Taking your car abroad
In a sentence You’ll have to request a green card from your insurer if driving to Europe after 29 March
Currently, a driver of a UK-registered car is allowed to drive anywhere in the EU, the EEA (European Economic Area), Switzerland and Serbia, and not have to carry a green card that proves you have insurance cover.
But if the UK leaves without a deal, all changes and drivers will be expected to carry a green card when in mainland Europe and Ireland. They are likely to be issued by an insurance company for free, but the industry is warning it could take up to a month to obtain one, so if no deal happens and you’re booked to go away with the car this Easter, you will need to act fast.
The official advice from the UK government is: “From 29 March 2019, in the event that there is no EU exit deal … drivers of UK-registered vehicles will need to carry a motor insurance green card when driving in the EU and EEA.”
Note that a green card (and they do have to be on green paper) typically lasts only 90 days, and if your insurance renewal comes up while you’re abroad, you will need one for each cover period. The card applies to the vehicle, not the driver.
Direct Line insurance says: “In the event of a no-deal Brexit, we have plans to ensure customers are provided with a green card if they drive in Europe on or after 29 March. Customers will need to contact us at least two weeks in advance of when they are due to travel.”
In Ireland, where 30,000 drivers commute across the border daily, and where shoppers from Dublin frequently head to Belfast and vice versa, the green cards issued are likely to be valid for one year. Irish insurers have prepared 400,000 green card forms in the event of no deal, and some UK insurers are now proactively sending green cards to customers in Northern Ireland.
Insurers say they are already incurring hefty costs to organise the cards and prepare their staff in call centres to handle an inevitable barrage of questions. The Association of British Insurers says it would much rather none of this was happening. “It remains the case that insurers do not want a no-deal Brexit; it would be bad for the economy and bad for our customers,” it says. “We continue to hope these arrangements are never needed and urge the government, UK parliament and EU27 to agree an orderly way forward.”
Meanwhile, if your UK-registered car sports an EU flag on its numberplate, you might want to buy a GB sticker. From 29 March, if the UK leaves without a deal, the government says: “You may need a GB sticker even if your vehicle has a europlate [displaying both the EU flag and a GB sign]. You will not need a GB sticker to drive outside the UK if you replace a europlate with a numberplate that features the GB sign without the EU flag.” PC
Driving with a UK licence when abroad
In a sentence You will have to buy an International Driving Permit to drive in Europe, at a price of £5.50, with different ones required for France and Spain
If there is no deal with the EU then recognition of UK driving licences in the EU ends. So British drivers will have to go to the Post Office and obtain an International Driving Permit (IDP), which you will need to carry with you in conjunction with your UK driving licence.
There is a curious twist to the international rules which means that if, say, you drive through France and into Spain, you’ll need two different IDPs. That’s because the 1949 IDP convention covers Spain, Malta, Cyprus and Ireland, while the 1968 IDP convention covers all other EU countries, plus Norway and Switzerland.
So at the Post Office you have to specify which permit you want, depending on which country you are visiting, or get both if driving between France and Spain or Portugal and Spain.
And just to add a little more complexity, the permit you buy for Portugal will last three years, but in Spain you’ll have to renew it every year.
The Post Office has set up a webpage dedicated to this process. But you can’t buy it online – you’ll have to head to a Post Office with your driving licence, passport and a passport-sized photograph.
As regards driving back and forth between the UK and Ireland, there has been significant confusion.
Last September the government’s official position was that an IDP would be required if driving across the Northern Ireland border. But in January this advice was withdrawn, and it now says: “If you hold a UK driving licence you should not need an IDP to drive in Ireland from 29 March as Ireland does not currently require IDPs to be held by driving licence holders from non-EU countries.”
It was also revealed this week that British citizens resident in Ireland – estimated to number about 300,000 – will be required to swap their UK driving licence for an Irish one at a fee of €55 (£48) if there is no deal on Brexit. PC
European Health Insurance Card
In a sentence They will no longer be valid and buying travel insurance will become essential
For years, Brits travelling, studying and working in Europe have relied on the European Health Insurance Card (Ehic) that entitled the holder to state-provided medical treatment if they fell ill or had an accident in an EU/EEA country.
Two weeks ago, the UK government issued its latest advice on healthcare when travelling abroad, warning that if the UK leaves with no deal, our Ehics will no longer be valid.
It has advised anyone travelling on or after 29 March to any of the EU countries as well as Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, to buy travel insurance to cover healthcare “just as you would if visiting a non-EU country”.
It has said it is seeking agreements with countries on healthcare arrangements for UK nationals after Brexit day, but no such agreements are in place yet. Those studying or working temporarily abroad already won’t be able to buy travel insurance as they have already left. They will probably just have to risk it as, alternatively, they face having to buy expensive local insurance, which will run into several hundred pounds.
Ehic was never intended to cover long-term residents who had moved to another country, but many relied on it particularly if they spent only part of the year abroad, or for when they had just arrived in a new country. MB
Visas and travel
In a sentence: Visa-free travel to Europe ends, paving the way for possible £52 90-day visas
It’s arguably the craziest prospect of all, but if the Brexit impasse is not broken, British tourists face having to apply for a visa to visit most of mainland Europe.
That was the warning from Brussels this week where reports say there is a very real prospect of UK citizens…
