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Malta resident driving Italian registered car

BobMartini
#1
Hi everyone,
I'm Italian and I've recently moved to Malta (40 day ago), I still have to ask to become a resident so for now I am still a tourist.

I've brought with me my father's car but since I've realised how difficult it is to keep it here I'm planning to bring it back to Italy.

I know that once you become a resident you are no longer allowed to drive a foreign plated car, but does it make any difference the fact that it's not registered with my name? I think I read something about it but it was not very clear.

By the way, if I decide to keep it here and register it, how much would I have to pay approximately? It's a 2009 fiat grande punto, about 45000km.

Any help will be much appreciated :)
See also
tearnet
#2
The first thing to ask is are you working in Malta?
If you are then you cannot be a tourist!

So long as you have permission to drive the car and its legal in Italy ie  insured for you etc. then as a tourist you can drive it.

http://www.valuation.vehicleregistratio … hicle.aspx

This link will tell you how much you will pay to register the vehicle in Malta.

Terry
BobMartini
#3
Thanks for your reply.
I am a professional poker player so technically speaking I don't have a job here. So I am quite sure that I'm still a tourist until I ask to become a resident. But I'd like to have my Maltese IDs as soon as possible since I'm planning to live here for an year, the problem is that I find it difficult to bring my car back to Italy (also because they have cancelled the Grimaldi Holding Malta-Salerno ferry...)
So a Maltese resident can't drive a foreign car even if it is not registered under its own name? That's what I'd like to know, because it would give some more time to take the car back to Italy.

By the way It would cost 1800€ to register my car here, definitely not worthy for a 4 years old Fiat Grande Punto...
tearnet
#4
See this for rules on using a foreign registered car ....

http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/ve … dex_en.htm
tearnet
#5

BobMartini wrote:

Thanks for your reply.
I am a professional poker player so technically speaking I don't have a job here. So I am quite sure that I'm still a tourist until I ask to become a resident....


That makes you self employed not unemployed!!!

BobMartini
#6

tearnet wrote:
BobMartini wrote:

Thanks for your reply.
I am a professional poker player so technically speaking I don't have a job here. So I am quite sure that I'm still a tourist until I ask to become a resident....


That makes you self employed not unemployed!!!


Of course you are right, but after trying to open a bank account it's easy to start thinking that they are the same thing :) .

Anyway since I can't find any specific info I think I'll just take my car back to Italy before asking for eResidence.

G
#7

BobMartini wrote:

So a Maltese resident can't drive a foreign car even if it is not registered under its own name?


correct - otherwise residents would just import cars without registering, and drive each others cars

michael78
#8
I think if you are earning money through playing poker then you probably dont want to pay taxes in your country of residence (in this case italy) but rather be taxed in Malta.

So once you take up tax residency here you will be either employed or self-employed.

I would suggest you bring back the car before applying although it is the most stupid rule I have ever seen anywhere (in other EU countries you can drive foreign plated cars mostly up to 1 year) but those seem to be the rules on this island.

Get a cheap used car here and you spare yourself all the hassle of importing.
G
#9

michael78 wrote:

in other EU countries you can drive foreign plated cars mostly up to 1 year


not true - 6 months in 12 as long as not resident, cannot drive if resident is a general EU law

tearnet
#10

georgeingozo wrote:
michael78 wrote:

in other EU countries you can drive foreign plated cars mostly up to 1 year


not true - 6 months in 12 as long as not resident, cannot drive if resident is a general EU law


As georgeingozo has said its EU law, read this link...

http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/ve … dex_en.htm

GuestPoster566
#11
The only exception, I believe is if a student.
michael78
#12
Yes, seems like the exceptions are only for company cars

Hmm, I am wondering if that exception would be possible if I have a foreign plated company car driving in Malta and being resident here but being partly employed by the foreign company in the other country and also of course paying tax on my "salary" there.

If you drive a company car (registered in the country where you work), you may use it for private purposes in the country where you live without having to register it there. You would then be driving with foreign plates in the country where you live. This may cause concern for the local police, who have to check that people under their jurisdiction have paid national vehicle registration taxes.

matm911
#13

BobMartini wrote:

I know that once you become a resident you are no longer allowed to drive a foreign plated car, but does it make any difference the fact that it's not registered with my name? I think I read something about it but it was not very clear.


It's only clear that as tourist you can use your car for 6 months here and as resident you have to register it in Malta after 7 days (otherwise you pay 30,- penalty per day !).
But the car is registered on your father's name, he is not resident here and not tourist for longer than 6 months. The habitation of the person is important, not the car itself :-D

btw, it's good to have a (self written) declaration from your father that allows also you to use his car.

Markus

G
#14
"The habitation of the person is important, not the car itself"

The "habitation" of the car is also important, and is independent of where the owner is

The car can only be in Malta 6 months out of 12 before it has to be registered, irrespective of where the owner or the driver is


Any tourist can drive any foreign plated car (assuming permission of owner, and taxed, insured) as long as car has been in Malta for less than 6 out of the last 12 months. No resident can drive a foreign plated car.
matm911
#15

georgeingozo wrote:

The car can only be in Malta 6 months out of 12 before it has to be registered, irrespective of where the owner or the driver is


Therefore it's advisable to bring the car to Malta without registering with any ferry company, so there's no evidence when the car entered the island ;-) ... and this is not illegal.

btw, lot's of people do this, ever wondered about the sun-faded " temporary" license plates :-D

G
#16
The authorities keep an eye on foreign plated cars in Malta, and how long they are here - I know of people who have been stopped, the driver claims they only just arrived and the TM person told them their vehicle was seen on the road in Malta more than 6 months ago and unless they can produce ferry tickets immediately then the car is impounded, and they had to walk home.
matm911
#17
ya, that's the risk :-D

But only because the Malta police "has seen" the car before doesn't make it evident ... therefore the EU court currently has lots of such infringements of Maltese authorities on the table ;-)

If there is no written evidence existing of bringing the car to another EU member state, there is no proper way to execute this. In Malta(or the UK) it's easier for the authorities because most of the vehicles are registered on the ferries, but in other EU countries it's common practice as long as there's no evidence.

The authorities here may try to do so, but they are not conform with the EU directives nor the national law. On the other hand, it can be hard for an individual to insist on his rights ... especially in Malta ;-)
tearnet
#18

matm911 wrote:
georgeingozo wrote:

The car can only be in Malta 6 months out of 12 before it has to be registered, irrespective of where the owner or the driver is


Therefore it's advisable to bring the car to Malta without registering with any ferry company, so there's no evidence when the car entered the island ;-) ... and this is not illegal.

btw, lot's of people do this, ever wondered about the sun-faded " temporary" license plates :-D


How do you bring a car to Malta without registering with a ferry company?
If you mean on a trailer then hiring a trailer and a car on a return ticket will be dearer than paying the import duty.

matm911
#19

tearnet wrote:

How do you bring a car to Malta without registering with a ferry company?


The EU directive of (paperless) free movement of goods within the common market makes it possible ... ask you car importer ;-)

G
#20
I think he means like "The Spy Who Loved Me"
G
#21
http://www.drivespark.com/img/2013/04/10-1365578091-james-bond-lotus-esprit-underwater-car-03.jpg
tearnet
#22

matm911 wrote:
tearnet wrote:

How do you bring a car to Malta without registering with a ferry company?


The EU directive of (paperless) free movement of goods within the common market makes it possible ... ask you car importer ;-)


All ferry companies are required by law to hold a full manifesto of all passengers and vehicles before they sail.
This includes passport numbers and registration numbers.

Terry

Toon
#23
ask the sub division of TM
matm911
#24
You should consider the car as goods, not as vehicle ;-)

Or use a car officially registered to a foreign company resp. foreign self-employer ...
G
#25

tearnet wrote:

All ferry companies are required by law to hold a full manifesto of all passengers and vehicles before they sail.
This includes passport numbers and registration numbers.

Terry


what if the vehicle is in a container ?

tearnet
#26

georgeingozo wrote:
tearnet wrote:

All ferry companies are required by law to hold a full manifesto of all passengers and vehicles before they sail.
This includes passport numbers and registration numbers.

Terry


what if the vehicle is in a container ?


Then it would be registered as freight.

If you really wanted to bring a car in without it being registered then a set of false plates would be easier and cheaper.

matm911
#27

tearnet wrote:

If you really wanted to bring a car in without it being registered then a set of false plates would be easier and cheaper.


... and illegal.

You also need to provide a false insurance paper for the vehicle with the false plates ... in case it will be checked by the ferry company.

Note: You should NOT use a ferry leaving from Italy (because of their special "Export" rules) !!!

michael78
#28
@matm911
Or use a car officially registered to a foreign company resp. foreign self-employer ...

- What is the advantage of that? I didnt get that point.
G
#29

michael78 wrote:

@matm911
Or use a car officially registered to a foreign company resp. foreign self-employer ...

- What is the advantage of that? I didnt get that point.


there are some exemptions to paying the tax

michael78
#30
I am asking because I was thinking of getting my car back to Malta from Germany where it is currently in a garage of a friend.

I would employ myself to the foreign company and use the car here in Malta as employee of the foreign company.

Really need to get that checked out by my lawyer espacially if the company car could be in Malta more than 6 months.
matm911
#31
To be on the safe side, you should ask a local tax adviser for the conditions between Malta and Germany
michael78
#32
this is a quite "interesting" article i found although it is luxemburg and germany:

http://www.kpmg.com/global/en/issuesand … rkers.aspx
matm911
#33
Vehicle taxation remains a national responsibility in the EU, therefore things might be similar ... but not the same :-D

e.g. the problems for bringing a car from Italy to Malta are the Italian Export (to Malta) rules, not the Maltese Import (from Italy) rules ;-)
michael78
#34
i used the ferry from Pozallo to Malta once and the other way I used the ferry to Genoa.

Nobody ever asked me anything.

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