Foreign registered car in Netherlands

Member since 25 July 2014

Sorin112Member25 July 2014 11:27:39

Hello,

I'm moving to Netherlands soon in the Utrecht area, can anybody give me advice if it's possible to drive a car with foreign license plates for more than 6 months ? I would prefer to not register my car in NL since my stay will be limited to 1-2 years and from what I can see the BPM tax and everything else would cost me more than the actual value of the car, considering that I will keep my driver license and if the police stop me I will just say I'm visiting the country, will they check to see if i'm registered to the local municipality as a resident ?

Is there any way around this ? Feels quite silly to be in the EU and have to register and pay tax every year I move from one country to another, or not use the car at all during that time...

Your Europe Contributor

Member since 15 March 2013

Your EuropeContributor25 July 2014 13:44:41

152

Hi Sorin112,

legally, there is no way around it. See: europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/vehicles/registration/taxes/index_en]europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/vehicles/registration/taxes.
That said, you don't have to pay VAT on your car if it's any older than 6 months and has rolled more than 6000 km.

Here's some information on registering a car in the Netherlands: europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/vehicles/registration/formalities/netherlands/index_en.htm]europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/vehicles/registration/formalities/netherlands.