Vehicle registration and re-registration

[GreenLaner]

Is it possible to drive a vehicle registered in one country to another country, and then register the vehicle locally?

I'm planning a trip from Japan to the UK with a JPN registered car and hope to re-register the vehicle with UK plates once I get there.

I suppose I'd have to import it - are there companies in the UK that will handle the paperwork, and is it possible once the vehicle is actually in the country?

Any advice appreciated...

Cheers,

GL

[tony johnston]

The short answer is Yes,you can arrive in UK with a foreign registered vehicle and get it re-registered.The UK Customs are very adept at sorting genuine travellers from foreign car dealers and my own experience(twice) is that they are 100% helpful.
BUT,getting into UK is the easy bit!!!The first series of questions you may wish to ask is can u export Jap car/plates on an a)temp basis assuming u will return or,b)on a permanent basis where u have to deregister in Japan and travel on export plates.

To do the latter would almost certainly be more trouble than its worth because even though u will have a Carnet(impractical
without this),most countries have wierd and massively frustrating travel requirements for vehicles with export plates(fixed convoys etc).No fun at all.

I have got around this in the past by sending a letter to the registration dept.of the base country saying that I am travelling on leave and will be back within x months and then,on rereg in UK,returning the plates by couriering them to the Carnet office who then return them to the registry office and then release the Carnet Bond.

Vital u check requirements of countries u will pass thro.Local Carnet office usually know about adjacent countries and keep talking to travellers thro webs like this one.
Complicated but well worth while at the end.Good luck!!

[GreenLaner]

Thanks Tony...

What I can tell, no carnet is required from Japan to Russia, Mongolia, and Europe.

So, my plan is to travel on Japanese plates and then deregister everything once I get there. Might involve a lot of faxes and paperwork, but it sounds doable.

Cheers,

GL