Brits travelling abroad can use their disabled parking permit in a number of different countries. You may not realise that your Blue Badge is eligible for use in certain parts of Europe.
If you’re living with a physical disability or health condition that impacts your ability to walk safely, or if you have a hidden illness such as dementia, autism or Parkinson’s, you might be eligible for a Blue Badge. This badge can assist you in parking closer to your destinations.
Whether you’re the driver or a passenger, a Blue Badge allows you to park for free in disabled parking bays and may exempt you from other parking restrictions.
But, as reported by the Daily Record, many of the 2.6 million Blue Badge holders in the UK might not be aware that numerous countries worldwide have reciprocal parking agreements with the UK.
These arrangements aim to facilitate easier travel for disabled individuals between countries, without the need for extensive paperwork to validate their parking card or permit.
These concessions typically include access to parking spaces reserved for people with disabilities, extended parking durations, or exemptions from parking fees. Guidance on GOV.UK explains that you can use your UK Blue Badge when travelling in some EU countries, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
This guidance also provides a list of countries with links to pages that contain:
- Information about parking for disabled people in the country
- Disabled parking notices that you can print off and display with your Blue Badge.
Where you can use your Blue Badge
According to GOV.UK, the full list of countries where you can currently use your Blue Badge include:
- Austria
- Belgium
- Croatia
- Cypress
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Sweden
- Switzerland.
For some other countries in Europe the rules are less clear. This includes:
- France – May not recognise non-EU issued parking cards
- Italy – Non-EU parking cards accepted in some regions only
- Spain (including Balearic and Canary Isles) – UK Blue Badge recognition across Spain decided by local administrations.
However, the Government website warns that you do not have to display a local parking notice in another country, but it may help. You should also note that:
- Local parking rules may apply in different parts of a country
- Some countries may have changed their rules since advice was published.
How to apply
To apply for a Blue Badge you will need to provide:
- Proof of identity
- Proof of address
- A recent head and shoulders digital photo
- Your national insurance number (if you have one)
- Contact details (phone number, email and postal address).
To prove your identity, you can provide a copy of either birth or adoption certificate, passport, driving licence, marriage or civil partnership certificate, or divorce or dissolution certificate.
To prove your address, you can provide a copy of either a recent council tax bill, a recent letter from a government department such as Department for Work and Pensions ( DWP ), a driving licence, or a recent letter from a school (if you are under 16).
Certain people automatically qualify for a Blue Badge. The criteria for this is if you are aged three or over and at least one of the following applies:
- You receive the higher rate of the mobility component of the Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
- You receive a Personal Independence Payment (PIP) because you can’t walk more than 50 metres (a score of eight points or more under the ‘moving around’ activity of the mobility component)
- You are registered blind (severely sight impaired)
- You receive a War Pensioners’ Mobility Supplement
- You have received a lump sum benefit within tariff levels 1 to 8 of the Armed Forces and Reserve Forces (Compensation) Scheme and have been certified as having a permanent and substantial disability that causes inability to walk or very considerable difficulty in walking
- You receive the mobility component of PIP and have obtained 10 points specifically for descriptor E under the ‘planning and following journeys’ activity, on the grounds that you are unable to undertake any journey because it would cause you overwhelming psychological distress.
Other conditions also qualify you for a badge but not automatically. These are if:
- You have a severe disability in both arms and drive regularly, but cannot operate pay-and-display parking machines
- You have a child under the age of three with a medical condition that means the child always needs to be accompanied by bulky medical equipment
- You have a child under the age of three with a medical condition that means the child must always be kept near a vehicle in case they need emergency medical treatment
- You are constantly a significant risk to yourself or others near vehicles, in traffic or car parks
- You struggle severely to plan or follow a journey
- You find it difficult or impossible to control your actions and lack awareness of the impact you could have on others
- You regularly have intense and overwhelming responses to situations causing temporary loss of behavioural control
- You frequently become extremely anxious or fearful of public/open spaces.
For more information and to apply visit gov.uk/apply-blue-badge.
A Blue Badge costs up to £10 in England and £20 in Scotland. It’s free in Wales. They usually last up to three years.