European Customs Control
 

I'm American. My friend is British. I have an F650GS sitting at my friend's house in England and I want to ride it around Eastern Europe (*) in about 6 months for my precious three weeks of yearly vacation.

Question #1) Can I get it registered and legal in my name even though I don't live in England and won't arrive at Heathrow until maybe 24 hours before I depart on my bike trip?

Question #2) If "NO" for #1, then how far can I get on the bike if it's registered in his name but he's NOT on the trip with me? All of EU? All of GB? Does it make a difference if I cross the channel by ferry or by train?

I've been reading on the forums and wikipedia for about an hour and I'm still not 100% sure! But I think the answer is "All of EU, Iceland, Norway, Lichtenstein, Switzerland, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, and the Vatican". Is that right? I'm sure any European on here can answer this in about 5 seconds. Any guidance is appreciated!


*Actually I wanted to ride it around Tunisia, Algeria, and Libya, but that route is indefinitely postponed due to ongoing events...

Get your friend to register it in your name a couple of months before you arrive, they can send you the document to sign beforehand, I would never suggest they forge your signature.
I am not sure but it might not need to be in your name, a letter giving persmission for you to use it should be sufficient and you will probably never be asked for it.
By Eastern Europe do you mean Central Europe, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary etc? These are all in the EU, I am not sure if as an American you will need visas but there are no border controls so don't know who would check your passport when you get there. You should be able to visit all the places you list without getting your passport out of your pocket, you will only need it to re-enter the UK, train or ferry no difference.

Insurance?

Thanks! So just to be sure I don't have to demonstrate residency or citizenship or proof of license or anything like that to register a bike? And I don't even have to be there in person to submit the documents?

Ideally, I'd like to make it out of the EU, like to Turkey, Bosnia, Tunisia, Macedonia, etc. That's why I want it in my name...to avoid any holdups at those borders. But I was thinking in case it had to be in my friend's name I could still visit a bunch of Eastern European countries I've never been to and not have to deal with customs at the borders!

OnlyMark--Are you asking if I've secured a "Green Card" auto insurance policy? The answer is "not yet"...I know it's required and available but I've yet to research much into getting it. Do I need to get it before registering the bike?

does the bike have any plates on it now? if so, why not keep them on it?

Motoreiter--No, no plates currently on it. It was purchased last September from another HU member and has been sitting idle since then.

A quick internet search tells me that the Green Card is only REQUIRED in:
Albania, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), Islamic Republic of Iran, Israel, Moldova, Morocco, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine.

And the Green Card is simply RECOMMENDED in:
Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland.

It also looks like any policy I get in the UK will automatically have "Green Card" status.

I still need to get insurance somehow...recommendations?

If the bike was purchased from a fellow Hubber in the UK it was presumably registered in the UK at that time. If that's the case, did you have it SORNed? (was a Statutory Off Road Notice (?) in place?) after transferring ownership? (the seller has to declare transfer as well as the buyer to avoid further liability). If its a UK registered bike, we simply keep the same plates with the bike throughout it's lifetime and transfer them with ownership. As long as the bike is MOT'd (our roadworthiness test) and the current road tax is paid, it should be quite easy to get it back on the road. I don't know what the rules are for a non-resident registering a bike here, but your friend could call the local DVLA office for you and ask. If not, I'm sure one of us based here in the UK could do so for you, although it would probably only illicit a theoretical answer.

I would be happy to make the call if you wish.

Deenewcastle--Actually the bike was imported from...I think UAE?...and the import duties were paid, the bike was converted to UK spec instrument cluster, and now it needs to be MOT'd and some other paperwork. So no, there are no plates on it. From my online research, it looks like I'll need to do the following:

MOT & Registration anticipated expenses:
MOT (£29.65) MOT test fees : Directgov - Motoring
Registration (£55.00)
Vehicle first registration fee : Directgov - Motoring
Road tax (£70.00)
The cost of vehicle tax for cars, motorcycles, light goods vehicles and trade licences : Directgov - Motoring
BMW UK specification certification (25-50£?) (see below)
(2-wheel MSVA, if necessary £85.00)

For registration, a UK specification certification is necessary. Contact:
BMW homologation dept
BMW (UK) limited
Ellesfield Avenue
Bracknell
Berkshire
RG12 8TA
Fax: 01344 480 173
Include:
1) Full chassis # (17 digits)
2) Daytime contact #

If anybody would like to call the DVLA for me and make sure this is all correct, I'd really appreciate it!

On a UK-reg bike you don't need a GC within the EU and it doesn't need to be in your name. Insurance is compulsory.

If you only have 3 weeks then I suggest that going further than Turkey will make for a rushed trip. Perhaps sticking with the extended EU is my suggestion.

I'll send you a personal message with my own insurance experience and recommendations. I have bought, registered and insured bikes on 2 occasions in the UK.

I'm not actually on about a Green card, that is an extension of ordinary insurance for the UK. I'm actually more thinking of that at some time you'll need to ride it in the UK, at least to leave the country, and you'll need to insure it for that.
Quite how much for a non resident short term that'll be I've no idea. But I bet it's not cheap.
You'll at least need an address in the UK, especially if you are registering it and insuring it in your own name.

You can not register the vehicle in your name if you do not live in the EU (a permanent or temporary). To drive a someone else's vehicle is usually sufficient written certified authorization from the owner.
For the EU, you do not need a green card, but check for other countries.

Francs--But foreigners still register bikes in their name somehow, right? What do they do--put a friend's address as their place of residence?

They do. But not as a tourist. You have to live in the country.
If there is some other option, it's a "grey spot" (to bypass the law).

This is the second time I have heard of foreigners not being able to register vehicles in the UK and I am not sure how they will know as there is no nationality or identity check, just don't tell them you are a foreigner, all you need is a UK address. You will have to tell the insurance company but that is a different matter.

A few thoughts:
Here in Denmark I can register a bike and then register another person as the user of that bike. Maybe thats possible in the UK too.

Maybe you could have your friend register the bike and then you could rent it off him with a contract and all.

You must be joking?
No identity check?
We (SLO) have on line register (no way you can get past that).

Despite being one of the most spied on people in the world in the UK, as far as I know there is no check of where you come from when registering a vehicle in your name, we have no national ID card and there is no place on the registration document for national insurance number, driving licence number or any other identifying number, at least there wasn't when I last bought a bike about two years ago, things may have changed since then.

There is a space on the V5 for a driving license number, but it's optional (and clearly marked as such). But it doesn't matter since they don't bother with identity checks. There isn't even a vague hint of intelligence at the DVLA considering the way my new V5 came through the other day addressed to "Miss Matthew".

Awesome, thanks everyone for the information!