Holy Custard Batman

Have been on here before some moons ago but had to change my username for reasons I wont bore you with so if this jogs your memory and you remember my old name Id rather you didnt mention it here, cheers.

I had some excellent advice back in February 2020 and I remember missile and Loafing Along being particularly helpful so thanks for that. At the time I was aiming for Granada but then after 2 recce’s realised being near the ski resort wasnt important as the skiing was a as Missile suggested mainly a beginners place. A bargain rental came up in Salobrena so even though I wanted to be back from the coast away from the touristy bit the cheap rent and the very pleasant landlord saw me put down a deposit and first months rent, then Covid reared its ugly head and we never made it out there. Heyho

Fast forward to now and the pleasant landlord and the property is still available so yep Ive paid a deposit and will (Covid allowing) be picking up the keys on Friday. I’m excited and nervous. Nervous that the Covid situation makes everything uncertain and nervous that Ive committed to doing this!

Hoping the tarmac and the biking make it worthwhile. I think it will, usually in Blighty by the end of November I’m royally pissed off by the inclement unfriendly biking weather and our pot holed gridlocked roads ice the cake of discontent.

Can’t make up my mind whether to buy bikes in Spain or bring them from here. I understand vehicles shouldnt live out there long term but any experience or advice appreciated.

agree_to_disagree

Be careful you do not get asked to pay duty if you import bikes from the UK to Spain.
The duty is due on the value of the bikes plus the cost of posting them, as I recall.

DLC

Unless you're within your first year of residency in Spain and can prove you were previously a resident in GB, you could end up paying VAT and possibly import duties on bikes sent from GB.

GB because this doesn't apply to NI.

missile

Welcome back.
It is a bit of a drive to Andora, but the slopes and apre skii are much better than Spain :-)
Is it bicycles or motorcycles?

Holy Custard Batman

missile Cheers. Motorcycles, definitely motorcycles 👍
That looks like a lot of fun.

Holy Custard Batman

I could prove both of those but I’m not moving over lock stock n barrel straight away, still have a business to run in the UK. Was more thinking about keeping the bike as a UK bike and riding it home for the necessary breaks to keep it legal. A UK vehicle is officially allowed in Spain for the same length of time as a non resident. Just wondered how this was enforced - or if it ever was, how does anyone know how long a vehicles been in a country? Dont get me wrong I’m not planning on flouting it I just want to know how it works.. or doesnt work.

Holy Custard Batman

There are a lot of costs and some hassle involved in re-matriculation so Id rather buy a bike out there in that instance. Wondered if anyone had experience of keeping a UK registered vehicle in Spain for any length of time?

DLC

For a UK vehicle:

They check if the vehicle is yours or not <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/driving-in-the-eu">by insurance and ownership documents</a>.

They check if you can drive on your UK licence by finding out if you're a resident or not. If you're a resident you get six months from when your residency started or up to 31st October 2021 (whichever is later), if you're a visitor you get six months from the date stamped in your passport.

Holy Custard Batman

Ah interesting. Not that it makes any difference but they didnt stamp my passport 🤷‍♀️

DLC

Keep the printed PDF or boarding pass stub (are they still a thing?) along with the rest of the paperwork.

Holy Custard Batman

Guessing youve not flown for a while 😂
You can either download your boarding pass to your phone or print it out to scan at security gates. Either way you keep the whole thing so no problems there 👍
Thankyou.

DLC

Don't trust my plane ticket in an app on a smartphone... and I work in IT. Last time I messed around with Ryanair's app it couldn't show the pass.

Holy Custard Batman

Me neither. Watching people holding everyone up because it’s disappeared is annoying. I noticed the easyjet website now says you must print this where as before it said “print or download”

I do sometimes use app passes and scan codes on my phone but I always do a screenshot and save it to a folder in my pics 👍

missile

Salobrena looks to be a nice location for you. Have you signed for 12 month contract? The N340 is very busy, avoid N & A roads. There are many other great roads for biking. Be sure to carry all your documents, there is a heafty fine if you are stopped by the police. A photo copy is acceptable. You also require breakdown insurance.

Holy Custard Batman

Thanks. Salobrena is much nicer than I anticipated. We arrived late on friday so its all still very new.
The landlord is a lovely guy, very helpful so thats a bonus. He said its not well known as a tourist destination for foreigners which I think is true as the locals are pleasant and smiley at our feeble Spanish rather than exasperated by another non spanish speaking Brit.

Yes 12 months with an option to extend each year for 5 years 👍 so getting an NIE should work out ok, I hope 😬

I knew about having to have your documents on you at all times. I didnt know photocopies were acceptable so thats good to know.
I hadnt heard of the breakdown cover part of the equation? My UK motorcycle insurance includes European break down cover.