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29 Dec 2005
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Bring a motorcycle into England on a Working Holiday Visa
I'm planning on bringing the bike with me from Australia when I head to London. But the trick is I'm planning to come in on a working holiday visa, spending a year working in London, then heading off overland after that.
From what I understand if you plan to work in the country, forget about temporarily importing in the bike.
Or am I misunderstanding, would it be okay, or will customs basically not allow it?
Thanks for any information.
Brad
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29 Dec 2005
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It will be cheaper and easier to store or sell your bike in Oz and buy one in the UK.
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30 Dec 2005
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As far as I know there ýs no restrýctýon on ýnportýng a býke on a workýng holýday výsa. The problem lýes ýn the fact that the UK only wants temporary ýmports to last for less than sýx months, hence a 2 year WHV means that the býke wýll be there for more than sýx months. Check the followýng lýnk for more ýnfo.
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="">link:</font><HR><pre>
http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsP...ue&_pageLabel=
pageLibrary_PublicNoticesAndInfoSheets&propertyTyp e=document&columns=1&id=HMCE_CL_000282
</pre><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
(paste the above two halves together with no space between to get it right - Grant)
I am about to face the same problem myself ýn a few weeks, so ýf you solve thýs dýlemna, please do a follow up post
cheers
[This message has been edited by Matt Roach (edited 29 December 2005).]
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Link too long - fixed best as possible by Grant
[This message has been edited by Grant Johnson (edited 09 January 2006).]
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30 Dec 2005
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Quote:
Originally posted by beddhist:
It will be cheaper and easier to store or sell your bike in Oz and buy one in the UK.
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Not when I want to ride my already set up tourer back from London to Australia overland 
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30 Dec 2005
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Check to see how often you can bring it in as a temp import. Morocco, for example, will allow you to have your vehicle in the country for 6 months out of every 12, but maybe the UK lets you cross to France for the day and then come back in for another 6 months?
Failing that, plenty of places that you could leave the bike in Europe for a few months. Along the southern coast of Spain there are many places were people leave motorhomes and cars (you have to pay etc) until they return for a nother holiday etc. There are many cheap flights to there which helps.
Just a thought
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Cheers, Darrin
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30 Dec 2005
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While our bikes9Australian registered) are now on aboat and ontheir way to Florida we have had them in and out of the UK since June 2005. Never once when coming into the UK did we have to do any paperwork for the bikes or did anyone even ask a question about them. All they were interested in was our passports and how long we were staying. Couldnt even really tell them that as we didnt know ourselves. We were told that 6 months at a time was maximum satying time each time weentered....but that was for us not the bikes. We mostly entered and arrived from a Channel crossing but on one occasion we got a ferry from Newcastle England to norway and once again there was only paperwork (passport and exit papers) for us....not the bikes.
Dont think it will be a problem.
Get back to us if we can be of more help.
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30 Dec 2005
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I came the other way from India on an Aussie registered bike (with carnet) and i am working in the UK on a working holiday visa. There shouldn't be any difference between yourself and another non EU tourist bringing a bike in. Because the UK will be your first entry point to Europe, maybe some sort of temporary import documents will be needed. You might as well just get a carnet in Oz, then extend it in the UK if necessary before you ride back.
Sean
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31 Dec 2005
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[quote]4.3 Private motor vehicles
You can claim TI relief on a vehicle temporarily imported for private use (including any accompanying spare parts, accessories and equipment) if:
• It is registered outside the EC or, if not registered, belongs to you or someone else who has their normal home outside the EC
• You do not sell, lend or hire it out or otherwise dispose of it in the EC and
• You re-export the vehicle from the EC within 6 months, however if you are a student or someone fulfilling an assignment of a specific duration (for example a work contract) the vehicle can remain in the EC for the period of your studies or until the end of your assignment.
Note: you must also be aware of the UK's licensing, registration and vehicle excise
duty (VED) requirements as explained in Section 10. If your vehicle is not registered,
see paragraph 10.3.
http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsP...HMCE_CL_000282
[This message has been edited by samwise (edited 30 December 2005).]
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1 Jan 2006
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As a practical matter, David & Cheryl are probably right. BUT that might only work if you enter by sea - Immigration don't have any interest in your means of transport. And Customs have no interest in bikes and would never care how long you were going to be here even if they did search you. So fly or ship it to France (or nearby) where you can quite legitimately say you are only going to be staying a few days, and then ride it in. No one is going to hang you - if they do need to explain the rules, you still have six months to sort something out. Your problem might be insuring it here though - I don't think local insurers will be able to help on Aussie plates. But easy to phone a few for a quote and see. Bennetts and Carol Nash would be a good start.
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2 Jan 2006
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You're right, insurance is a problem, I couldn't find anyone to insure an Aussie registered bike in the UK, or most of Europe for that matter. I eventually got some quite cheap (22 euro/month) through ADAC in Germany but, unless you go through Knopf Tours (more expensive), you have to turn up there and buy it in person.
Sean
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3 Jan 2006
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Thanks for the advice.
Me and missus would be flying in, bike be shipped in (as we're spending a year working in the UK, no great rush for the bike).
I'll give UK Customs a buzz for the offical story, but from what I'm gathering, worst case scenario, ride across to France, bring her back again.
Thanks also for the heads up on insurance. I'll start doing some chasing around on that front as well.
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3 Jan 2006
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Quote:
Originally posted by seanh:
You're right, insurance is a problem... I eventually got some quite cheap (22 euro/month) through ADAC in Germany but, unless you go through Knopf Tours (more expensive), you have to turn up there and buy it in person.
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I've bought liability insurance from ADAC both ways - either from Knopf, if I can't easily get to an ADAC office in person, or directly from ADAC. Although Knopf does charge a service fee (markup) for getting the insurance for you and posting it to you, I have found them to be invaluable for those occasions when I need inexpensive insurance, quick, and I'm not in Germany. The service I have got from Knopf has always been quick, friendly and efficient - I recommend them.
Michael
[This message has been edited by PanEuropean (edited 03 January 2006).]
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10 Jan 2006
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I just bought my bike across the channel on the weekend and was never asked for any bike documentation, despite the fact that I am on a WH visa.
Therefore I assume that there is no record of the details of my bike being in the country (although I was required to give P&O my plate number).
As a practical thought, and not that I would ever condone the breaking of any traffic laws, it seems therefore that provided I don't actually got stopped by a policeman, I can now ride with impunity through speed cameras, bus lane cameras and not worry about parking fines (unless I get towed). Does anyone have any experience with foreign plates in the UK on this issue?
cheers
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10 Jan 2006
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It's very simple mate, if one day they stop you (by chance) and you have unpaid fines they'll tow your bike and you're gonna have to pay a huge amount to get it back (plus the fines).
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16 Jan 2006
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The fact that you had to give P&O your registration number is probably irrelevant. Other ferry companies do not ask for your registration details. I wouldn't say you can risk speeding fines and parking offences with impunity but you are much less likely to have these offences pursued by the authorities. Most fixed penalty offences in the UK are now processed by camera sites and there is no system for processing foreign registration numbers. However a persistant speeding offender may well end up on a police "black list" and be liable to be stopped by any patrol car. Most parking offences are not police matters but civil. However I wouldn't advocate deliberately taking risks but there is a certain satisfaction that you have an extra layer of protection not afforded to us locals.
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