Yes I've tried to do that but that's left me more confused!

I understand you're probably tired of repeating yourself but I'll just explain my situation and anyone who has the patience can comment!

I plan to ride to spain in August. Then, from October I'll work for 9 months. Following that I'll return to the UK. If i was moving permanently there'd be no question of importing the vehicle. However, if there is a way to keep it on the UK plates it seems a shame to pay all the import duty and charges etc only to return to the UK 9 months later and repeat the process there.

If I'm living in Spain from October 2008 to June 2009, Could i not say that I'm in the country for 3 months of 2008 and 6 months of 2009 and thereby have avoided 'being in the country for of 6 months in any one year'?

Or does the fact I'm in Spain for 9 months automatically make me a resident? If so, who does this 6 month rule apply to? surely any UK vehicle owner in spain over 3 months is a resident by your criterion so the 6 month rule seems meaningless???

thanks!

The sixth month rule in the country is for people that have holiday homes here and say drive out for three two month holidays but are resident in the UK.
If you move here for as long as you intend then you will be a resident and have to matriculate to Spanish plates to be legal.

ive had and still have bikes here in spain been riding them on UK insurance for past 5 years never been a problem even with the police over here.

Well you are driving illegally and uninsured.

Never owned a 50cc in Spain.

Guess things have changed, again.....

My first scoot here was a 250cc & it took some hunting around to find a company that would cover it & I am well past 17 and when I did find one yes the cost was HORRENDOUS .

I can well understand your confusion incredulous. I have had motos out here now for the past 7 years and also had both UK and Spanish plated cars too. I just swapped my UK moto plate to a Spanish plate on a 4 yr old bike as it was now in my interest to do so. Some are quoting the law (almost) and in your situation you have to make your choices and live with the consequences. Before jdr, says I was illegal, there is a little known issue in my case which is that although I am resident in Spain I do not have "normal residency" and all my vehicles were always taxed in their country of matriculation, MoT'd or ITV'd as relevant and insured. 7 years ago it was impossible to get fully comp insurance on a Spanish plated moto. All you could get was basic third party and at one point I was told we are too close to Morocco and bikes can so easily disappear so no insurance company would cover theft. Things have now changed and fully comp is available although much more expensive than the UK equivalent. With a 4 yr old bike, fully alarmed, immobiliser etc and kept at night behind locked gates, I now live with basic Spanish insurance although this does include full roadside assistance, Europe wide and unlimited time in or out of Spain. The UK is almost unique in that you cannot just drive across borders within Schengen and thus it is possible for the authorities to demand proof of when a moto went in or came out of the UK. I used to have my old moto taken back to the UK for MoT etc in the back of a van and therefore had no paperwork other than the MoT certificate itself which must have been issued to the bike when it was in the UK. If you are planning a 9 month stay in Spain then at least to begin with you can be a tourist but after 3 months you will need to get your NIE and after 6 months total in any year you are classed automatically as resident in Spain for tax purposes. I changed a UK plate to a Spanish plate for less than 300 euros using a Gestor (no matriculation tax payable in my case) and if your bike is fully EU homologated, you should have no problem switching but then you will also have to switch from UK to Spanish insurance. It is enshrined in EU law that a moto insured in the UK is also automatically insured for basic third party risks in all member states of the EU. So if you have a UK address base and if you bring your UK moto across for more than the legal permitted duration then you have to weigh up the risks of getting caught and the burden of proof if anyone asks questions. All it takes is a nasty neighbour to denounce you and attract the attention of the authorities. I certainly kept a UK plate here but not always on the road, often locked in a shed for the winter weather and never had a problem. But things have changed and they are more strict now than before. Incidentally insurance on larger motos can actually be easier than small scoots because the kids drive scoots and they cant drive big motos until much later.

Thanks for the advice guys.

there seem to be two schools of thought on the whole matter. A literal (and legal) interpretation and a pragmatic (but illegal) interpretation. I can see both points of view. It's important to give legally correct information on a forum like this and matriculation may be the most sensible option (but does seem like a lot of hassle and cost for what is essentially an extended holiday).

On the other hand i don't think legality and morality are necessarily exactly the same thing. If i kept a UK plated bike here longer than 3 months I would be risking a penalty (from a fine to confiscation of the bike???) that i would have to accept. But would i be adversely affecting anyone else? In the unlikely but emotive example scenario given previously of "hitting a child", I would feel equally devastated, whether my bike was considered legally registered or not and the child would surely be treated in the national health system regardless.

So what are: :
A-the costs associated with being penalised for staying over 3 months on UK plates? and,
B-the costs associated with matriculating a 1999 BMW F650 Motorbike (worth about 1200 pounds and paying the first reg tax) and,
C-the odds of the guardia finding out/caring and
D-anything else i havent considered???

As I said above, costs of matriculating a bike for me were less than 300 euros and if matriculation tax is payable it is 12% of the value according to Trafico. If the official value is 1200 then 12% of 1200 is 144 pounds or 180 odd euros so I estimate the whole thing for around 450 euros. But you then have to insure with a Spanish company although if you SORN it out of the UK you may simply be able to export (baja the matriculation) the bike from Spain after you have finished and pick up UK tax again. Interestingly my Spanish insurance for car and bike places no limit on the time I can spend "abroad" meaning anywhere in the rest of the EU.

Thanks el capitan,

how much do you think it would approximately cost to insure the bike with a spanish insurance company for a year on the minimum 3rd party property cover once the bike is matriculated? I guess it depends on a few factors though...

Of course it depends on many factors but for a 120 bhp Triumph and a rider/owner/only driver with 40 yrs bike licence I got just under 250 euros in the end.