How to get a carnet for Thai registered bike?
 

Hi,

I have just gained a travel companion who wants to ride her own bike with me from Thailand to NZ. Now, Indonesia requires a carnet, but Thailand is not signatory to the relevant treaties, so doesn't issue carnets.

How can we take a Thai bike through Indo? The Indo embassy here said to contact their embassy in Malaysia once we get there. I'm afraid that that will be a dead end.

Thanks for any ideas,
Peter.

PS: I remember reading somewhere that it's possible to buy a bike and obtain a carnet in Cambodia. Does anybody know anything about this, as this could be a viable alternative?

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...terfiet+carnet

Looks like you can get them from Germany.

For me this would be many multiples f the bikes cost, knwing Indo fficialdom I would suspect you can bribe your way through cheaper.

I am hopeful to do an Indo run this summer.. Maybe we can find an agent that can handle the bribe process.

There is also the 'Mr Carnet' threads but that looks old.

Thanks for the ideas.

The ADAC link is from 2001 and the situation may have changed. The ADAC is said to have become a little choosy in who they issue a carnet. I have a French reg'd bike and they did issue me one, but then I am a German citizen and still have a bank account there. I will ask them.

An interesting alternative, at least here in SE Asia, has just appeared with the ATA carnet. This is not at all the same as the CPD, which is for vehicles crossing borders, rather it is for companies wishing to temporarily import merchandise. However, on GT-Rider.com there is a post saying somebody has successfully used it to enter Thailand with a car. A GTR member just received an email from NZ customs saying that he can use either the ATA carnet or post a bond. (This in clear contradiction to the official website, however.) The ATA carnet seems available here and my guess is that for sea and air entry it might just be possible. My thinking is that customs at (air)ports see a lot of ATA carnets, but not many vehicles, so they are used to processing it and may just do it as a matter of course. Whether the Thai Chamber of Commerce will issue one to a person, rather than a company remains to be seen.

I'm not keen on using a fake customs document. My idea of adventure travel doesn't involve exploring operational dungeons...

Yeah I agree with most of what your saying (and its also me on GT-R posting about the ATA carnet).. And I do think that even though indo is a non ATA carnet country they may well just read carnet = carnet.

Indo, thai bikes, and carnets is such a hassle.. Malay bikes are allowed temp import / transit I read, but I cant get any info on if Thailand has a temporary free transit agreement (like Thailand has with Cambo / Laos / Malay) with Indo..

I am really hopeful to cruise down there late this year and before thier rains, we intend to just use cheap Thai 400s (CB / Bandit / Etc) so almost disposable bikes if it really came to it. Certainly the logistical hassle of carnets on 2k usd value machines is all a bit OTT.

If you hear of any rumor and casual reports on the bribe factor at the indo side do let me know.. not got a problem with a contribution to the benevolent fund if it can get let through.

The answer from the ADAC was negative.

This is starting to look like if you are from a non-signatory country then you can't take your vehicle to carnet-requiring countries. So much for it 'facilitating travel'.

Does anybody know whether carnets are issued in Cambodia? Bikes are cheaper there anyway and there seems to be more choice.

What about Malaysia? The AIT lists it as *requiring* a carnet, so my guess is they will issue it. Can a non-resident register a bike there? It's a bit of a long shot...

I have asked around and got a few more answers, although the issues are still not clear (are they ever in Asia?).

Apparently, one can not get a carnet in Cambodia.

Noor Yusof wrote:

Indeed the AAM issues the carnet and I downloaded their application form.

Unfortunately, Dean Lewis disagrees on the foreigner registration:

but then he goes on to say:

Now this last bit, if correct as stated, is really good news. Oz and NZ can be done without carnet. I don't know about Timor Leste (East Timor), but we could skip it and ship directly to Oz from W Timor.

Can anybody confirm this? I know that agreements exist between neighbouring countries, but Thailand and Indonesia aren't neighbours.

Thanks people! HU Communities work!

Cheers,
Peter.

I have had it confirmed 100% that if I get the Thai license plate 'romanised' (which I am told they do for getting insurance in Malaysia) that the RAC in the UK will issue me a carnet on a Thai motorbike.

However with the costs of a UK carnet for just one country I dont know if Indonesian bribery would be cheaper..

As it turns out my travel companion has some issues to deal with so wont be ready to travel as planned anyway.

You mean to say you had it from the horse's mouth? I emailed them a few days ago and haven't had a reply yet.

Well they said they would.. I havent tested the result yet but expect this to be honored.

Thanks xxxxxxx. This would be useful if there is no other way for us.

Update: I have had a reply from the RAC and the AAM, both saying they will issue carnets. Details on GTR.

Thanks to Paul Gowen from the RAC, whose efforts seem to go beyond the normal call of duty.

I have updated the info on GTR, see link above.

Any updates on this topic? I know my Thai bike should have no issues in SEA, but worried about getting it into India :(

The GTR post that I referred to above has disappeared in the GTR forum reorganisation. We took our KLX through Malaysia, Indo and Timor Leste. We got the one-page rego translation from the rego office in Bkk. When we bought the compulsory insurance at the Malaysian border the insurance agent produced a self-adhesive "plate" that just fitted onto the the front of the bike. We also needed a free ITP (cars and bigger have to pay), issued at the border. Initially we entered without all the paper work, but our friends made us go back to another border to obtain it all. There are sometimes check points after the border. We also had the carnets processed.

Carnet was obtained from the RAC. The Malaysian AA told me in an email that they issue carnets for Thai registered bikes.

Note that all this info is now 7 years old. Things may have changed, or they may not...

Have a look at this on the rideasia site
Which countries require a Carnet De Passage for foreign motorcycles?

There is an address and phone number for Thailand, let us all know how you get on

Wayne