NIE and importing a motorcycle
 

hey everyone,

I have a NIE and I have residency. I'm moving back to Spain with my English girlfriend and will be importing a Honda CX500 restricted and a Honda CB500 restricted.
My girlfriend doesn't have a NIE, does that mean she can't import her bike?
If that is the case, can I be the one importing both bikes?
Two secondary questions if you don't mind:
1. How long does it take to import (I am fluent in Spanish and will not use a gestor)
2. In what order does it work? (Get plates -> do ITV -> get insurance?)

Thanks for any help. Sorry to ask more than one question.
Jack :)

Re: NIE and importing a motorcycle
 

If your a fluent in Spanish you`ll get better advice from the Embassy in London, on the web people`s advice isn`t always reliable, especially when Spain`s rules tend to go off into different yet same directions.

Even if your Spanish isn`t up to it, they do English pretty well.

How do you mean residency, do you mean you hold a Spanish passport ?

You can only claim to be a resident in Spain by actually living there, once you live in another country your automatically demend non resident.

Re: NIE and importing a motorcycle
 

Good idea about the embassy I will get onto them for sure.

About my residency, I lived and worked in Madrid for 2 years for a Spanish bank so I am fully registered in Spain: NIE, residency card, bank accounts, tarjeta sanitaria. I have returned to the UK for 10 months but will return in a few weeks. As soon as I find a place, I will start the import process.

Re: NIE and importing a motorcycle
 

They`ve abolished the residency cards, now you just get a letter with your number on it, your card will still be valid, but residency is now controlled by the amount of time in the country.

Anybody who has perminent address in a EU country is deemed resident of the country for taxation purposes.

The NIE just allows you to be taxed and open accounts etc etc it doesn`t get used for proof of residence as people living in the UK and have second homes in Spain need an NIE.

Re: NIE and importing a motorcycle
 

I am sure the cards are still issued as it is your national ID card. It has my fingerprint, photo, NIE and address on it.

But anyways, I'm not so interested in this aspect of things, more the bike stuff.

Jack :)

Re: NIE and importing a motorcycle
 

Not since April 2007. All you now get is an A4 sheet of paper called a "certificate of Residency".

National ID cards are only issued to Spanish Nationals.

UK citizens now only have their UK passport as their official form of ID because the UK do not issue ID cards.

Re: NIE and importing a motorcycle
 

No way, I stand corrected. I guess I got the card just in time then cos it would be a pain to carry my passport around everywhere.

Can anybody help me in relation to my bike questions? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Jack :)

Re: NIE and importing a motorcycle
 

If your using the bike in Spain you arn`t importing it, therefore no just bring it.

Since the EU has no borders there isn`t any import or export of personnel goods and your bikes are personnel, but if you tried to bring in a couple of hundred then that`ll be taxed.

As for the regs you`ll need to register it first (within 30 days) then ITV`ed, then plated, but if their imports to the UK and not European sold bikes you may not be able to register them and they`d be illegal.

Also you`d better start saving to it`ll cost around 500 euros per bike to plate and sort using a gestor, If you do it yourself you`ll be a wheel chair by the time its sorted.

Happened a few months ago to a friend he returned to the Uk bought a cheap Japaniese import people carrier and found in Spain it couldn`t be registered, something about the chassis numbers, the Spanish only allow one with 20 numbers, this had 23, so he`s stuck with it and can only sell it back in the UK or to a expat returning to the UK.

Re: NIE and importing a motorcycle
 

You may have to renew it for the new one as you left the country.

I`m not to sure.

But the cards are no longer issued.

You should have informed them you left Spain and the address of your new address will need to be updated.

Re: NIE and importing a motorcycle
 

Yeah, I've just emailed the British Embassy in Barcelona asking if they know if my residency would be cancelled.
My bank accounts are still running, I informed my bank that I was leaving and the approximate date of my return but I didn't tell the authorities I was leaving so maybe I'll get away with it and just need to change my address. I'll see what the embassy says.


That's interesting about the Japanese import. I haven't bought the bike yet but I'll be sure to buy a non-import, British sold one.
I've read in other forums that the Spanish don't recognise all make and model combinations. But I intend to buy a mid 90s CB500. I guess they are extremely common across Europe.

Thanks for the help guys, appreciated
Jack :)

Re: NIE and importing a motorcycle
 

Bikes are big business in Spain, you might save yourself a huge headache and cash buying in Spain.

Re: NIE and importing a motorcycle
 

That's what I've been considering.
It's just that I have a motorcycle trip planned before I arrive in Barcelona. My girlfriend already has a bike and wants me to buy one in the UK asap, then we'll bike around the UK, France and Spain before ending up in Barcelona. I still have loads of my things in Madrid where I lived before so we don't need to bring too much with us.
But it would be a lot simpler for me to buy the bike in Spain, I've seen some decent deals on the CB500s. Just need it restricted.

Insuring the bike here in the UK with European cover just for a couple of months is also a pain and I'll be throwing a few quid down the drain with that too. But this trip is a dream for my gf, feel bad telling her we wouldn't do it.

Still got time to decide though. Any ideas?

Jack :)

Re: NIE and importing a motorcycle
 

Ditch the trip around Europe until you get to Spain.

Use the Exchange rate to purchase the Bike in Spain, so you`ll get the bike cheaper and won`t get the hassle.

Then get used to riding in Spain, as the roads are quiet bad for bikes, there currently trying to get the law to change the barriers as there far worse than the ones in the UK should your head hit it.

The pot holes are quiet bad here for bikes to, so you`ll benifit from some experience.

Then take a trip from Madrid to Southern France up in to northern Italy, better weather than the UK and northern France, then you can propose to the girlfriend in the alps on ya bikes.

There you go free advice.;)