Moving to an EU Country with Your Car: Transfer of Residence Relief and Permanent Import

Who qualifies for transfer of residence relief?

• You are moving your normal home to the EU from outside it
• You have lived outside the EU for a continuous period of at least 12 months
• You possessed and used the vehicle at your former home for at least 6 months before you left it
• It will be used for the same purpose at your new home
• It is a private vehicle: cars, motorhomes, caravans, motorcycles and trailers qualify

Commercial vehicles, and vehicles used in a trade or profession, do not qualify. Customs can make exceptions to some conditions, for example where a move was forced by exceptional political circumstances.

When can the vehicle be imported?

The vehicle must be entered within 12 months of you setting up your new home in the EU, and your belongings can come in more than one shipment. It can also come in before you move if you undertake to move within 6 months and give a security: Irish Revenue, for example, accepts imports from six months before to 12 months after the move. If work delays your move, customs may agree a longer period.

Is import VAT also relieved?

Each country applies the VAT side itself. Germany, Ireland and Spain confirm VAT relief on the same conditions. Spain and Ireland add that the vehicle must have been bought with tax paid in the country you are leaving, with no tax refund when you left. Germany may still charge excise and vehicle tax.

What are the rules after the vehicle arrives?

For 12 months after relief is granted, the vehicle must not be lent, pledged, hired out or transferred, paid or free, unless you tell customs first. If you do, the import duty becomes payable. In Germany, breaching the 12-month rule cancels the exemption.

What does a permanent import cost without relief?

Cars

10% customs duty, charged on the value (Austria: the price plus delivery to the EU border; Cyprus: the CIF value)

Vans and commercial vehicles

10% to 22% depending on the type, weight and engine (Cyprus Customs)

Motorcycles

8% up to 250cc, 6% above (Cyprus Customs)

Import VAT

The country's rate on the value plus duty: for example 17% in Luxembourg, 19% in Cyprus, 20% in Austria

Duty-free origin

Proof of preferential origin can remove the duty for vehicles from some countries, such as Switzerland and Norway

Duty is paid in the country where the vehicle is cleared. We send a full cost estimate with your quote.

How do I register the vehicle?

There are no common EU rules on registration or registration taxes: each country sets its own (Your Europe). Once you live in a country, which normally means more than 185 days a year, you must register the vehicle there and pay its car taxes. Luxembourg, for example, needs a technical inspection, and a certificate of conformity only for a new vehicle. In the Netherlands, residents may not drive a foreign-registered car except in narrow cases. Ireland charges Vehicle Registration Tax separately, with its own transfer of residence relief.

Moving from the UK?

The UK is outside the EU, so a move from the UK uses these rules. Taking a UK vehicle abroad for 12 months or more is a permanent export: complete the permanent export section of the V5C and send it to DVLA.

How IVSS helps

• RORO and container shipping to EU ports, with your belongings in a container if you need them
• Customs clearance through our broker, a local agent we introduce, or your own
• A cost estimate for duty and VAT with your quote, if relief does not apply

Get a shipping quote