Travelling abroad
This page should help you with all your queries if you are looking to take your rental vehicle abroad with you. If you can’t find what you are looking for in the FAQs below please use the search bar as the answer to your question may be on another page of our website.
Frequently Asked Questions
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VWFS Rent-a-Car allows you leave to travel abroad and leave the UK mainland depending on the car categories selected and the country you are planning to travel to. If you have any questions regarding travelling abroad, please contact your nearest Rent-a-Car location for further information.
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You can book a vehicle to travel abroad with either online or by contacting your nearest Rent-a-Car location. If you are booking online you must select ‘Travel Abroad’ in the optional extras to ensure you have all the necessary paperwork ready for your trip. Additional fees apply for taking the vehicle outside of UK mainland.
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- A VE103B travel abroad document will be issued at the time of pick up if permissions is granted.
- Mileage charges may apply for overseas travel, please contact your location for confirmation.
- Please ensure that you have adequate travel insurance if you are taking our vehicles outside of the UK, as we can only cover the cost of returning the rental vehicle. We cannot provide you with another vehicle or cover travel expenses to get you back to the UK.
- Please note, we require 6 weeks notice if you are travelling to a Crit’ Air’ Zone in France or to a low emission zone in Germany.
- Clean Air zones in France can alter at any time and failure to display the correct sticker could result in a fine of £135. Not sure whether the region you're visiting requires a sticker? Please contact your location or visit https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/news/motoring-news/law-change-for-uk-drivers-in-french-cities/.
- The same applies for customers travelling to Germany. Please find out more in the 'Important information for customers travelling to Germany' FAQ, or simply visit BMUV: Emissions-control sticker / Low emission zone.
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- Reflective jackets (you must ensure that there is a reflective jacket stored in the vehicle for each passenger)
- Warning triangle (all countries)
- Headlamp beam deflectors (either deflector stickers or option to manually adjust the beam)
- UK car sticker (required if you don’t have a GB Euro number plate)
- First aid kid (mandatory in Austria, France and Germany).
- A breathalyser kit is required in your vehicle when driving in or through France.
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Please note, we require 6 weeks notice if you are travelling to a Crit’ Air’ Zone in France. Clean Air zones in France can alter at any time and failure to display the correct sticker could result in a fine of £135. Not sure whether the region you're visiting requires a sticker? Please contact your location or visit https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/news/motoring-news/law-change-for-uk-drivers-in-french-cities/.
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BMUV: Emissions-control sticker / Low emission zone
Please note, if you are travelling to Germany in one of rental vehicles, we will require a 6 weeks notice. This is due to many German cities introducing a low-emission zone to mitigate air pollution caused by fine particles and nitrogen dioxide. The Thirty-fifth Ordinance on the Implementation of the Federal Immission Control Act (Ordinance on the marking of vehicles) stipulates that vehicles have to be marked with stickers (on the windscreen inside the vehicle). Stickers are valid for all low emission zones in Germany.
Emissions groups — Red, yellow, and green emissions-control stickers
Vehicles are divided into emissions groups according to their particulate emissions and they receive a sticker of the colour marking the respective emissions group:
- red for emissions group 2,
- yellow for emissions group 3 and
- green for emissions group 4.
For more information, please visit: BMUV: Emissions-control sticker / Low emission zone
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Foreign licences are valid for up to 12 months from the date of entry into the UK, after that period a UK licence must be applied for.
European union licences are valid in the UK, up to their expiry date.