Taking Your Own Vehicle to Europe as a Visitor: EU Temporary Admission Explained

Who can take a vehicle into the EU under temporary admission?

Full relief from duty and VAT applies when all of these are true:

• You live outside the EU customs territory
• The vehicle is registered outside the EU in the name of a person living outside the EU
• It is used by a person living outside the EU
• It is for private use, not for hire, sale or carrying people or goods for payment
• It will leave the EU before the time limit

Another person living outside the EU may drive it privately if you authorise them in writing. People living in the EU may drive it only in narrow cases, for example occasionally at your request while you are in the EU. Greece is stricter: without customs approval only you, your spouse, children and parents may drive.

How long can the vehicle stay in the EU?

EU law allows 6 months for a privately used road vehicle, counted from when it is placed under temporary admission. Finnish customs confirms that the clock starts when the vehicle enters EU territory, not each country. Students may keep the vehicle for the length of their studies, and people on a fixed-term assignment for its length.

Some countries apply the limit as 6 months in any 12 (Greece) or 6 months per year (the Netherlands). If your trip is longer than 6 months, tell us your route before you book and we will advise.

What happens when a shipped vehicle arrives?

If you drive in, the vehicle can be declared to customs orally at the border. A vehicle shipped by RORO or container arrives without you, so a customs agent declares it for temporary admission at the port. Customs clearance is handled by our broker, a local agent we introduce, or your own. Keep the bill of lading and the customs release: they prove the date your 6 months started.

What ends temporary admission?

• The vehicle leaves the EU
• It is imported permanently, with duty and VAT paid
• It is destroyed or abandoned to the state

If the vehicle is still in the EU when the time runs out, duty and VAT become due and the vehicle can be seized. Cyprus Customs, for example, says this in its guidance. Selling or hiring it out in the EU is not allowed under temporary admission.

Do I need a carnet de passages for Europe?

No. The FIA, which runs the carnet system, says carnets are not required in Europe, and EU law lets a vehicle be declared orally on entry. Cyprus accepts a carnet if you have one, but it is not needed.

Touring the EU in a UK-registered vehicle

• Show a UK sticker, unless your plate has the UK identifier with the Union flag. In Spain, Cyprus and Malta the sticker is needed whatever is on the plate; Ireland needs neither
• No green card is needed in the EU, but you must be insured: every UK policy gives the minimum third-party cover in the EU, so check what else yours covers
• No International Driving Permit with a UK photocard licence. A paper licence, or one from Gibraltar, Guernsey, Jersey or the Isle of Man, may need one
• Carry the V5C showing your current UK address, or a VE103 for a hired or leased vehicle
• Keep the vehicle taxed, MOT'd and insured in the UK while it is away
• A UK-registered vehicle is a non-EU vehicle, so the EU 6-month temporary admission limit applies to it

Taking a vehicle out of the UK for 12 months or more counts as a permanent export, and you must tell DVLA on the V5C.

How IVSS helps

• RORO and container shipping to European ports from North America, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and more
• Customs clearance for temporary admission through our broker, a local agent we introduce, or your own
• Advice on your route, time limits and paperwork before you book
• Shipping home at the end of your trip, from a European port or the UK

Get a shipping quote