Trip Through Europe and Documentation
 

Hello,
I have spent hours searching through threads and sites. I have yet to find all the answers that apply to my situation and are current enough that I'm looking for.
I live and work in the USA Month On/Month Off. I have spent the last five years touring my 2013 Triumph XC everywhere in North America Alaska-Panama-Newfoundland-Key West. I am getting ready to finish this summer 2022 and want to start my next tour in Europe. I have family in France and friends everywhere so storage is of no concern. I plan to fly back and forth to my bike and tour around for the next few years not always consecutively.

1st Question is: I want to ship my bike from an East coast port to a European port any tips for best shipping and receiving locations. I'm open to any location best for customs, cheapest, or even smoothest? and nothings too far for me on either coast.

2nd Question is: I have ZZreo plans to sell my bike when I'm finished I'll just move it to my next location or home. What is the best way to either Import, CDP, or if possible to send it as a Tourist. I have read people say they keep their 2nd bikes over there but how? Boarder guards don't stop you for exceeding 6 months? What about crossing boarders what documents are needed? and if the tourist way is the best route what is that called and what documentation is needed for shipping company's?

Any Guidance or Tips are Greatly Apricated.

Here's some information based on my experience of keeping a Canadian-plated motorcycle in Europe for the past 15 years:

1) Shipping - in the old days (pre-COVID), the easiest and cheapest way of getting a motorcycle from North America to Europe was to ship it by air, generally out of Toronto or Montreal to any continental European city such as Paris, Frankfurt, etc.

Total cost of doing that (one-way), all expenses in, averaged about $1,300 USD. That includes port charges at each end, documentation charges, etc. The moto would be shipped standing up inside a container, all you have to do is show up with less than 1/4 of a tank of gas. No need to disconnect the battery, crate it, etc... you could ride it off from the destination about 3 hours after the plane landed.

Nowadays, reductions in flight schedules have made air freight more expensive or perhaps not even offered. Contact a company that specializes in this, such as Motorcycle Express in New York state, to get up to date information on the situation. Also investigate Canadian airlines such as WestJet, Air Transit, and Air Canada, all of whom have offered motorcycle shipping programs in the past.

Shipping by air out of the USA is a pain because of all the fear, uncertainty, and doubt associated with travel by air in the USA (e.g. 'Take your shoes off').

Shipping by sea might look cheaper, but the port charges at each end are much higher, and the administrative overhead for you is a lot higher, not to mention the cost of getting to the destination port and recovering the motorcycle, un-crating it, re-assembling it, etc.

Don't rule out the possibility of using a household moving company that specializes in household moves North America - Europe.

2) Leaving it There - There are two aspects to this, doing it legally and doing it "not so legally" (but successfully).

Legally, all western & central European countries allow a tourist vehicle plated in North America to be imported for legitimate tourism (means, only operated by the tourist, tourist remains with vehicle and exports vehicle when he/she leaves country). Most countries allow 6 months for the vehicle, although this might be shortened if the individual (the human) is only allowed a shorter period, for example the Schengen region's 90 day limit on visa-less tourism.

So, the "rule" is you come in with your vehicle (or at about the same time, if you ship it by air or sea) and you take your vehicle out when you leave. That keeps you totally legal. Just buy liability insurance for it, and don't overstay your own (human) entry period.

On a more practical level (less legal) - no western or central European countries that I know of record the entry of a tourist vehicle nor do they require any "check-out" procedure when the vehicle leaves (the situation is very different once you get into Turkey, North Africa, or the far east, in general once you get out of the EC area).

So this lack of recording of vehicle entry means that as long as you are discreet, you can pretty much leave the vehicle in Europe forever. You just have to be discreet about it, for example:

• Never allow anyone other than yourself to operate the vehicle. There are dreadful taxation consequences if someone else is found operating your "tourist" vehicle.
  
  
• Don't ride around in the same town for long periods of time, the local cops will notice the strange licence plate and become interested. In other words, don't spend more than a week or so in any one place.
  
  
• Likewise, avoid showing up in the same town at the same place (friend's house) year after year.
  
  
• When you go back home or back to work, store the bike somewhere that it will not be noticed - at a friend's place, with the licence plate against the wall, or removed, or at a moto dealership that offers long-term storage.
  
  
• Be sure to keep your insurance document (green card), driver licence, passport, ownership, etc. with you when you ride. If you do get stopped in a routine traffic stop, you want the process to be simple and easy and complete.

So far as crossing borders is concerned, within the EC, it's a non-issue, there is no border control except in rare and exceptional circumstances, it's like crossing a state line. Into other countries that are not EU members, all I have ever been asked to show is proof of ownership and proof of insurance. Again, once you get into North Africa or anything east of Turkey, things get much more complex. Be aware that the suffix '-stan' on the end of a country name means "fecked up country, don't go there".

I hope this information is of use to you.

A postscript: You will need to put an oval white sticker identifying the country of registration of your motorcycle (presumably 'USA') on the back of your moto.

See an example of such a sticker here: Oval USA Vehicle Sticker.

Failure to have such a sticker on the back of your moto will result in unwanted attention.

I knew I found the right community, thank you for the deep dive and thought you put into that response and of course the wonderful info!

If i took the motorcycle out of the EC area, say Albania or Morocco would that 6 months start again?

Honestly, I haven't seen the oval sticker since we started putting country identifiers on our license plates. :)

I once asked the Estonian vehicle registration agency about this, and their answer was that they are happy with a non-EU-plated tourist vehicle staying in the country for 12 months. Other countries might give you a different answer.

Yes, if you take the car out of the EU/EEC, the car's temporary import permit resets. (Be mindful that some previously convenient visa run borders are currently not viable, such as all of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. Serbia and Moldova should count though, as will Turkey or Morocco.)

Also be mindful that even if your vehicle can stay for 6 or 12 months, you personally are only allowed to be in the EU/EEC/Schengen for *90 days out of every 183* consecutively, so doing a visa run on the 89th day and immediately coming back won't make *you* legal.

Finally, consider the implications that there are several different overlapping legal regimes that are relevant to you:

* The European Union;
* The European Economic Area, which is the EU plus Norway, Iceland and small places like Liechtenstein or Andorra - no border checks;
* Switzerland, which is not part of either but has enough treaties and equivalent laws to feel like it is - the border post will probably just wave you through unless you're a cargo vehicle;
* The Schengen area, which is most of the EEA and Switzerland, but not e.g. Romania or Bulgaria or Croatia or Ireland - have to show ID at the border;
* The UK, which is not a part of any of the above, even if most Europeans don't need a visa for short visits.

Some excellent information for the op and the HU community in general. Except for the off topic and blatantly untrue throw away comment about the Stans. Have you actually ever ridden a motorcycle there? Have you ever met any regular Kyrgyz or Tajik, for example, people? Coming from a North American country yourself and describing someone else's country as "fecked up" is more than disingenuous.

That's because it is not required on vehicles that are fitted with an "EC specification" licence plate that has the country identifier at the far left edge of the licence plate. But it still is very much required (by the Geneva Convention on Road Traffic (1949) and Vienna Convention on Road Traffic (1968) for vehicles that do not display a EC specification plate, such as the original poster's North American motorcycle.
That's a tricky question that I don't want to try to answer because of the risk of misleading you. Countries have limits on both the length of stay of a single continuous visit and the total accumulated length of stay in their country (or their 'visa area', such as the Schengen Area). I believe that the Schengen area countries impose a limit of 90 days within any 180 day period for stay in the area, regardless of the number of times you go in and out. So you are going to need to do your own due diligence in that respect, but it sounds like with your one month on, one month off work schedule you might be able to avoid falling foul of that limitation if you plan carefully. Be aware that the whole Schengen area immigration system is computerized and interconnected, and the border officials do pay attention to that "90 in 180" limit.
I apologize if I have offended you. I admit that my 'throwaway comment' (a fairly accurate description) may have painted some -stan countries with an unwarranted brush.

I have, though, spent (cumulatively) years living and working in various -stan countries, such as Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Kazakhstan, and based on my first hand experience with government regulations and government administration in those countries, they are very difficult places to operate in and I don't recommend them to travellers who want to enter with their own vehicle and travel independently. It is quite possible that if a visitor entered with an organized tour, or with a carefully pre-planned itinerary that did not include bringing their own vehicle in, that they could enjoy a pleasant visit.

I do acknowledge the truth of your comment that the people in those countries can be very nice. But the government practices and administrative practices that visitors need to put up with are, in many cases, truly fecked up. Consider, for example, Russia. The individual people are darn nice. But the government practices impose an insurmountable barrier on visitors. That concept is what prompted my comment.

Michael

I wasn't offended. Just concerned that you pedal basic bs about travel. The OP asked about Europe. Why mention the Stans that are 1000s of miles from Europe?

Now you're mentioning Russia... Pre Covid and the Ukraine conflict, you got a visa and rocked up at the border. They let you in for the length of the visa and the vehicle for 1 year into the Eurasian Customs Union by just filling out a paper form to receive a temporary import permit..

Crossing from Russia into, say, Kazakhstan you would have needed (pre Covid when virtually everyone shut their borders) no visa nor any customs check on your vehicle as they're in the same customs union (along Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia).

Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia were visa free for 30 days for tourists. As were Uzbekistan and Tajikistan (also tourist vehicles only require a temporary import permit).

Pakistan requires a visa for the person and a carnet de passage for the vehicle (the same for India and Iran). Hardly a big deal and definitely not fecked up.

Over the years thousands of people have travelled with their own vehicle to Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent enjoying the countries, people and cultures. While it's not the European easy, homogeneous travel, some might see travel beyond Europe as adventurous, rather than fecked up.

I'll admit, running a business/ commercial operation in far flung countries might be a challenge. I recall trying to apply for **work** visas for Brasil and Mexico being a laugh a minute.

This forum is about travel, not running businesses in foreign countries. The OP is asking about visiting as a tourist.

Afghanistan is/was a war zone. The Afghans I met in Tajikistan were lovely people.

Depends what regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan, as Chris says there are some no-go areas for westerners. Speaking as one who lived for a year in Kazakhstan I would suggest in your time there you don't appear to have learned very much, nor are you very aware of how it is in Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The last thing you need is a inward looking mindset or organised tour in most of the region: great places, friendly people and awesome history.

If you're planning to leave your bike in Europe (say France, where your relatives live) you must re-register it within 12 months. Subject to continuous ownership requirements you may be exempt from tax and duty. However, since the end result is a French plated bike you might like to consider buying one locally and saving the costs of shipping yours over.

To legally drive the bike you would of course be subject to local testing, licensing and insurance requirements.

I wouldn't recommend just bringing a US plated bike here and leaving it. If the police or tax authorities get involved or you have an accident it could get messy.

Hello

To drive in an other country (with the registration of your home country, under the international treaties), you and your bike have to be legally in that country.

At the borders there is no time to check that, but once you have an accident, there are a lot of people involved who not only have the time, it's their job to check it.

The insurance will not pay if they see that you did not uphold your part of the deal and that is not worth it, green card insurances can be very good, my insurance in Switzerland has no limit on liability damages caused by me.


sushi

For green card insurance for non EU bikes and non EU riders of said bikes, contact Ivo at Motocamp Bulgaria. He'll sort you out. (Also valid in the UK).

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Thank you again to all of you for your time and input, ill try to to respond back, condense, and recap this wonderful information


First off I'll cross that bridge with heading to other regions outside of Europe (Russia, Steppes, Africa) when that time comes. I'm sure I'll come back to these threads but for now the plan is to stay within the European area.

A few things here, I definitely have no intention of importing my bike unless I have to, to be legal, when I am done with this trip, I'll be returning my bike to the USA or moving it to another location like Russia, Steppes, Africa until it or I fall apart, so my end result isn't that. France is just one of many locations that I can store my bike while I'm away at work, and I will only be there for a few months till I finish with that region of Europe and then base out of a different location that makes more logistical sense.
Sounds easy when said like that but I seem to be running into just as many complications of buying a bike in Europe as with shipping one. Without a permanent address, residency in any European country, and traveling just under a USA passport as a tourist registering a bike is seems to be fairly complicated. Please correct me if I'm wrong because it was an option that I had considered. (Also before people go down that road I do not want to buy through proxy or rental loophole company tactics, Its just not an option that I consider personally.)

I would like to stay as compliant as I can be for that reason if I did get into an accident or something I'd like to have been as closely as I could to legally riding in Europe. that's the complicated matter I'm trying to figure out.

One question I have been looking for is at the boarders is documentation ever needed for Motorcycle arrival? for North American counties my personal visa status, bike ownership, and insurance is standard fair. but most I felt just assumed that my bike was brought with me at the time as my entry stamp even though some have planes on them and others have automobile's/boats depending on type of entry. I think this might tie into
When mentioning 90 to 180 day limits are you referring to my passport/visa limitation or time that my motorcycle could physically be allowed in some countries/areas? You are correct with my work schedule as well as holiday and other types of travel activities that I do I'll never impose on my own passport/visa limitations. But while I'm working and then taking a trip to a Caribbean beach, my motorcycle would be still in Europe. Is a clock still running on that?

To further add information "My Intent/Plan" would be to have a bike in Europe and travel there for as many of my free months 4/5 with a total of my personal time spent in Europe less than 180 days collectively in a year.
Using a Fake timeline I know weather and other realistic factors would change this when it happens but for ease just use this generic month timeline, But if there is any extra ideas or corrections to the bulk of it let me know.
December - ship motorcycle to Europe
Jan - motorcycle and I arrive in Netherlands (Best Port for shipment that I've read) (I will have proof of ownership and third party insurance before shipping)(clock starts on entering the motorcycle for tourist purposes which as I understand I have 6 months for the motorcycle in the EEA) tour through Neatherlands, Germany, Belgium and say France where I fly out of but the motorcycle stays.
Feb - I work but the motorcycle is still there.
March - I return and do hypothetically Italy, Austria, Czech, Poland and return to France to fly out.
April - I work Motorcycle stays in France
May - I travel down to Spain and Portugal (Could I leave to UK and reset that tourist purpose clock?) (If not then a quick trip into morocco to reset?)
June - Starting the cycle of travel over again.

Continuing this type of traveling with the motorcycle would it seem that I fall legally inside the tourist purposes importation exempt statues.

Issues I see with this is something happens in April and I can't return until August would I need to go do a border run and pray nothing happens between France and an EEA boarder? And would anyone check at the borders in between that my Motorcycle over stayed its 6 month? My own passport/visa status is perfectly legal and still within time.

You're "wrong" :innocent: Here is your correction: :mchappy:

Martin Hurley of https://motofeirme.com/about/ in the Republic of Ireland has an excellent reputation for helping non European riders buy/register/insure Irish bikes in their name. Many North American and Antipodean riders have had very positive experiences with him.

Yup, Motofeirme is one known good option.

Another one is to buy the bike in Germany and put it on 12-month export plates. (Of course they will run out and you will need to register it somewhere after they do.)

A third one is to find a European country where a non-resident can buy and register a bike in their name. Estonia, where I live, is one such country; there are others, with varying levels of bureaucracy.