Moving country is a long list of jobs, and the car tends to sit near the bottom of it until someone mentions import tax. The worry is getting the order wrong and paying for it. In practice there are only a few rules that really matter, and most of them are about timing. Get those right and the rest is ours to handle.
- Tax relief
- Transfer of Residence
- Apply to HMRC
- Before the car ships
- Car must arrive
- Within 12 months of your move
- Keep the car
- 12 months after you move
Start with Transfer of Residence
If you are moving your home to the UK, HMRC's Transfer of Residence relief, ToR for short, can let your car in with no import VAT and no duty. On a £30,000 car from outside the EU, that is around £9,600 you keep. Check it first, because it shapes the rest of the plan.
You need to have lived outside the UK for at least 12 months in a row, owned and used the car for at least 6 months, and be moving here for good. The full detail is in our guide to Transfer of Residence. If you do not qualify, normal rates apply, and the import tax calculator gives you a rough figure.
When to ship, relative to your move
There is no single right week to ship. What matters is the order. You apply for ToR before the car ships, because HMRC gives you a reference number and we need it to clear the car through customs tax free. Without it, VAT and duty are due on arrival.
The other fixed point is the 12-month window: under ToR, the car has to arrive within 12 months of your move. Some people ship it ahead of themselves, some send it once they are settled. Either can work, as long as the reference is in place and the car lands inside that window. Your quote will give you a realistic transit time for your route.
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Before it ships
Apply for ToR
Apply to HMRC online with form ToR1. You get a reference number, and we need it to clear the car tax free.
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Before it ships
Book the shipping
Ask for a quote, send us your paperwork and choose container or RoRo. In most countries our partners can collect from your address.
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On arrival
Customs clearance
We clear the car as HMRC CDS authorised agents, using your ToR reference so no VAT or duty is charged.
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Within 14 days of arrival
NOVA
We tell HMRC the car has arrived. The DVLA will not register it without this.
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Within 10 working days of a pass
Testing and registration
Any changes, then an IVA or MOT on our own site. Our dealer-level DVLA account lets us register imported cars within 10 working days.
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First 12 months
Keep the car
Under ToR you cannot sell, lend, hire out or borrow against the car for 12 months, or the tax can become payable.
The paperwork
HMRC wants to see who you are, where you are moving from and to, and that the car is yours. One tip: make sure your name is exactly the same across every document.
Paperwork for the move
0 of 8 done
Our guide to the paperwork you need to ship a car covers the rest, including the extras some countries ask for.
The registration where you live now
Keep the car's current registration document, as we need it to ship the car and HMRC wants it for ToR. Some countries also expect the car to be exported or deregistered first:
- UAE: an RTA export certificate, and our agents handle the RTA deregistration
- Singapore: LTA deregistration, done online, and we can send you a guide
- Japan: the export certificate, which we like to see before the car ships
Elsewhere, our advice is to ask the local registration authority what they expect when a car leaves for good, or ask us.
Insurance while it travels
Your normal car insurance will not cover the car at sea. Our marine insurance covers it up to its full value if it is damaged or lost in transit, and it usually costs a few percent of the car's value.
Do not drive it until it is registered. GOV.UK states you can be prosecuted for using an imported car on a public road before it is registered, taxed and insured, unless you are driving it to a pre-booked MOT or approval test.
Arriving and registering
Container cars come to our private facility in Castle Donington, Derby, where our own team unloads them. Because Shipping a Car is part of My Car Import, the changes, the testing and the DVLA application all happen on the same site. We run the only privately owned MSVA test centre in Great Britain and one of only seven privately operated IVA centres.
Then you tax it, insure it and collect it, or we deliver it. More in what happens when your car arrives, and on cover once it is here in insuring an imported car.
Questions people ask
Should I ship my car before or after I move?
Either can work. Apply for Transfer of Residence before the car ships, and make sure it arrives within 12 months of your move if you want it to come in tax free.
Can I apply for Transfer of Residence after the car has shipped?
Apply before it ships. We need the HMRC reference to clear the car through customs tax free, and without it VAT and duty are due on arrival.
Can I sell the car soon after moving?
Not if it came in under Transfer of Residence. For 12 months you cannot sell, lend, hire out or use the car as security, or the VAT and duty can become payable.
Does my own car insurance cover it while it is shipped?
No. Normal car insurance will not cover the car at sea. Marine insurance covers it up to its full value and usually costs a few percent of the value.
Moving is enough of a rigmarole without the car adding to it. Tell us where it is on the quote form and we will set out the plan for your route.
