Most families who leave the Gulf do it when the school year ends, in June or July. That makes the early summer the busiest time of year for everything to do with moving: removal firms, flights, schools and, yes, cars. If you already know you are going next summer, the autumn is a good time to start on the car.
Very little of it is difficult. It is just easier to do calmly in the winter than in the last fortnight, with the house half packed.
Decide whether the car is coming at all
Some cars are worth bringing home and some are better sold in the Gulf. It depends on the car, what it would fetch out there, and what it would cost to replace in the UK. Our guide ship it or sell it? goes through the questions. If you are going to sell, you want to be selling before the summer rush, not during it.
Check Transfer of Residence now
If you are moving your home to the UK, Transfer of Residence relief can mean no import duty or VAT on the car. The conditions are about time, so it pays to check them early:
- You have lived outside the UK for at least 12 months
- You have owned and used the car for at least 6 months before you move
- You do not sell, lend or hire it out for 12 months after it arrives
The ownership rule is the one that catches people out. A car bought in the spring, a few months before a summer move, may not have been yours long enough. If you are thinking of changing cars before you leave, do the sums first. The application has to be approved before the car arrives, and our Transfer of Residence checker gives you a first answer in a few questions.
Clear finance, fines and tolls
A car cannot leave the Gulf with finance outstanding, and unpaid fines or tolls will hold up the export paperwork. If there is a loan on the car, find out now what settling it involves and how long the bank takes to release it. Our guide to settling up before you leave covers each one.
Know what the paperwork involves
Before it can be shipped, the car's local registration has to be dealt with: export plates in the UAE, or deregistration elsewhere in the Gulf. It is not complicated, but it has to be done in the right order, before the car is collected. Our guide to export plates and deregistration explains it place by place.
Book the shipping early
The car is usually 3 to 6 weeks at sea, plus the time it takes to collect, load, clear customs and register it. Space in shared containers is in most demand in the early summer, so the sooner we know your dates, the easier it is to fit the car in when it suits you.
If you are flying out before the car is ready to go, that is normal. Sort the paperwork before you go, leave the keys and the authority to hand the car over with someone you trust, and our agents collect it after you have gone. And if your UK address is not settled yet, the car can wait with us in storage once it lands.
Remember the UK side
The car does not need to be anywhere near you when it arrives. Once it is here, we test it, register it and fit UK plates on our site in Castle Donington. The import has to be reported to HMRC within 14 days of arrival, which we handle for you.
The leaving the Gulf checklist puts all of this in order, and you can tick items off as you go. When you have a rough date, ask for a quote and we will set out the plan for your car.