Hello friends Mr T here.
Hope you are all well, i know this subject comes along time and time again, but can anyone answer my simple question.
Do you need to provide evidence that you have owned the car for twelve months, or you have lived in the uk for the last twelve months?
Anyway we leave the uk nine weeks on Monday Thanks for all your answers in the past i will leave you all now.
Titleist,

That is 2 questions!

I reckon you do have to prove that you have lived in the U.K i.e utility bills etc and you certainly have to have the car in your name for 12 months.... otherwise you car going to hit with a hefty imposto automovel bill.....even still the retain the right to refuse you "free" importation.

Must be someone here though who's knows 100% how it works?!

good luck with you move and life in Portugal...

That's a good time to migrate as the weather will be a bit cooler and you won't sweat (sorry glow) getting your place in order and unpacking.

When we matriculated the car we had to prove that we had owned the car for 12 months prior to coming to Portugal (which is fine if you have kept your invoices and cheque stubs), and that you lived outside of Portugal for that same period.

Utility bills will do this but it's not enough to simply show the quarterly summary bill - you also need the part of your bill which shows the number of units consumed over a particular period. That means that a water bill is only OK if you are metered. Electricity bills are fine but phone bills usually are not.

There are a host of other things needed too. Fiscal certificates and Residencia is usually requested. You will also need a European Certificate of Conformity which you may have been given by your dealer when you purchased the car. If not, you need to get one from the manufacturer which can cost a bit more than you expect. The car will need to go to the local IPO station for an inspection - beware that they will actually need to see things like the egine number stamped on the engine itself, and this much match the number shown on your vehicle documentation. Also note that, if your car has a plastic cover on the engine like many modern cars, IPO won't remove it. You need to do that first (it usually just unclips) or they won't inspect it and you'll need to book it in - and pay - again.

Don't also forget that, if your car has a single fog light, it is probably on the wrong side so a new one will be needed. It's worth getting that done before you take it to IPO as, if they fail it for this, you need to book and pay again. Obviously, you also need the front lights adjusted.

The process is very long winded and, like most things in Portugal, very bureaucratic. However, for about 600 euros (including the agents fee) we saved about 15.000!

Good luck!

Hiya, do you not have to change the light units completely?

We bought some in the UK as I was under the understanding we needed new ones, if it's a case of changing the beam direction we've been completely had!



G

Most halogen headlights have a switch under the bonnet to change the beam direction, which is OK. Older units need to be replaced.

ah, mine aren't halogen, halogen are the blueish ones aren't they?

I had a look today while waiting for my number to come up at the IMTT and couldn't see anything.

G

Not just halogens. My wife's non-halogen Volvo also had a simple switch. On the rear of the car, if you have a vehicle with only a single foglight, it is probably on the wrong side so you'll need to get a new one fitted. Cost us €29.