Moving home
Coming home? Bring the car.
The contract is ending, the villa is half in boxes and you would rather not start again on a UK forecourt. If you have been away over a year, the car may come home without a penny of import tax.
Most of the Gulf cars we bring home belong to people in the same position as you. Some have been away three years, some twenty. Almost all of them are juggling the car with a hundred other jobs, and the car is the one they would most like to hand to someone else.
So hand it to us. Our agents in the Gulf help you with the export side, we ship it, and from the moment it lands it is My Car Import people unloading it, clearing it through customs, converting it, testing it and registering it.
It means you can arrive, find somewhere to live and get the kids into school, and the car turns up on UK plates when it is ready.
Transfer of Residence
Four questions. Thirty seconds.
Transfer of Residence relief lets people moving their home to the UK bring their belongings, car included, without paying import duty or VAT. Answer these honestly and you will have a good idea where you stand.
This is a guide. HMRC makes the decision, and it may ask for evidence of each point.
Applying for Transfer of Residence
You apply online through GOV.UK. It asks about you, your move and the things you are bringing, including the car. It is not a long form, but it does want evidence, so gather it while you are still in the Gulf and everything is easy to get hold of.
The sort of evidence that helps:
- Your residence visa or national ID card from the country you are leaving
- A tenancy contract or utility bills showing you lived there
- The car's registration card and the purchase paperwork
- Proof you are moving to the UK, like a UK tenancy, house purchase or job offer
Once HMRC approves it, you get a reference number. Send it to us and we use it when we clear the car through customs. That is when the relief is applied, so keep that number safe.
The 12 months rule is worth taking seriously. If you sell, lend or hire out the car within 12 months of it arriving, HMRC can ask for the duty and VAT after all.
Timing the car with the move
The sea leg is usually 3 to 6 weeks, and the export paperwork has to happen before that, while you can still reach the local authority. Most people start the car a few weeks before their own flight.
If you are driving it right up to the last day, that is fine too. Settle any fines and finance first, leave the keys and the paperwork with someone you trust, and our agents collect it after you have gone. The leaving the Gulf checklist keeps track of all of it.
What happens to the car in the UK
Relief or not, the car still has to meet UK rules before it can be registered. We adjust the headlights so they dip the right way, convert the speedometer to read in miles per hour, and fit a rear fog light if it does not have one.
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. If you are still house-hunting, we can keep it in storage until you are ready.
Questions from people moving home
Do I pay tax on my car if I move back to the UK from Dubai?
Often not. If you have lived outside the UK for more than 12 months, owned and used the car for at least 6 months, and are making the UK your home, Transfer of Residence relief can remove the import duty and VAT. You cannot sell the car for the first 12 months.
Is it only for British people coming home?
No. The relief is for anyone moving their usual place of residence to the UK from outside it, so it can apply whether you are coming back or moving here for the first time. The same conditions apply either way.
When should I apply for Transfer of Residence?
Apply to HMRC before the car arrives if you can, ideally as soon as you know your moving date. You will get a reference number once it is approved, and we use that when we clear the car through customs.
Can I ship my car before I leave the Gulf myself?
Yes, and plenty of people do, so the car arrives around the same time they do. The export paperwork has to be done while you can still reach the local authority, so plan it into your last few weeks.
Does the car still need testing if I pay no tax?
Yes. Transfer of Residence relief is about tax only. The car still needs its UK conversions and an IVA test or MOT before it can be registered, and we do all of that in-house.
Moving home? Let us bring the car.
Tell us about the car and where it is. Someone at My Car Import builds your quote around your car, and there is no obligation to go ahead.