Isle of Man and number plates

[k8rum]

Hi
At some time in the future l am contemplating moving to the lsle of Man.
I have a number of private plates which l am keen to hang onto and use.

How can l “avoid “ having to swap these for loM plates.

Can l have a UK address and keep my bikes/cars registered there to allow this to happen or am l going to come to the attention of loM plod/customs etc?

[E-bmw]

I don't know the answer to your question but top lurking by the way.

[vikingaero]

From basic googling it seems you have 12 months to re-register it. So then the question is: Do you have a rUK address to keep the cars registered at? Could you keep a rolling 12 months by driving the car back to the mainland? Or do you simply put the numbers on retention?

[Drumroll]

I have certainly seen some Manx personalised plates, when I have been over there. Might be worth making enquires on how there system works.

Plus side is there is still no MOT for private cars on the IOM.

[macron]

k8rum said:

Hi
At some time in the future l am contemplating moving to the lsle of Man.
I have a number of private plates which l am keen to hang onto and use.

How can l “avoid “ having to swap these for loM plates.

Can l have a UK address and keep my bikes/cars registered there to allow this to happen or am l going to come to the attention of loM plod/customs etc?

Don't actually move there.

More to the point, why move? If it's tax related to convince HMRC you are no longer a resident here for tax purposes, you need as little left on the mainland as you can.

If it's for the love of wind, high gas and electric prices, an expensive exit any time you wish to fly back or get a choppy ferry, crack on!

But if your address is IoM, mainland insurers are unlikely to cover you. And IoM ones will want to know you've swapped plates.

So put them on retention, as funnily enough IoM plod have these camera things when you roll off the ferry, and if after 13 months a plate is still on the tiny little island used to fairly effective road policing....

[stemll]

What macron said. You can't avoid it and you can't use a mainland insurer without lying to them about where the vehicles are kept.

What you can do though is avoid the island altogether. Hateful place

[Vasco]

Are people assuming that the Isle of Man is just another island, like Isle of Wight etc ?

It's not.

[Simpo Two]

How about Alderney instead? A cousin of mine is planning to move there to get out of the UK (well most of it).

[stemll]

Vasco said:

Are people assuming that the Isle of Man is just another island, like Isle of Wight etc ?

It's not.

I don't see any replies that suggest it's anything like the IoW. Replies about re-registering, replies about tax so not sure what your point is?

I know all about it and my sister and both parents are buried on it. It is a self-governing crown dependency so the same as Jersey and Guernsey. It is not a part of either GB or the UK but is part of the British Isles. It is not and never has been a member of the EU.

There is no such thing as Manx citizenship and residents can have either a UK or an IoM passport. Taxes are very different and there is no inheritance tax but probate is a sliding scale based on the size of the estate ranging from £31 to IIRC £9400. When I applied it was issued in 6 days including a weekend and the extra bank holiday for the Queen's funeral.

You have two choices for ferries, Liverpool (mostly just summer) and Heysham. Both cost a fortune (single operator so can charge what they like) and take hours.

On the upside, no speed limits outside of town but most roads are pretty self governing. For several weeks a year for the TT and the GP the place is rammed, loads of roads closed or blocked and impossible to get anywhere.

Oh, and the place suffers from endemic curtain-twitching. Everyone knows everyone elses business.

[Arlen]

vikingaero said:

From basic googling it seems you have 12 months to re-register it. So then the question is: Do you have a rUK address to keep the cars registered at? Could you keep a rolling 12 months by driving the car back to the mainland? Or do you simply put the numbers on retention?

Incorrect.

You have 12 months if you are a visitor and not going to live there.

"A vehicle registered elsewhere which accompanies a visiting driver during his/her visit here may remain for up to 12 months without being re-registered on the Island, provided that the visitor remains in charge of the vehicle and does not become resident here."

If you are moving there:-

"All United Kingdom, Channel Island, Irish or foreign registered motor vehicles brought into the Isle of Man from the United Kingdom, Ireland or any other country must be re-registered on the Island at the earliest opportunity if the owner is already resident on the Island, or as soon as possible after the owner takes up residence on the Island."

[HocusPocus]

Also you need to swap out your UK licence for a Manx issue ASAP. It comes clean of any UK points!

If your car is more than 3 years old at re-registration it will need a one off Manx MOT test.

[Roboticarm]

Can't you just put the plates on retention do avoid losing them, the rules changed a while back you don't have to keep retaining them every year, a retention cert lasts either 5 or 10 years (can't remember which it is)

[bigmowley]

Very difficult to keep cars in the Isle of Man on UK plates. The police here are very hot on it. You will genuinely need to keep taking the UK registered cars back to the UK for extended periods, not just a weekend, and have a UK address for all the registration, mot paperwork etc. The DVLA will not post a UK log book to a Manx address.

I have lived on the Isle of Man for 25 years and I have quite a few cars. I also have a UK address so moving cars between the 2 jurisdictions is something I do quite often.

The main question though is why on earth would you want to keep a UK plate on a car when you live here? One of the massive benefits of a Manx plated car is that it is all but invisible on the UK mainland. No cameras, no parking tickets, no airport drop off charges, no Dartford tolls etc etc. There is an additional benefit that a Manx driving license cannot be endorsed by the UK courts. However a driving ban (excess speed, D&D etc) can be reciprocal so don’t push your luck.
It really is quite civilized.

[MustangGT]

Roboticarm said:

Can't you just put the plates on retention do avoid losing them, the rules changed a while back you don't have to keep retaining them every year, a retention cert lasts either 5 or 10 years (can't remember which it is)

This, it is 10 years.

[bad company]

bigmowley said:

The main question though is why on earth would you want to keep a UK plate on a car when you live here? One of the massive benefits of a Manx plated car is that it is all but invisible on the UK mainland. No cameras, no parking tickets, no airport drop off charges, no Dartford tolls etc etc. There is an additional benefit that a Manx driving license cannot be endorsed by the UK courts. However a driving ban (excess speed, D&D etc) can be reciprocal so don’t push your luck.
It really is quite civilized.

Now that does sound tempting. I’ve been thinking about the IOM for tax reasons, your comments make it more attractive.

[sjc]

I'm off to the IOM in two weeks for the Scenic Car Tours "Best of British classic cars event"...,the place isn't being painted in the best so far!
(Sorry to go off topic OP).

[bad company]

sjc said:

I'm off to the IOM in two weeks for the Scenic Car Tours "Best of British classic cars event"...,the place isn't being painted in the best so far!
(Sorry to go off topic OP).

Great driving on the mountain roads and some decent pubs. I used to like a pub called ‘The British’ just by the harbour.

You just need decent weather without too much wind or rain.

[sjc]

bad company said:

sjc said:

I'm off to the IOM in two weeks for the Scenic Car Tours "Best of British classic cars event"...,the place isn't being painted in the best so far!
(Sorry to go off topic OP).

Great driving on the mountain roads and some decent pubs. I used to like a pub called ‘The British’ just by the harbour.

You just need decent weather without too much wind or rain.

Your last sentence is the worry !

[bad company]

sjc said:

Your last sentence is the worry !

The British pub will still be open.