Hi all,
I will soon be crossing at a border above, not sure which one. From Italy into Croatia. I am Australian and so is the bike.

I have only a scanned and colour printed copy of my frontier insurance policy.
Can anyone tell me if this is enough or do I need the original?

Croatia does not border Italy. You have to cross into Slovenia first and then into Italy at Trieste.

Croatia has successfully petitioned to join the EU, although they are not officially a part of the Schengen Zone yet (2019 is when they will join). Slovenia is in the Schengen Zone, so you'll have to show your passport at the Slovenia/Croatia border.

From what I remember, they never asked to see the bike papers nor insurance, and we crossed several times back and forth. We are EU citizens, so this might be different for Australians. You'll need Green Card Insurance for foreign vehicles to ride in Europe.

Once you're in Slovenia, you can enter Italy and any other Schengen Zone country without any further documents check.

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Paging Dooby.
Please pick up the white courtesy phone.


@Frgich

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Me and Mrs. Trip We Got a Thing Goin' On

Hi thanks for the reply. I have green card insurance but the original is held at the office from where I bought it. I have a colour scanned copy which was emailed to me and which I have printed but doubts were raised about admittance on this scanned copy. Office is just too far away so I am gonna suck it and see.

If push comes to shove the office might snail-mail it to me....
Heading from Italy to Slovenia thence to Croatia....

Thanks again....

Don't overthink it. I cross that way every weekend ( from home in Trieste to the seaside and back ) . Nobody has ever asked me for insurance , ever, although I remember that on a slow day they might rarely ask to see registration papers.
The traffic police might ask to see insurance though , in the rare case that they actually decide to stop you for whatever reason, however a lot of companies have done away with hard copies of insurance documents nowadays and it's normal to have a PDF document to show on a screen.

On a side note, no matter which way you decide to cross Slovenia you don't need to buy a motorway vignette unless you're in a hurry and need to take an avoidable motorway, despite what people might say to the contrary .
Safe riding !

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Thank Donmanolo this is even better news.

I had been told by another greencard provider tha this border and others would turn
you away if you could not produce the original policy documents......

Hi David,

this is very interesting story here, could your provide the name of the provider that held your hard copy and only gave you scanned version via email?

Hard copy should be given to the barer of the policy which is all in all tied to the vehicle not to the driver.

Travelling without original hard copy in your hand is considered illegal all over the world.
So in any EU country if they stop you and ask for the hard copy and you don't have one, they can take you to the court, they can impound your vehicle and in the worst case if you cause any accident and you don't have original you can end in prison (happened to people in EU already in different countries, some ended in prison in Bosnia for not having hard copy with them).

I am really really curious for the reason why has the "provider" decided to keep the hard copy?

I'll be waiting for your reply, and since i'm in Zagreb you can count on any type of support you might need. You can PM or email me also, I'm replying in couple hours usually at worst.

Stay safe, and reply asap.

Cheers
Dooby

Uhm I would like to warn you that you're enticing a forum member to do a criminal offence (travelling without hard copy of the compulsory insurance in some EU countries is treated in that way) is not smart thing.

Third party liability is considered as barre minimum, travelling without one can be a real issue, and if the person ends in court, it could get ugly.

Cheers
Dooby

Uhmm Dooby ... Nope , that's hopefully not the case.
While I bow to your experience in these matters ,in my very limited experience I kind of have to disagree . I have two motorbikes, both registered in Italy and both insured with two different insurance companies, neither of which actually issues a hard copy of my green card / insurance certificate anymore. I do however receive a PDF which I can print out if need to visit a country that's in the green card system but isn't in the EU, such as in Serbia where I am now and where I often visit. This is normally glanced ( and grunted) at on the border and gets no further mention.
I know that this is the same in Holland and some companies in Romania and probably elsewhere, there are a lot of people that have only a printout , like I do.
I do concede however that the OPs case is different to that of a European resident however I was not aware that not having a hard copy of your insurance was tantamount to not being insured at all, something too stupid to even risk doing .
I'm riding back from Novi Sad to Trieste tomorrow and I'll be sure to ask any Croatian police that I meet on the way, if I'm wrong , which wouldn't be the first time , then I'll take it as a welcome chance to learn something new. We can talk about it on Facebook if you like. Best greetings. Antonio.

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There is huge difference to your green card which is part of your comprehensive insurance scheme, that you're using being resident in Italy, and green card that is third party liability insurance coverage that we are here talking about.

Just be aware that people can be led into belief that all is good, and then all kind of bad things can happen out of nowhere.

Being resident in any EU country is pulling one combo, and not being a resident is pulling another combo to this issue.

Wishing you a safe ride home, and take care .

cheers
dooby

David:

What you were told was correct.

Two years ago, I arranged 'Green Card' insurance for my Canadian plated motorcycle, but the actual document did not arrive in the mail before I left on my trip. I did have a very high quality scan of the original document, which I printed on a colour printer.

When I entered Bulgaria, the border guard asked to see my passport, vehicle registration (ownership), and insurance document. I gave him the three documents, and he told me that an 'image' of the green card - no matter how high quality - was not acceptable, it was obligatory to carry the original document.

Fortunately, there was an office near the border station that sold insurance. I was able to purchase another European 'green card' policy at that office, which made me legal, and the border guard let me carry on. I think it cost me something like €50 or so to buy the policy on the spot.

So, I can tell you from my personal experience, it is not acceptable to have a photocopy or electronic image of the 'green card' - you must possess the actual original document.

Michael

Thank you all for your replies. Unfortunately the worst news - hard copy is required - came too late.

I was in Italy and met a German motorcyclist who told me he had never been asked for his policy papers ever and he thought the whole idea laughable, and said if I was insured then this is traceable and not to worry about paper copies. The same as Donmanolo said.

I am now in Serbia having come through Slovenia (no doc checks until leaving) where my scanned copy was shown and not remarked upon and Croatia where I entered using British passport but was asked for vehicle docs when leaving. An issue was raised as bike is registered in Australia but I had entered as British. Again, the printed scan raised no eyebrows, border guard just wanted to see that I was the legal owner of the vehicle I think.

When I entered Serbia, i handed both passports, British and Australian, registration documents and insurance doc (printed scan). They entered me using Australian passport and didn't bat an eye at the insurance document.

Bear in mind please, I am insured, but am not carrying an original document. I have a printed copy of my policy and a .pdf copy.. It shows insurer's name, address, policy number. This scanned image bears my name and the plate and VIN of the bike. A start and finish date for the policy. The excess payable..... everything.

I fail to see how not carrying the "hard copy" can be a show stopper. Things get wet, lost, creased and illegible. Especially on a motorcycle.

An electronic copy as a .pdf is unable to be edited and far more durable, but you have me worried now.

I suppose I will buy another policy if challenged at a border as PanEuropean did.

Thanks for your replies and assistance....

Im an australian. Crossed from Croatia to Slovenia last year on my freinds English registered bike. They only wanted to see my Passport. Nothing about the insurance or the bike.

However a few klms up the road I was pulled into a roadside checkpoint and they asked to see my Vignent. (motorway toll pass) Luckliy I had purchased one at the first service station after crossing. Not expensive $25 from memory but its 400 euro fine if you are caught with out. ( i think thats what is si)

You wont even stop at the slovenia Italian borders.

Hi Mcgyver,

thanks for the tip re vignette but I have ridden all the way so far without an inch on a toll road except for about 500 metres in Turin where I got confused and got sucked into one. A cash toll on and another off. I just chucked a fistful of coins at the machine until the boom lifted.


Back to original theme:

Frgich wanted me to name and presumably shame my (pink actually) greencard provider because they hadn't provided me with the original certificate.

I see he also arranges greencards from his signature.


I won't do this because it is no-ones fault but my own.
Also it is not my intention to start a war between greencard providers.The company I purchased from offered to snail mail (or for a large fee), DHL it anywhere I wanted. I declined because my life is so complex. I was flitting between Kurdisatan and Baghdad when I bought the policy on line, both places where the post service is - ah - negligible at best.... my bike was sitting in the freight shed in London.

It was just all too hard for, I thought, just a scabby piece of paper.....

Once again, thank you everyone for your help......

Noting to worry about Dave as I did travel from Europe al the way to Japan with similar peace of paper for insurance.

Safe ride

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Serbia to Japan 2014
Central and South America 2016