need to change your car’s registered address with the DGT.

How can you request a change of tax address for your car in Spain?

Any change of tax address must be requested by the owner of the vehicle or a duly authorised person on their behalf. There are four ways to request it:

Online – this is done through the DGT’s website, which you can find here. If it’s a general application, you shouldn’t need to attach any documentation. You can simply change the address of all your vehicles or select only those you wish to modify, choosing between the registration address or the tax address of the owner.

For vehicles moving from the Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla to the Spanish mainland peninsula or the Balearic Islands, or agricultural vehicles or those with any type of legal limitations or restrictions, you must make the application through the special cases option (supuestos especiales on the DGT website).

In this case, you essentially need to get documentation proving that the car has been cleared through customs. If it is an agricultural vehicle, you will need to provide the document showing that you have reported the change in Spain’s Official Register of Agricultural Machinery (ROMA).

By phone –- call 060, which is the number in Spain to get through to the Servicio de Información de la Administración General del Estado, essentially the go-to contact number for all things public services and administration. You can contact the DGT through this number, where they will check that the address you indicate coincides with the one on the INE register and, if so, make the requested change for you.

READ ALSO: The tricks drivers use to pay less in car taxes in Spain

DGT App If you have the miDGT app, you can also change your address through the platform.

In person — you can also change your vehicle’s tax address at your town hall (ayuntamiento) where you are currently registered (pre-move) or at any DGT traffic office, though you will need to make an appointment online or by phone beforehand. You can do that here.

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