ITV Vera or Lorca?

Firstly, you cannot put your car in for ITV more than one month before it is due, so you could not ITV your car until September at earliest.

Secondly, you can indeed take your car to ITV La Hoya in Lorca; there is help in English there if required.

Thanks for the reply.

Not being able to put the car in early is a problem as I had planned to take the car back to UK in July and then apply for my non lucrative visa (which I have to be in the UK to do) then when this comes through (probably October ish) come back in the car but I dont want to risk driving it once the ITV has expired.

Seems I have to be in UK to apply for the visa but also in Spain to ITV the car.

I may have to either 1 Drive back from UK September, have ITV done and drive back to UK (assuming I am allowed to do this whilst my visa application is in?) or 2 Fly and leave car in Spain but also leave stuff in UK I cannot get on plane.

Its easier in UK as you can get a new 12 month MOT any time you just forfit the unexpired period.

If you leave your car in Spain, it cannot be on the road once itv expired. You need a grúa to take it. A few hundred euro. And you still might be fined. Suggest you leave the car with your local, known, garage and ask them to itv the car for you. 40-50 euro. Pre-itv about 20, if you want. 

Thanks, that is what I will have to do, I can have it ITV'd by Victoria Parking at Alicante where the car is parked when I am in uk.

Once tested I will fly to Alicante and drive back to UK so I can sell my UK car and use the car to move perminantly to Spain.

I am surprised it is not possible to put a car in early on the basis that you just get 12 or 24 months from the date of the test and loose any unexpired test. I would have thought garages selling second hand cars would do this to sell with a full ITV.

It will be worth it in the end!

I’m sure garages would if they could, but ITV test stations will simply not accept a vehicle with more than a month left on ITV.

ITV test stations and garages are separate here, so whilst you can put it in to your local garage for ITV, they won’t do the test themselves - it must go to an authorized test centre.

Something you may find you have to get used to here is that in Spain there is a love, nay a LUST for unhealthy amounts of bureaucracy and the ruling on length of time for ITV is just such one item.

Thanks for that - and all the other helpful advice you give on this forum which is always spot on accurate!

My "plan B" now means I need to travel back from UK to Spain to collect the car after I have made my visa application but (most likley) before it has been granted. Just wondering if there is any restriction on my coming in and out of Spain/ France whilst my application is being processed.

I cannot see why there should be but as you say there are often bureaucratic rules that seem to be for no logical purpose!

I don’t believe there are any restrictions, but that would most certainly be a question better addressed to the embassy when you make the application 

There is one big restriction. When you apply for your visa they take your passport, therefore no way to leave the UK. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news

Ah - there you go then; many thanks LadyV