Where we collect · Qatar
Qatar to the UK.
Collection in Doha and beyond, export clearance with the Traffic department, and shipping from Hamad Port to the UK.
Qatar has a lot of very good cars and a lot of people who move on after a contract ends. We bring both home.
Hamad Port is the country’s main container port, south of Doha. We collect the car from your address, take it through export and arrange the sea leg, then handle everything once it lands in the UK.
Before the car can leave Qatar
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 Qatar.
Export clearance
The car’s Qatari registration has to be cancelled for export with the Traffic department before it can be shipped. Outstanding traffic violations need paying first, and Metrash will show you what is on the record.
Your Istimara
The Istimara is the car’s registration card. Send us a copy along with your passport and proof of purchase, and keep the originals with you.
Finance and your exit
Any loan on the car must be settled and the bank’s release obtained. If you are leaving Qatar for good, settle the car before you settle everything else; it is far easier while you still have a local bank account and phone number.
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.
High-value cars from Doha
A good share of our Qatar enquiries are high-value: recent Porsches, Range Rovers and the odd supercar. For those we recommend a dedicated container, and our supercars page explains why.
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 Qatar
Do you collect outside Doha?
Yes. Al Wakrah, Al Khor, Lusail and anywhere else in Qatar. Tell us the area on the quote form.
How long is the car at sea from Qatar?
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 Istimara, 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 Qatar?
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 Qatari riyal (QAR).
Do I need to be in Qatar 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 Qatar 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 Qatar?
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.