@JackieX , thank you for this information. This makes it really hard to do a trip around the world with a British vehicle, unless you really rush to get back again, which takes all the fun out of it.
@JackieX and to all other nomads
Following up on the mot recent information above - the need to come back to your home country (in my case the UK) with your vehicle once a year for the technical check - what about these two options:
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Is it possible for long-term travellers to purchase vehicles and get insurance in other countries of the world, such as South-Africa, South-East Asia and the Americas, and then sell them again elsewhere in the world?
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Or is it possible to āofficially importā the British vehicle into any of those countries, do the technical check there according to that countryās rules, and then to re-import the vehicle to the UK a few years later? I am talking about a small motorhome.
I donāt categorically know the answers to any of those questions, but my twopennorth,
Iāve read of people taking their motorhomes to the States, and bringing them back, but donāt know of the time span this was done in.
We looked at buying a vehicle in NZ and selling it at the end of our six months allowed stay, but got āstuckā on the how long do you allow to sell it at the end, which becomes wasted time. We also heard tell of vehicles just being abandoned at the airport as people couldnāt sell and had to leave.
We spoke to a Spanish couple who bought a car to travel South America and found crossing borders could be very difficult, and they could speak Spanish!
Iām fairly certain that to register a vehicle in France or Spain you have to have an address.
You may be better off asking some of these questions on full time van life Facebook groups
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Have you looked into pet passports too?
@JackieX The British pet passports have been discontinued. Now you only need proof of all vaccinations and, for some countries, a health check by a certified vet short before the border crossing. And your pet must be microchipped, of course. The only problem I have is that so few airlines allow pets on board in Europe, therefore a motorhome is the best option.
I donāt think the rest of the world cares if a UK plated car has a MOT. Yes, the insurance may but try to get insurance in the country you are in. We have just bought a Virginia registered car. They have the equivalent of a mot once a year. We have been told once we change the plates to ND, where our mail box is, we can ignore that requirement.
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Something I mentioned in an earlier post. Iāve booked with Staysure again. Currently booked insurance for 9 months from 31/10/22 when I fly to NZ. I can extend it for up to 550 days inclusive as I booked it at age 65. But after that, and if I was now 66, I could only book it for maximum 100 days. I think we should start some kind of petitionā¦.because it really annoys me!
As long as you have a postal address in The States you can buy and insure any vehicle. There are mail box companies that help you achieve this. We are travelling in North and South America for the next two to three years so have researched all possibilities. The car is bought and we are waiting for it to be re registered in ND. I word of warning when the vehicle is registered in the new state sales tax must be paid. That is another cost over and above the cost of the vehicle. There are some States with 0% sales tax so think about registering it there.
I think you are from UK, like us, so you can stay in most countries for around three months at a time. With a B1/B2 visa the stay in US is 6 months at a time. Check the immigration information for each country very carefully. You donāt want flung out and then refused to re enter. And be very wary of tax on income etc. Mexico, at the moment is 3 months but it can be extended to 6 once you are there and proven you are good citizens. Canada is 6 months at a time.
Europe is another kettle of fish. Three months then out for three months then back for three months. Six months total in a year! Gone are the days of winter in southern Spain but the Spanish are making noises about making it 6 months because they are losing so much revenue.
Australia is 6 months, a year with a visa as is New Zealand. Iām sure there are other UK citizens that can advise you on the Far East and the rest of the world. I havenāt done my research on these places yet.
Good luck and if you are coming this way keep in touch.
Elsie
PS donāt stint on your health and travel insurance in North America. Saving a few pounds could ultimately bankrupt you.
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Start it, we will both sign. Itās driving us mad. We are both fit and very healthy but the biggest outlay is insurance because of our age. People are living far longer but the insurance companies arenāt seeing that.
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Where would we send it I wonder? Iāll do some researchā¦.Possibly the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) could be a startā¦.When Iāve got info Iāll start a new post in the travel section.
Iām completely with you. Very fit & healthy, no medical conditions (except under active thyroid which isnāt counted as a problem by insurance companies)
Agree, same here, Iām 60 and perfectly healthy. All my female relatives lived well into their 90ies, in good physical health and mentally super-fit. I donāt understand why healthy older people are being discriminated against, and not only by insurance companies, but also by banks. I am just trying to buy a little studio apartment for my youngest daughter on a mortgage which I want to pay back myself (my daughter is only 18 and has many years of university studies ahead), and banks are telling me that the latest retirement and repayment age they will allow is 70. So we are not even creditworthy any more once we reach that age? I, for my part, intend to work and earn money at least two centuries longer, because I love my work and it is easy to do, as long as I can think clearly, have eyesight and can move my fingers - which all my 92-95 years old aunties and grandmas still can or could easily do until the very end. I also donāt want to give up my driving licence when Iām in my 70ies, with still 20+ years to go! I will be very happy to sign your petition.
US allows a maximum of 6 months stay when entering on a B visa. It is possible that an immigration officer at the airport will give a shorter duration. It is in their discretion to determine period of stay. Check the I-94 that you are given when entering to see how long you were admitted for.
If you do need to stay longer than allowed, you can file to extend the stay once inside the US.
(Iām a US immigration lawyer)
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Thanks, Lassie, but I donāt want to stay in any one country for more then 6 months.
I want to keep moving - slowly and with many stops and with many house and pet sits - all around the world.
My problem is that I want to STAY AWAY from the country of my current residence (UK) for more than six months which, if I understand it right, could have the consequence that I lose my rights to residence, settlement, health care, old-age pension etc. and I will then have no country of residence at all. Is that a bad thing? I am a German national but havenāt lived and paid taxes in Germany for 22 years, so I donāt know whether the country which issued my passport matters at all.
I can see at least one positive in being āhomelessā in this sense: Logically, if I have no country of residence, no country can claim from me to pay them income tax, even if I keep working and earning. Right?
I found this info on UK pension and living abroad.
@ElsieDownie I have a German passport, so I can stay in EU countries as long as I want, and anywhere else I wonāt stay longer than a couple of months I guess. But you wrote one interesting thing:
Can I actually use the address of a home owner where I do a long house-sit for the registration and insurance of a car in the US?
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Nice try, Romana, but thereās absolutely no way that you wonāt have to pay taxes somewhere 
And if youāre not paying UK tax, you definitely wonāt have access to the NHS (which may not worry you)
Iām interested in this topic so am researching. One thing to think about is what country do your earnings come from? Earned income, investments, etc. They will be taxed at source. Obviously, if you have no income, youāre not likely to be paying tax but then youāre probably not eating, either 
@Myhnabird As a translator I have customers all over the world and only very few ever ask for my tax number. As a German national with pre-settlement status, my āleave to stayā expires in 3 years and if I stay out of the UK for six or more months at any time prior to that, it expires immediately and I wonāt be able to even apply for full settlement. With that, my obligation to pay taxes in the UK for any income earned after that, would logically expire too. It would be unlogical if this was not the case. Of course I would also lose my right to NHS services, but if I can keep Ā£1,000 per month more in my pocket and put them aside for medical emergencies I guess the NHS may be not such a big loss.
My above comment was the reply to this quote. If I am resident to no country and havenāt lived in the country which issued my passport for the last 22 years - which country should demand from me to pay income tax?
With their permission you might be. There will be others more qualified to answer that question. We signed up to US Mailbox which acts as a postal address.