Moving to the UK with your car
If you are relocating from South Africa and have owned your car for a while, Transfer of Residence can mean no import duty and no VAT. We check you qualify, ship it with your belongings if you like, and handle the rest.
Transfer of Residence, in plain terms
HMRC does not charge duty and VAT on your own belongings when you move your life to the UK. Your car counts as one of those belongings, as long as it meets four conditions.
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You have lived abroad for 12 months
At least a year living outside the UK before the move. Most people coming from South Africa have been there far longer.
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You have owned and used the car for 6 months
It has to be your car, used by you, for at least six months before you move. A car bought last month to ship over will not qualify.
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Your main home is moving here
This relief is for relocations. Extended visits and holiday homes are not covered.
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You keep it for 12 months
No selling, lending or hiring it out for the first year after it is imported. After that it is yours to do as you like with.
Check if you qualify
Four questions, the same ones HMRC will be asking. This is a quick guide rather than a decision, but if any answer is a no, it is better to know now than when the car is on the water.
Nothing you tick here is sent anywhere.
Transfer of Residence checker
Answer all four to see where you stand.
If every answer is yes, you are likely to qualify. If any answer is no, the car can still come over, it just pays duty and VAT unless another relief applies.
What Transfer of Residence saves
Without the relief, HMRC charges duty on the car’s value plus the cost of shipping it, then VAT on top of both. With it, both lines can be zero.
The example uses round numbers to show the shape of it. Your own figures depend on what the car is worth and what it costs to ship, and both come in your quote. To try your own numbers, use the duty and VAT calculator.
- Car value
- £25,000
- Shipping and insurance
- £2,500
- Customs value
- £27,500
- Duty at 10%
- £2,750
- VAT at 20% of £30,250
- £6,050
- Tax to HMRC
- £8,800
- Car value
- £25,000
- Shipping and insurance
- £2,500
- Customs value
- £27,500
- Duty
- £0
- VAT
- £0
- Tax to HMRC
- £0
The ToR01 application, and when to do it
The application is made online to HMRC on form ToR01. The one thing to get right is the timing: apply before the car arrives, not after.
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Tell us you are moving
Say so in the quote form. We plan the shipment around your move and tell you what HMRC will want to see.
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Gather the evidence
Proof of how long you have lived abroad, proof you have owned and used the car for six months, and proof you are setting up home in the UK.
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Apply on ToR01
Online, to HMRC, ideally before the car lands. Once you have a reference, send it to us.
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We clear it using the relief
Our in-house HMRC CDS customs agents enter the car with your ToR reference, so the relief is applied at the border.
Your car and your belongings, in one container
Most cars we bring from South Africa travel in shared containers with other customers’ cars. That keeps the cost down, but it means nothing else can go inside.
When you are relocating, a 20ft container to yourself often makes more sense. Your car goes in with your household goods, everything is loaded once at your end and unloaded at our site in Castle Donington. Tell us what else is going in, so the paperwork covers all of it.
The sea passage is usually 4 to 6 weeks, and we usually ship from Cape Town. More on containers and ports on the shipping page.
If you do not qualify
The car can still come over. It pays duty and VAT like any other import, unless one of these applies instead.
Built in South Africa
Under the UK and SACUM trade agreement, a South African built car may qualify for zero duty if its origin can be evidenced. VAT still applies. We will tell you if it is realistic for your car.
Over 30 and original
Classics over 30 years old, unmodified and of historical interest can qualify for no duty and 5% VAT. See classic cars.
A UK car coming home
Took your car out from the UK and bringing it back within three years, unaltered? Returned Goods Relief may mean no duty and no VAT. HMRC conditions apply. Read bringing a UK car back home.
Questions about moving with your car
What is Transfer of Residence?
It is relief from import duty and VAT for people moving their main home to the UK. If you have lived outside the UK for at least 12 months and owned and used the car for at least 6 months before you move, you can usually bring it in without paying either.
When should I apply for ToR?
Ideally before the car arrives in the UK. The application is made online to HMRC on form ToR01. We will tell you what to have ready and make sure the reference is in place before we clear the car through customs.
Can I sell the car once it is here?
Not for the first 12 months. A car imported under Transfer of Residence must not be sold, lent or hired out in that time. If it is, HMRC can ask for the duty and VAT that was relieved.
Can my car travel with my furniture?
Yes, in a 20ft container to yourself. Shared containers carry other people’s cars, so nothing else can go in. A dedicated container lets your car travel alongside your household goods, and we price it that way in your quote.
I bought the car only a few months ago. Is that a problem?
For Transfer of Residence, yes. You need to have owned and used it for at least 6 months before you move. The car can still come over, it just pays duty and VAT like any other import, unless another relief applies.
Does my car still need a test if I qualify for ToR?
Yes. Transfer of Residence is about tax, not road safety. The car still needs an IVA test if it is under ten years old or an MOT if it is older, then DVLA registration. We do all of that on our own site.
Tell us about the car you are moving with
Mention Transfer of Residence in the form and whether you want a container to yourself. A person here prices the whole move and tells you what HMRC will need.
Ringing from South Africa? +44 1332 810442