My wife and I have been living and working in Japan for a little over 4 years and are currently planning to return to the UK in the middle of 2016.

Our dream is to buy a land cruiser here in Japan and spend 6-12 months driving home to the UK, where will finally import and register the vehicle. The route we'll probably take is Japan - Russia - The Stans - Iran - Turkey - Greece - some-other-european-countries - UK.

I was wondering if anyone has attempted anything similar in a Japanese registered vehicle here at HUBB or knows of anyone? There's lots of info available about coming to Japan in a foreign vehicle, but almost nothing about leaving Japan in a Japanese vehicle...

The area I'm most interested in finding out more about is the process of getting a carnet drawn up in Japan. My research so far indicates that the 'Japan Automobile Federation' are most likely going to be the people to deal with. Has anyone here had a carnet prepared by them?

Reading translations of the JAF website, I read a concerning detail that they will only issue carnets for vehicles that are returning to Japan. Again, I'd love to hear if anyone knows if this stipulation is absolute, or whether there are ways around it!

Many thanks in advance!

Mark

I am no expert on carnets, but your statement above is the whole reason for the existance of the carnet paperwork.
If the vehicle is not returning to Japan then why do you want a carnet (the purpose for which is to ensure that you bring the vehicle back)?

Put another way, you will be exporting your vehicle, permanently, from Japan to Europe.
Years ago I bought a vehicle, tax free, in Europe and brought it back to the UK; at that time you had to stay out of the UK for 6 months with a new vehicle and then it became "second hand". The rules may be different nowadays so best to check on the current import regs for the UK.



to the HUBB by the way.

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Dave

Hi,

Thanks for the reply and welcome

If I were putting the car in a container in Japan and shipping the car directly to the UK, then I agree it would just be a case of satisfying Japan's export and UK's import regulations - no carnet needed.

However, as I intend to drive through several countries between Japan and the UK that use the carnet system to 'guarantee' the temporary import and export of vehicles, I believe I need a carnet. I would be more than happy to be corrected on this!

Cheers,
Mark

Maybe.
Best to do some research about which countries absolutely (no ifs, no buts) require a carnet and which are flexible about issuing Temp Import Permits.
There are plenly of threads in here about various countries but the rules can change quickly in any case; my personal impression is that "the use of carnets is not what it used to be" and TVIPs are commonly used.

ps Maybe, (another one!) if you skip Iran you wouldn't "need" a carnet.
Also, there are 8-9 "Stans" so you need to know the rules for each of them.

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Dave

Yep, I see. I don't know anything about Temporary Import Permits - everything I read seems to be carnet, carnet, carnet!

So, you're right, definitely the next stage is to sit down with the route and try to get to the bottom of each country's requirements... possibly I can then tweak my route and avoid the necessity of the dreaded carnet.

Thanks,
Mark

JAF will issue you a carnet.
A carnet entails a bond that is refundable when you return the vehicle to its country of origin. Some carnet issuing agencies may refund your carnet bond if you can satisfy them that the vehicle was permanently imported to a country and all the duties have been paid, but I don't think they don't like to do that as it is difficult for them to actually be sure they won't be billed for those duties at a later date.
Skip Iran and you won't need a carnet at all. Don't know if you will be able to register your vehicle in the UK as it will still be registered in Japan, though. If you deregister is, you can't drive on the road in Japan and they will take the license plate back too.

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Japan touring information

Hi Chris,

Many thanks for the info - all good stuff, thanks.

Since my original post I've had a reply from The Japan Commercial Arbitration Association who I'd emailed earlier in the week. They say:

"ATA Carnets can be issued if the goods are to be re-exported from a foreign country within a year..... There is also JAF Carnet for the travelers with cars, but it also require that the cars are re-imported into Japan."

So, yes, things are now starting to look very much like we'll have to do the trip without a carnet, and simply avoid countries that have an absolute requirement.

The import process in the UK will be a whole 'nother headache, I'm sure! I will no doubt be starting a separate thread for that at some point.

Cheers,
Mark

There is a whole market for importing Japanese vehicles into the UK, based on dealers who bring in container loads at a time; UK ebay has many examples.
Their stated reasons are:-
1. Already in RHD configuration, so easy to register for the UK
2. Salt free roads in Japan compared with the UK = good bodywork.
3. Often low mileage "recreational" vehicles, especially camper vans and suchlike.
4. "Grey import" Jap vehicles have a following in the UK.
5. They are often fitted with things that are not standard in the UK - this relates to 4 above.

They tend not to mention the Yen - £ exchange rate.

My Serow XT225 motorcycle is a grey import from Japan with a UK registration.

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Dave

Thanks again for your comments....

The research I'd done to date suggested the export-import market between Japan and UK was quite lively, which made me feel confident that we'd be OK importing our vehicle to the UK at the end of our journey. Reading the your quote from ebay adds a little bit more reassurance....


We bought the car today (very exciting!) so one way, or another, we'll work out the fine details before we leave in 9 months-time

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