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26 Oct 2012
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Location: Melbourne, Australia
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Customs and Import into the UK
I've just finished my trip from Australia and I'm in the UK now with my Australian registered bike. My intention is to live here and I have a UK passport so I've ignored the bike for a while until I sort out my employment situation.
I took the eurotunnel from France and I asked at the UK Immigration/Customs window before boarding if having an Australian bike would be a problem and the answer was an "I can't see why". So I shrugged and went through.
But now I read lots of references to Temporary Imports. Have I missed a step getting the bike into the country?
On the permanent import side, has anyone gone through this into the UK? Is it worth it? At the moment I'm just looking to garage it over the winter because it won't pass an MOT (head stem bearing is notched) and I'm focused on finding work and don't have the money to fix everything yet. I also understand it has to be in stock form which would require extensive modification to the bike, is that correct?
I've also heard that if the bike is registered and Insured it can stay in the EU for as long as they are valid, is that correct? It might be easier/cheaper to leave it garaged there until I'm sorted out here.
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1 Nov 2012
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Location: Wessex, UK
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I don't think you have done anything wrong just bringing the bike in, no carnet is required in the UK and as long as you have owned it for more than 6 months before and keep it for 12 months after it is a personal import and no duty is payable if you register it here, I think!
Here are the details on how to register it. A km speedo should not matter and you should already have a left dipping headlight.
https://www.gov.uk/importing-vehicle...ported-vehicle
I should say I have never imported from outside the EU but a few friends have and this is based on their experience, I believe what I have said is correct, good luck.
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10 Jan 2014
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rbslime
On the permanent import side, has anyone through this into the UK? Is it worth it? At the moment I'm just looking to garage it over the winter because it won't pass an MOT (head stem bearing is notched) and I'm focused on finding work and don't have the money to fix everything yet. I also understand it has to be in stock form which would require extensive modification to the bike, is that correct?
I've also heard that if the bike is registered and Insured it can stay in the EU for as long as they are valid, is that correct? It might be easier/cheaper to leave it garaged there until I'm sorted out here.
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How did you go with this rbslime?
Sorry to drag up such an old thread, but i am looking at doing something similar ina few months time and would love to hear about your experience.
If anyone else has done something similar that would be great too?
Cheers!
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10 Jan 2014
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To put my scenario into plainer terms; i am pretty well wanting to do exactly what rbslime did, apart from the fact that he/she did it inadvertently.
I want to import my bike into the uk on a temporary basis. This will allow me to keep it on the road from the moment i arrive. After a few months (and before the 6 month temporary permit expires) i will go through the process of registering the bike for the uk.
I have lived in Australia for years and owned the motorbike for 5 yrs and paid tax on it, so i believe vat and import duty will not be applicable.
Any thoughts or suggestions??
Cheers!
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10 Jan 2014
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I looked into this a couple of years ago as a UK national driving an Aus registered 4x4 and returning to the UK. One thing to keep in mind is that if you're a UK national it's not legal to ride an Aus registered bike in the UK.
In practice if you arrive by ferry or the tunnel it's unlikely anyone will check / know / be bothered.
I ended up selling my 4x4 unregistered / unimported so don't have personal experience of the import process.
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11 Jan 2014
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I still have the bike here and haven't done anything with it. As misterpaul said it's not legal to ride it if you're a UK national too. If anyone checks is a different matter, but there's only a couple of companies that give insurance.
I'm going to ship it back to Australia next year when I'm back in the country to deal with it. From what I understood I have three options (maybe not now since it's been here so long):
- Garage it elsewhere in the EU and keep Australian registration up to date and get EU insurance when needed.
- Import in to the uk, which needs all the work done for an MOT and duty/VAT paid because it's from outside the EU.
- Ship back to Australia and leave it there
I'm leaning towards the third option as they all roughly cost the same.
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13 Jan 2014
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thanks for the pointers guys.
i am Australian, though i plan on living in the UK for a while. When you say UK National do you mean resident, passport holder, citizen?
I currently only have Australian nationality, though for work purposes i will need to apply for UK.
rbslime::
were you not required to register or export the bike after the 6 month temp. import expired? the reason i ask this is that after 6 months i may take my bike off the road (deregister completely) and use it for track days. but some shipping companies suggest that after 6 months i must either: register it for UK; or export it from the EU. deregistration does not sound like an option...
edit: oh, and i will be shipping the bike in by ferry, while i catch the plane. so we will be arriving seperately if that makes any difference?
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13 Jan 2014
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I have also been wondering about the same thing although relating to being insured while riding in the UK.
I don't live in the UK anymore(nearly 30 years) but have a British passport and driving licence, I will be entering the UK hopefully this year on a South African registered bike. will the 3rd party insurance from motocamp in Bulgaria cover me in the UK? As i am also getting insurance for the USA from motorcycle express. I got some info from them about Europe.......insurance can't be issued if you are a citizen or the country. if this is the case how does one get UK insurance for a foreign bike?
Any help would be appreciated.
Oh hi to all.....my first post. great site.
Kevin
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13 Jan 2014
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Hi Kevin,
I have been speaking with the guys at Adrian Flux about insurance.
They seem reasonable and don't have the same issues about foreign driver's license or bike registration that others do.
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13 Jan 2014
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Thanks, just sent them an email. will see what they say.
Kevin
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14 Jan 2014
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Marty McFly
thanks for the pointers guys.
i am Australian, though i plan on living in the UK for a while. When you say UK National do you mean resident, passport holder, citizen?
I currently only have Australian nationality, though for work purposes i will need to apply for UK.
rbslime::
were you not required to register or export the bike after the 6 month temp. import expired? the reason i ask this is that after 6 months i may take my bike off the road (deregister completely) and use it for track days. but some shipping companies suggest that after 6 months i must either: register it for UK; or export it from the EU. deregistration does not sound like an option...
edit: oh, and i will be shipping the bike in by ferry, while i catch the plane. so we will be arriving seperately if that makes any difference?
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I think all of the above apply to import rules. If you have an address in the UK it should be registered.
There's no enforcement on the temporary import, nothing at the border I saw. I don't ride it anymore and it's just in storage. If I rode it on the roads here I'd have some explaining to do about why it's not registered locally if there's no proof it's leaving soon (ticket for a ferry, etc). Local vehicles that are in storage are still required to be registered with the DVLA, so I'm not sure there's a concept of a completely deregistered working vehicle here.
I've just left mine in storage, so it's perfectly possible to do that what you have above and it's not likely that anyone will question it, just not sure on the legality of it if questioned. Mine is only still here because of the money involved to do anything with it.
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14 Jan 2014
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thanks rbslime; i appreciate your efforts to respond.
interesting regarding deregistration. over here in Aus, if we want a bike to use on the track we simply deregister a road bike and swap the fairings over.
do you know what they do over there, if you cannot completely deregister a bike?
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14 Jan 2014
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Marty McFly
thanks for the pointers guys.
i am Australian, though i plan on living in the UK for a while. When you say UK National do you mean resident, passport holder, citizen?
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I meant UK passport and licence holder, but best check with the UK govt to be sure.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marty McFly
edit: oh, and i will be shipping the bike in by ferry, while i catch the plane. so we will be arriving seperately if that makes any difference?
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I arrived by vehicle ferry driving my 4x4. No-one at the port looked twice. If you're collecting your bike after it's arrived as freight it may well be different.
But if you have Aus documents and an Aus registered bike I would say you *should* be able to ride out of the port, and as long as you're insured and have valid rego.
There's loads of info on the rules online on the UK govt website.
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14 Jan 2014
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ttr400
if this is the case how does one get UK insurance for a foreign bike? Any help would be appreciated.
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I think the point is you can't legally ride a foreign registered bike in the UK if you're a UK passport / licence holder.
You can get Europe wide Green Card cover (see the sticky at the top of the trip paperwork page) so you have a piece of paper to show should anyone ask, but I'm not sure how useful it would be if a claim was made against you.
I had the piece of paper but no-one asked and I drove VERY carefully 
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