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You must carry certain documents with you if you drive or travel as a passenger in a commercial vehicle carrying goods between countries.

Driving licences and international driving permits

You will need to carry your United Kingdom driving licence with you. You must have .

You do not need an (IDP) to drive in the European Union (EU), Iceland, Liechtenstein or Switzerland.

You might need an IDP to drive in some EU countries and Norway from 1 January 2021 if you have:

• a paper driving licence
• a licence issued in Gibraltar, Guernsey, Jersey or the Isle of Man

Check with the .

Driver CPC for lorry drivers

You need a to drive a lorry professionally in the UK, the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

You must carry your Driver CPC card (sometimes called a ‘driver qualification card’ or ‘DQC’) with you.

If you work for a UK company and have a UK Driver CPC card

You can still use your UK Driver CPC card to drive to or through EU countries for all international journeys that UK companies are allowed to make.

If you work for an EU company and have a UK Driver CPC card

Your UK Driver CPC card may no longer be recognised in EU countries.

Check with the relevant organisation in the country where you live and work to find out what you need to do.

Drivers’ hours documents and tachographs

If you drive a goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes on international journeys you must follow .

You must have:

• tachograph charts and any legally required manual records for the current day and the previous 28 calendar days
• the driver’s digital smart card, if you have one

You must record annual leave or sick leave by either:

• using a tachograph’s manual inputs
• making a manual record of it on an analogue record sheet or on digital printout paper

Passports

You must have a valid passport - even if you’re a passenger or crew member.

Check the expiry date and .

On the day you travel, you’ll need your passport to:

• have at least six months left
• be less than 10 years old (even if it has 6 months or more left)

If you do not renew it, you may not be able to travel to most EU countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

It usually takes three weeks if you need to renew your passport. There’s a premium service if you need it sooner.

These rules do not apply to travel to Ireland. You can continue to use your passport as long as it’s valid for the length of your stay.

Visas

You are able to work in the EU without a visa if do not spend more than 90 days in the EU within any 180-day period.

Check the for the countries you’re planning to visit.

Travel to Ireland is not affected - you can travel and work there in the same way as before.

In some countries drivers are held to be legally responsible for their loads, whether or not they know of the contents.

It is a good idea to leave photocopies of all medical, insurance and legal documents as back-up with family or friends in case you should need copies after your company's normal business hours.

In some European Union (EU) and other countries your vehicle must carry warning equipment, such as visibility clothing and warning triangles and spare bulbs.

Vehicle and trailer insurance

A ‘green card’ is proof of motor insurance cover when driving abroad.

You need a green card to drive in:

Albania, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Iran, Israel, Moldova, Morocco, Russia, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine.

You will need to carry multiple green cards if:

• you have fleet or multi-car insurance - you’ll need a green card for each vehicle
• your vehicle is towing a trailer - you’ll need one for the towing vehicle and one for the trailer or caravan (you need separate trailer insurance in some countries)
• you have two policies covering the duration of your trip, for example, if your policy renews during the journey

You must carry a physical copy of your green card when driving abroad. Electronic versions of green cards are not acceptable.

Make sure your employer has got green cards

Make sure your employer either:

• contacts their vehicle insurance provider at least six weeks before you travel to get a copy
• prints green cards their insurance providers electronically send to them (this does not need to be printed on green paper)

When you will have to show your green cards

You will need to show green cards if you’re involved in an accident.

You may need to show green cards at police checks and at the border when:

• you enter the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway
• move between the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway

This will depend on the border authorities of each country.

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What to do if you’re involved in a road accident

Contact your insurance provider if you’re involved in a road accident in the EU.

Any legal proceedings against either the responsible driver or the insurance provider of the vehicle will need to be brought in the EU country, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway, depending on where the accident happened. You might have to make your claim in the local language.

You will not get compensation in some countries if the accident is caused by an uninsured driver or if the driver cannot be traced.

if you need more information about this.

Healthcare

You should always get appropriate travel insurance with healthcare cover before you go abroad.

A European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) gives you the right to access state-provided healthcare during a temporary stay in the EU country.

You should continue to use an EHIC. If you , you’ll get a new United Kingdom Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) instead of an EHIC.

GHICs and most UK EHICs will not cover you in Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Switzerland. If you’re visiting those countries, make sure you have travel insurance with health cover.

Leave photocopies of all medical, insurance and legal documents as back-up with family or friends in case you need copies outside of your company’s normal business hours.

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Emergencies

Diplomatic consuls in foreign countries can be a valuable first-port-of-call for help in the event of an emergency. There are many things that consuls have the ability to do to help local citizens in difficulty. Find more information on the services from:

• (UK passport holders)
• (Irish passport holders)