Hi all,

I am planning to leave the United Arab Emirates by riding my motorbike back to Europe, taking either the Saudi or Iran route, in order to import it back home for future use.

At the start of my plan I had two options in mind, either 1) drive back on export plates, or 2) try to obtain the object the export certificate after the trip(from abroad).

Having aligned with the Dubai AutoClub, they confirmed it is not possible to either cross at least The Middle East on export license plates, or to obtain a Carnet de Passage on the same plates. Also not entirely sure if insurance is available on export plates, hence this brings me to my second option.

This means driving back on the original plates, accompanied with international insurance, making the Saudi route possible. If going through Iran, the Carnet de Passage is also obtainable for the original plates, and a separate insurance is available at the border.

However, at the end of the trip I expect I will need the UAE export certificate in order to register the bike in Europe. This means I'll need to fly back to the UAE in order to handover the original license plates and provide evidence of ownership in order officially export the bike.

My main concern is the feasibility of exporting the bike without having the actual bike present in the UAE, hence through this topic I am looking for others who have done a similar trip.

As for the Saudi route, I would obviously avoid Syria at this point in time, hence the ferry from Haifa (Israel) to Izmir (Turkey) would most likely be the way to go. Also, this trip will only go ahead if countries are opening their land borders again after covid restrictions.


Thanks in advance, and any response is welcome!

Regards,
JdV