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Permanently importing a motorcycle into the UK (from outside the EU) Permanently importing a motorcycle into the UK (from outside the EU)
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Trip Paperwork Covers all documentation, carnets, customs and country requirements, how to deal with insurance etc.
Photo by Lois Pryce, schoolkids in Algeria

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Photo of Lois Pryce, UK
and schoolkids in Algeria



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  #1  
Old 5 Oct 2020
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Who were the agents?
Hi Keith1954,
I read your thread with interest. I am about to move back to UK, from Canada, with my BMW, which I have owned since new 5 years ago. Please can you tell us who the agent was that you used in UK and whether you would recommend them?

JT
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  #2  
Old 6 Oct 2020
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jenny Thorpe View Post
Hi Keith1954,
I read your thread with interest. I am about to move back to UK, from Canada, with my BMW, which I have owned since new 5 years ago. Please can you tell us who the agent was that you used in UK and whether you would recommend them?
JT

Hi Jenny - the agent I used was: UK Import Services Ltd

As I re-call, they were reasonably competent .. but that was 4½ years ago.

Good luck with your move.

cheers

Keith
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  #3  
Old 7 Oct 2020
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I imported a Harley to UK from NZ, where I was living as a dual (NZ/UK) citizen, in 2002.
I had owned the bike in NZ for about a year when I did this.
The bike came into UK as the property of a returning UK resident (me) and I ran it around for a year on NZ plates.
This was in the days of Norwich Union's Rider Insurance policy, so insuring an overseas vehicle was no probs. So easy back then!

When the NZ registration expired, I got an MOT based on its VIN, not licence number - this is SOP.
The test centre I used didn't care/notice that the speedo was Kms only, maybe I just got lucky?
I then walked into a licensing office in Reading, Berkshire, got a UK licence plate for some fiddling fee, can't recall how much but it was way less than GBP100, no VAT, no import duty, nothing else. But you do need paperwork from HMRC proving that the bike came in to the country legally. This was supplied when it was released from the shipper as a returning resident's property.

This was 18 years ago, mind, and shit might be different now.
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Old 7 Oct 2020
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You don't need to use a specialist importer to import your personal vehicle into the UK, you can do it yourself via a transport company such as Motofreight. It's no different from riding it in off the ferry and you can use it on foreign plates for a period of time.

The requirements for re-registering are laid out here: https://www.gov.uk/importing-vehicles-into-the-uk

Clearly there are some documents you'll have to provide so it's worth getting those in advance. There is no duty or tax to pay if it's a personal import and you own the vehicle for a certain amount of time before and after import, see here: https://www.gov.uk/government/public...de-the-eu#sec4
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Old 7 Oct 2020
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And having a KM speedo is not a problem, not an MOT or registration issue, I have registered two imported bikes with them.
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