Shipping a car from Iceland to the UK

Iceland sits well out in the North Atlantic, so road transport is off the table and every car comes by sea. People also find that Iceland is outside the EU and assume the tax will be complicated. Both are simpler than they sound, and the Icelandic side of the paperwork is refreshingly short.

Port

Reykjavík (Sundahöfn)

Price

Priced per job

Transit time

Usually 1 to 4 weeks door to door

Import tax

20% VAT, duty depends on the car

How the car gets here

Cars from Iceland leave from Reykjavík's main cargo port, Sundahöfn. It is the country's largest import port, run by Faxaflóahafnir, and Iceland's two biggest shipping companies, Eimskip and Samskip, both have cargo areas there. The car sails south past Scotland and Ireland, then comes by road to our site in Castle Donington.

We book whichever sailing and method suits the car, and a container keeps it sealed. Door to door, allowing for collection, the sailing and customs, European moves usually take 1 to 4 weeks, though sailing schedules from Iceland can set the pace. Our guide to container, RoRo or air compares the methods.

Taking the car off the Icelandic register

Deregistration for export is handled by Samgöngustofa, the Icelandic Transport Authority. The owner can notify it online, which it encourages, or fill in the paper form (US.109) at an accredited inspection station or approved vehicle recycler, who pass it on.

Three practical points:

• Samgöngustofa needs confirmation of the export from the shipping company or customs
• The form must say what happened to the plates: handed back, stored, or declared lost if they left Iceland on the car
• Diesel cars on the mileage-based charge, and electric and hybrid cars, need an odometer reading

There is no fee for an export deregistration. Any public charges owed on the car do not go away when it is deregistered, so it is worth settling them first.

Import tax from Iceland

Import VAT is 20%, worked out on the price you paid plus the cost of transport. If the purchase invoice is more than 3 months old, a recent valuation is used instead.

Iceland is outside the EU, so our standard rate for a car from there adds 10% duty, and that is the figure to budget for. The UK does have a free trade agreement with Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein, and a separate one with the EU. A car whose origin can be proved under one of them may pay less. Duty follows where the car was built, not where you bought it.

Whether that applies to a used car is something we check case by case, and we confirm it on your quote. A car over 30 years old pays 5% VAT and no duty either way. The worked tax examples show the sums in pounds.

A car that was UK-registered before may also come back tax free with its UK purchase invoice and the old V5C. See bringing a UK car back home.

Customs and NOVA

We clear the car through UK customs ourselves as HMRC CDS authorised agents. HMRC also needs to be told within 14 days that the car has arrived, through the Notification of Vehicle Arrivals (NOVA). The DVLA will not register the car without it, so we submit it as part of clearance.

Making it UK road legal

Icelandic cars are left-hand drive and set up for driving on the right, so the usual changes apply:

• Headlights adjusted or replaced for driving on the left
• A speedometer reading in mph
• A rear fog light where needed

If the car has been modified, with bigger wheels or a lift for example, tell us on the quote, because changes from standard are looked at during testing. Our guide to speedometer and headlight conversions explains the work, and left-hand drive cars in the UK covers living with one.

Testing and registration

• Under 10 years old: an IVA test, which we carry out on site
• Over 10 years old: an MOT, with changes generally coming down to the rear fog light
• Over 40 years old: no MOT needed, and the car can be delivered before registration

We run one of only seven privately operated IVA centres in Great Britain and test every week, so there is no queue for a government slot. Once the car passes, our dealer-level DVLA account lets us register imported cars within 10 working days. See our IVA test guide.

1. 1

   Before it sails

   Quote and tax check

   We price the sailing and confirm whether duty applies, plus any Transfer of Residence paperwork.

2. 2

   In Reykjavík

   To the port

   The car goes to Sundahöfn and is loaded for the UK. The shipping paperwork doubles as proof of export for Samgöngustofa.

3. 3

   Arrival

   Customs and NOVA

   We clear the car through UK customs and tell HMRC it has arrived.

4. 4

   At our site

   Conversion and test

   Headlights, speedometer and fog light are sorted, then the car takes its IVA test or MOT.

5. 5

   Registration

   UK plates

   We apply to the DVLA, usually within 10 working days of the car passing.

What it costs

We do not publish a guide price for Iceland. It sits with our European routes, which are priced per job, and the sailing, the method and what the car needs here all change the figure. The estimator below uses the standard non-EU rates, so it shows the cautious case.

Questions people ask

Send us the car's details on the quote form and we will price the whole job, duty check included.