Horizons Unlimited - The HUBB

Horizons Unlimited - The HUBB (https://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/)
-   Trip Transport (https://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/trip-transport/)
-   -   Question Concerning Shipping Motorcycle (US Customs) (https://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/trip-transport/question-concerning-shipping-motorcycle-us-101510)

Perre 10 Dec 2020 23:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by mark manley (Post 616249)
I know that but it seems the customs officers in Hamburg do not, this is one of several people who have had a problem there.

https://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hu...-hamburg-94563


Really strange. My impression of Germany and german people is that they do everything by the book.


Skickat från min iPhone med Tapatalk

Perre 10 Dec 2020 23:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by alaskawild (Post 616200)
Hello everyone. Hope someone can answer a quick question for me. Background first. I'm looking at shipping a motorcycle from the US east coast to Italy or UK. A shipper just advised me that US Customs only clears vehicles going and coming to Europe through LAX port on the west coast. Does anyone know if that is correct? Seems strange.

Hope to meet some of you at the Virginia HU Event in April.

Thanks to all my fellow travelers in advance!

Sam


You should take in to consideration that the uk is leaving eu so even if you get yourself and your bike to the uk you will have a real border crossing to get to the continent. When you are inside eu you don't even notice the border crossings.


Skickat från min iPhone med Tapatalk

mark manley 11 Dec 2020 01:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by Perre (Post 616269)
You should take in to consideration that the uk is leaving eu so even if you get yourself and your bike to the uk you will have a real border crossing to get to the continent. When you are inside eu you don't even notice the border crossings.


Skickat från min iPhone med Tapatalk

The UK was never in the Schengen region and there has always been passport control, as the OP is an American Brexit will make no difference at all.

AnTyx 11 Dec 2020 09:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by mark manley (Post 616272)
The UK was never in the Schengen region and there has always been passport control, as the OP is an American Brexit will make no difference at all.

The UK was not in Schengen but was in a customs union and single market. There was always passport control, but not restrictions on movement of goods; if a vehicle had been legally brought into the UK and legal to drive on UK public roads, it could be equivalently driven on any EU/EEA public roads.

Now there will be a customs border between the UK and EU, possibly with separate TIPs.

backofbeyond 11 Dec 2020 09:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnTyx (Post 616279)
if a vehicle had been legally brought into the UK and legal to drive on UK public roads, it could be equivalently driven on any EU/EEA public roads.

Now there will be a customs border between the UK and EU, possibly with separate TIPs.

Don't tell me we're going to have to put those beam diverters back on our headlights - the ones no one's bothered with for years despite the best efforts of the ferry companies to flog them to us on the quayside.

And a GB plate as presumably the old EU ones on the numberplate will no longer be good enough. Maybe some tape over the EU flag bit might do it :rofl:

tohellnback 11 Dec 2020 17:18

truck it
 
Lynden ground Tranport will get your stuff to Seattle fast

PanEuropean 12 Dec 2020 04:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by alaskawild (Post 616248)
Michael ...
...As a side note do you know how much of a hassle or not it is to take US registered bike into Canada if you were to take advantage of Air Canada's shipping offers?

Disregarding the current COVID-19 restrictions that apply to the Canada-US border, it's really a non-event for an American citizen to enter Canada with a vehicle.

Just tell the border guard that you are riding to Montreal (or Toronto, or wherever) to drop the motorcycle off at Air Canada, and then you and the motorcycle will travel to Europe. The border staff won't have any further interest in you.

Another forum member mentioned concerns such as criminal records, etc. in a previous post. If that might apply to you, do some investigation ahead of time to see what if any other actions you might need to take prior to crossing the border.

An American can enter Canada without a passport, but an American can't get back into the USA from Canada without a passport. Obviously, you'll need the passport for Europe.

Don't bring any guns, or more than one bottle of alcohol or one carton of 200 cigarettes. That's pretty much it.

Michael

backofbeyond 12 Dec 2020 09:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by PanEuropean (Post 616297)
Disregarding the current COVID-19 restrictions that apply to the Canada-US border, it's really a non-event for an American citizen to enter Canada with a vehicle.

Just tell the border guard that you are riding to Montreal (or Toronto, or wherever) to drop the motorcycle off at Air Canada, and then you and the motorcycle will travel to Europe. The border staff won't have any further interest in you.

An American can enter Canada without a passport, but an American can't get back into the USA from Canada without a passport. Obviously, you'll need the passport for Europe.

Michael


That's pretty much our experience when we travelled around Canada from the US a couple of years ago. Five minutes (most which was queuing) and only a few brief questions on the way into Canada (at Niagara) but the best part of an hour and a complete life history to get back into the US at a border post in Maine. The guard was friendly enough but he obviously had a checklist of suspicion to get through. The issue of explaining why two Brits were riding a New Jersey registered bike definately raised the alert level.

AnTyx 13 Dec 2020 22:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by PanEuropean (Post 616297)
An American can enter Canada without a passport, but an American can't get back into the USA from Canada without a passport.

Uh... How does that work?

markharf 13 Dec 2020 23:59

It's more complicated than that. Each of the two countries makes their own rules, so there have been times when Canada didn't require a passport but the US did for re-entry. At the moment, I believe that so-called trusted traveler ID is accepted in both directions (Nexus, enhanced drivers licenses, etc.) for overland travel, but passports are required for air crossings. But I might be out of date already.

Note that land and air journeys have different requirements. For all I know, sea journeys might be different from either of the above. There's almost no concern in either direction when it comes to vehicles; if it's legal in one country, it's legal for use in the other. Of course this applies to temporary, not permanent imports.

Note also that even if you follow all the rules, each country can refuse entry for whatever reason they want, whenever they choose. The US in particular is perfectly capable of putting you through all sorts of indignities at the border, even if you're a citizen.

In any case, none of this applies at the moment unless you can satisfy some pretty strict restrictions. I have this idea that I may be able to cross the border to spread my mother's ashes by summertime 2021, but I had the identical idea prior to summer 2020, so we'll see.

backofbeyond 14 Dec 2020 15:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnTyx (Post 616325)
Uh... How does that work?

I think it's the overland version of having to live in the airport :rofl:

Re asymmetric borders, I've gone into France from the UK several times without anybody being bothered whether I have a passport or not. You turn up and they wave you through all the 'checkpoints', often without even looking at you. But in 51 yrs of going to France I've never got back into the UK like that. In recent years, with the ramping up of the 'illegal immigration crisis', the miles of razor wire fencing and armed French soldiers strip searching your car when you arrive in Calais makes it feels more like North Korea (or 70's Albania at least) than a liberal western democracy. It may be at 'something must be done' Defcon 1 level at present but to a greater or lesser extent there's always been an element similar to cold war paranoia on the British side. Since Schengen especially the French have been far more relaxed.

Jay_Benson 15 Dec 2020 13:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by backofbeyond (Post 616328)
Since Schengen especially the French have been far more relaxed.

I suspect that the rules regarding UK citizens staying only up to 90 days in 180 may be applied quite rigorously in Spain and France come 1 January 2021 so they may be much more interested in our passports all of a sudden.


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 00:40.


vB.Sponsors