Scot and Slovak moving to Malta :)

Hi and welcome to the group.

I'm not sure exactly what your question about the car is - can you restate it please?

Scooters - some locals ride them...personally I'd rate is as rather risky bearing in mind the overall standards of driving and roads here. For enthusiasts there is a Malta Scooter Club on FB: facebook.com/home.php#!/group.php?gid=209621337986

Tim

Yeah we're thinking of bringing the car over and wondering if any expat has done so and if so have you changed your car to Maltese plates or have you kept the original ones?

I've heard that you can keep your UK registered car in Malta for 6 months but then you must tax it or drive it out of the country, I was put off majorly by the tax thing as I remember the costs estimated up to 1600euros to tax and register the vehicle in Malta.

One solution, not sure if I could do this, can you insure your car in Malta with UK plates if you intend to work there?
Do you have to tax your vehicle to bring it into the country or should I go to Sicily every 6 months?

The bottom line is I want to bring my car to avoid paying a much higher price for a similar model and want to try avoid any crazy tax problems.

I know this is a tricky one . Hope you can help, cheers

J and Ivi

Hi J Ivi,

Welcome to the forum.

Bringing a car to Malta can be a bit tricky.

If you come to Malta to work you can bring your car with you to Malta tax-free but conditions apply and it will have to leave the island with you in the end.

As a resident ( once you apply for a ID card you are one) and get a work permit you cannot drive a car with foreign plates in Malta.The application for Maltese tax-free plates has to be made within one week of arrival.

As a tourist you can drive a car with foreign plates for up to 6 (7) months but if you work here you are not a tourist!.

Used imported cars in Malta are not that expensive anymore and include the registration tax with a lot less hassle.

Whatever you decide on ,check the conditions and terms and required documents very carefully. For example:

www.transport.gov.mt under motorvehicles

Regards
Ricky

If you like your car I'd recommend keeping it and paying the registration tax. A lot of people still find it cheaper to buy a car in the UK and drive/ship it down to Malta and pay the registration tax than buying a comparable car here. That's what I plan on doing for my next car - just waiting for the snow to clear from the Alps!

There are hefty daily fines (€30 a day I believe) imposed on driving a car on non-Maltese plates when not entitled.

Personally, I wouldn't try and get away with anything - the chances of getting caught are probably high (there are a lot of wardens around in some places) and you may have some hefty fines AND the registration tax to pay.

Tim

and confiscation of the car until its paid - I've heard of people being stopped and told to leave the car on the side of the road and walk home. Its one of the easiest laws to uphold - all wardens have to do is look out for cars with foreign reg plates, esp ones with UK plates, as not many people drive to Malta from the UK just on holiday. Its also easy for wardens patrolling an area to note when a car on foreign reg has been in their area for a while.

A prime place to get caught is in the ferry queue to/from Gozo - easy for the wardens to walk up and down the lines of waiting cars