If you are visiting the UK you can import and operate a vehicle with foreign number plates for a period of up to six months, provided that you have paid all of your home country’s motoring taxes.  You can also do this for shorter periods within a 12 month period.  Just be aware that if a police officer stops you and you have foreign number plates on the vehicle, you will have to show proof that you are allowed to operate it in the UK without DVLA registration or taxing it.

In order to operate a non-EU vehicle in the UK temporarily, the driver will need to contact the HMRC (HM Revenue and Customs) upon entering the UK.  It is up to the HMRC to allow a vehicle from outside of the EU to be operating on UK roads.  If the vehicle is going to remain in the UK, you must obtain a UK DVLA registrations certificate and pay the appropriate vehicle tax.

EU vehicles that are imported into the UK can be operated in the country for up to a six month period within any 12 month period.  You will not have to obtain a car registration certificate or pay the vehicle taxes provided that you can show proof that you have complied with these requirements for the vehicle’s country of origin.  It is the driver’s responsibility to provide proof of how long the vehicle has been in the UK.  Usually, ferry tickets are proof enough.