Tips for driving a foreign plated car in Portugal
While most of potential visitors are planning to employ Algarve car rental services during their vacation in Portugal, there are certainly some who may be considering making a road-trip out of the thing and want to travel around Portugal in their own car. This is why we’ll be talking about a couple of tips for driving a foreign plated car in Portugal.
Don’t loan your car and don’t leave the country without it
You should only use your vehicle for purposes of tourism and never lend it to anyone else during your time in Portugal. Those who intend to stay for longer than a few weeks may want to apply to the Portuguese Customs authority to have your car legally imported.
You will be fined if you leave the country and don take your car with you, now this might sound a little strange so we’ll elaborate a bit.
In case that an individual of any other nationality brings their car and uses it in Portugal for more than 183 days – 6 months – then they should legally register the vehicle with the local authorities.
In case you are stopped by the Police driving a foreign registered car, the first thing that you will usually be asked is how long you’ve been staying in Portugal. In case your answer is longer than 183 days then you will be fined. Granted this can be rather hard to prove by the Police so the answer to that particular question is left up to the honesty of each individual.
In case a foreign registered car is left in a public area and is also reported as being abandoned, or in case the Police become aware of it, they will wait 30 days before impounding it. It is quite difficult and a lengthy process to fine owners of abandoned foreign vehicles, but in case the vehicle is not claimed then it will be destroyed.
In case the owner does return to redeem their vehicle then they will have to pay a hefty fine.
We hope these tips help you with your trip.
