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Can I get UK breakdown cover for a foreign-registered car?

I live in Portugal and am planning return trip to UK. I may drive to UK in my Portuguese-registered car insured by a UK approved insurer. My breakdown cover does not include UK. Can I purchase short term breakdown cover from a UK supplier? Alternatively I may fly and hire car at the airport. How do new rules from DVLA affect me? I have a UK driving licence.

Asked on 17 January 2019 by david moran

Answered by Honest John
If by "live in Portugal" you mean "reside in Portugal" you can't legally have a UK licence for more than six months because your UK licence has to show a UK address. You have to exchange your licence for a Portuguese one. If you come to the UK to hire a car and want to do this on your (illegal) UK licence, then you have to go to: www.gov.uk/view-driving-licence/ then key in your licence number, your UK National Insurance number and the UK postal code on your UK licence. You then get a code which you can supply to the rental company to check your licence details, but better to print them out. The code and the print-out last for 21 days. (This is not a DVLA requirement. It is a requirement of UK insurers.) If you bring your own car you can probably get breakdown cover in Portugal to drive it through Spain and France to the UK.
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