Living and working conditions
Spain
What you have to think of before leaving for X:
Moving of cars
The procedure
for moving vehicles is laid down in the General Vehicle Regulations. If
the vehicle is from another EU country it must be deregistered in the
country of origin and registered in Spain, and details must be provided
of the identity of the owner, the address in Spain and the vehicle’s
original documentation; this will be used to establish the
corresponding registration fee and the vehicle will have to pass the
ITV (Inspección Técnica de Vehículos (MOT)). If everything is in order,
new documentation and a new registration plate will be provided for the
vehicle.
If the vehicle was bought from another owner in an EU country,
the invoice with the corresponding VAT in the case of a business, or
the contract of sale if it was purchased from a private individual,
must be provided in order to pay the VAT in the relevant Autonomous
Community. All the documents must be translated into Spanish by an
authorised department. The formalities for driving a foreign vehicle in
Spain on a permanent basis must be dealt with as soon as possible.
Tourism, however, is another matter - you can drive without major
formalities.
Your vehicle registration document (‘grey card’), issued in an EU
Member State, allows you to use your vehicle in any other EU country.
It is therefore sufficient for the vehicle to be registered in the
country of residence and for you to hold a vehicle registration
document to be able to travel to another Member State by car or
motorcycle.
If you drive to another EU country in a vehicle registered in
the name of someone who is not travelling with you, you must prove that
you are entitled to be in possession of the vehicle (by means of a
document signed by the holder of the vehicle registration document
explaining that it has been entrusted to you, for example). When
driving abroad you must obey the highway code of the country you are
driving in. In all EU countries, it is compulsory to wear seatbelts in
both the front and back of the car.
As far as obligatory vehicle equipment or accessories in
Member States are concerned, you can only be obliged to fulfil the
requirements of the Member State in which the vehicle is registered.
Member States may require vehicles to carry a warning triangle,
however, even if this is not obligatory in the country of registration
of the vehicle. In Spain you must carry two triangles.
Most rules of the road are common to all EU countries. This is
the case with the obligatory use of helmets by both drivers and
passengers of motorcycles, seat belts and child restraint equipment
when the vehicle is equipped with them. Meanwhile traffic signs provide
information on specific provisions, such as speed limits. Not all
specific rules are signalled, however, such as the limits for alcohol
in the blood, which vary between Member States from 0.2 to 0.8 g/l. In
Spain, the limit is 0.3 g/l, while for lorry and bus drivers it is 0.0
g/l. If you exceed these limits you are liable to the same penalties as
nationals of the Member State concerned.
Speed limits: Motorways: 120 km/h, A roads: 100 km/h, B roads: 90 km/h.
Insurance
The vehicle number plate is evidence that obligatory third-party
liability insurance has been taken out in the Member State of origin.
If you are responsible for a car accident in another country, however,
the insurance policy is proof that you have taken out insurance that
will cover victims. On the other hand, in the case of a traffic
accident in another Member State for which you are not responsible, you
will be indemnified according to the rules in force in your country of
residence in the event that the level of compensation there is greater.
These rules differ between Member States, but they all provide for a
minimum coverage of up to EUR 350 000 for bodily injuries and EUR 100
000 for material damage. The total amount of guarantees may be limited
in some Member States when there are several victims of a single
accident. If the accident is caused by an uninsured vehicle or a
vehicle that cannot be identified, you are entitled to compensation
from the Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros (Insurance Compensation
Pool).
Text last edited on: 06/2005