And if yes, could they cross the border into Spain and return?
Asking for a friend. Swiss people with second home in France where they are now- with Swiss plated car. Can they lend their car to their daughter from the USA, to drive in France, with US driving licence?
Funny, I saw the exact same question on Facebook, forwarded by a Dutch friend, only it was the son.
Did you happen to see the answer too?
No, sorry. But then I would have sent it to my friend to post on FB. But I do not have the answer.
Unless they sit in the car with the US driver there is a risk the driver could be forced to import the car with Customs/VAT and other costs.
Funny yes- but does it make any difference to the answer?
Probably not but it does highlight how common the question is.
I also saw the same question on FB today but I suspect that was your friend. I don’t know the answer BTW.
Have they checked with their Swiss car insurance company that their daughter would be covered to drive the car like that?
The say the Swiss insurance covers all drivers as it is the car that is insured.
But I am not sure if that is the case if non EU. A separate question. And not sure if not in CH either?
I have confirmed with my insurance (Axa) that my visiting family members (Canadian) are permitted to drive my car anywhere within Europe, I don't even need to be in the car. And I have no-frills insurance.
One thing I always do, however, is prepare a letter in English/French/(other relevant language if applicable) that I, (Bossa Nova, place of residence, date of birth, phone number) permit family member (Name + date of birth) to drive my car with registration number VD XXX XXX for the period (dates). In case they ever get stopped by police or questioned at the border, they can provide this document justifying their use of my car. Have never had any problems using this approach.
I believe this would only be an issue if the US driver was also a CH resident.
From my understanding (as a person who had a US driver's license for a while in Europe before moving here and who drove my bf's family car in Europe), the biggest issue is insurance.
How long is the US driver visiting for? If it's under whatever time France requires to change licenses (I don't know what those limitations are in France; in Switzerland it is 1 year), it should be no problem for the US driver to drive around with only US license (just as they would if renting a car).
They should make sure that the car is fully insured (and double-check with insurance that it is indeed insured for a "third country" driver -- there is weird fine print sometimes that is surprising) and that there's ample insurance for liability and medical accidents (US health insurance doesn't apply in Europe, and you just want to make sure there aren't any surprises just in case). They should insure at the highest level required out of whichever countries they're planning to drive through (Spain may have slightly different requirements than France, for example. I would wager Swiss insurance has highest minimums of coverage, but again just doing due diligence there).
There are no problems with a person holding a US driver's license to rent a car in Switzerland and drive through France and Spain. Thus, as long as the person is legally allowed to drive the car (what would you need to show to police to verify this?) and they and the vehicle are properly insured, there should be no problem. If this is a temporary trip, there is no worry of customs/VAT, because it's just for tourism purposes, and this isn't taxed, aside from things like the Swiss highway sticker and the like.
If they're taking the car to Spain to then live and register there, it opens a somewhat different can of worms, but from my understanding, this isn't what you're asking. (Please correct if wrong.)
If the daughter visited her parents in Switzerland would she be allowed to drive her parents car? My understanding is yes she could, occasionally.
So what’s different from her joining her family in France?
Provided she is covered by the insurance I see no issue.
It's only for a short period, holiday. Thanks.
According to the OP the US driver is the daughter of a Swiss family presumably she is a Swiss citizen and hopefully with US residency and has a Swiss passport or a US passport.
Nationality is not important. Driving license is only in so far important, that it must be valid and the driver should be at least 18 years old.
Important is the place of residence. This shouldn't be in the EU. Non EU citizenship and non EU driving license can be evidence that this might be fulfilled.
If they are US residents and tourists, they can bring your car as tourists into the EU custom region, based on the rights given by the Treaty of Istanbul on temporary admission. You should provide them with a statement, that they can us your car abroad.
Here a template with many languages from Zurich insurances:
https://www.zurich.ch/-/media/zurich...ttpersonen.pdf
You might sign it in front of a notary to make it more official (costs CHF 20).
and might even affix an apostille (costs another CHF 20).
No she is not- naturalised parent.
PS: Under certain circumstances you could even lend the car to an EU resident.
Article 215 Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446
But the customs officers are not interested in your insurance.... They are deciding on the amount of duties if any that must be paid.
Yes.
Tom