Where we collect · Kuwait
Kuwait to the UK.
Export from Kuwait to the UK, from modern SUVs to the big American saloons Kuwait has always loved.
Kuwait has a long love affair with big American cars, and some of the best-kept examples of the 1970s and 80s in the world have spent their lives there. We bring those home, along with plenty of modern SUVs.
We collect from your address, deal with export and shipping, and do all of the UK side ourselves.
Before the car can leave Kuwait
Every Gulf country wants the same thing before a car goes: its registration closed, nothing owed against it and the paperwork in order. The detail is local. Here is how it tends to work in Kuwait.
Export clearance
The car has to be cleared for export by the General Traffic Department, with any fines paid off. Your agent will need the registration documents and a copy of your civil ID or passport.
Finance
As anywhere in the Gulf, a financed car needs the lender’s release before it can leave the country.
Rules and fees are set by the local authority and do change, so treat this as a guide and check the latest with them. Our agents will tell you if anything has moved.
Kuwaiti classics
A dry climate is kind to old cars, and a Kuwaiti Caprice or Mercedes from the 1980s can be remarkably solid underneath. If yours is over 30 years old, it may qualify for the reduced classic rate of import VAT. Our classic cars page explains how.
Once it reaches the UK
From here, the process is identical wherever the car came from. It comes to our own site in Castle Donington, where our team unloads containers themselves, our customs team clears it with HMRC, and the car goes into our workshop for its UK conversions: headlights adjusted to dip the right way, a speedometer that reads in miles per hour and a rear fog light.
Then it is tested in our own lanes, an IVA test if it is under ten years old or an MOT if it is older, and registered through our dealer-level DVLA account in around 10 working days. You collect it, or we deliver it.
The sea leg itself is usually 3 to 6 weeks. Your quote sets out what to expect for your car.
Questions from Kuwait
Is a 40-year-old car from Kuwait harder to register?
Usually easier. Cars over 40 years old do not need an MOT before registration, and they may qualify for the historic tax class. We check the paperwork the DVLA will want and source anything missing.
How long is the car at sea from Kuwait?
By container, usually 3 to 6 weeks. RoRo, where it runs, is usually quicker at around 2 to 4 weeks. We always give a range rather than a date, because shipping lines choose their routes depending on conditions. Customs, testing and registration in the UK come after that.
What paperwork do you need from me?
Copies of the car’s registration book, your passport and proof that the car is yours. If you are moving home and have applied for Transfer of Residence, the reference number too. Keep the originals, as they travel with you.
Will I pay import tax on a car from Kuwait?
If you are moving home, have lived outside the UK for over 12 months and have owned the car for at least 6 months, Transfer of Residence relief can mean no duty and no import VAT. Otherwise it is 10% duty on the car’s value plus shipping, then 20% VAT on top. Cars over 30 years old pay 5% VAT and no duty. Our calculator takes the price in Kuwaiti dinar (KWD).
Do I need to be in Kuwait when the car is collected?
No. Plenty of people have flown home by then. Sort the paperwork and fines before you go, and leave the keys and the authority to hand the car over with someone you trust.
Start to finish
From Kuwait to UK plates.
- 1Gulf
Tell us about the car
Make, model, where it is and why it is coming. A person, not a pricing robot, builds your quote.
- 2Gulf
Settle up
Fines, tolls and any finance cleared. Nothing leaves the Gulf with money owed against it.
- 3Gulf
Export plates
The car comes off the local register and goes onto export plates. Our agents help you through it.
- 4Gulf
Collected and loaded
Picked up from your address, checked, photographed and secured in its container.
- 5Sea
At sea
Usually 3 to 6 weeks, with transit insurance available for its full value.
- 6UK
Unloaded and cleared
Unloaded at our own site in Derby and cleared through HMRC by our in-house customs team.
- 7UK
Converted and tested
Fog light, speedo and headlights sorted, then IVA or MOT in our own test lane.
- 8UK
On UK plates
Registered with the DVLA in around 10 working days, then collected or delivered to your door.
Bringing a car home from Kuwait?
Tell us about the car and where it is. A real person at My Car Import builds your quote around your car, and there is no obligation to go ahead.