Transporting your car to Oz - everything you need to know!

[Carlos fandango]

Carlos do you still have to have these points even if you have PR??

 

Yes you do........

seems a little daft that people, who have spent thousands of pounds and many months getting a visa to migrate including all the info and hoops you have to produce and jump through, then have to go through another points system to prove they are going to permanently move to Australia to take a vehicle....

Not only that but the points that you are required to get seem near on impossible for a big majority to get.

For instance you are staying in a holiday let first off before moving onto a more permanent let or possibly purchase which is what the biggest majority of people do........why cant this holiday let do for the purpose of importing your vehicle ????????..........Also I would have thought that the big majority of people would be organising things like this long before they were commited to finishing their jobs/houses/commiting to container shippers/ or perhaps even Australian requirements.....

 

Well I managed to sort out the visa process by myself and the help of P.I.O. so I suppose I'll sort this problem out with P.I.O. help also............

 

Cheers

 

Carlos

[Guest tabatha]

Hi iron chef... Wonder what's your views on shipping our caravan??? it's a european spec (german) we have owned for 3 years, all paperwork etc?? Thinking of shipping with our car???????????????????????

[paulswin]

Hey Carlos if you find out any more info can you let me know as we're in same boat as you. This is another pain in the you know what to have to try and sort out now!! Where does it say about the points bit and what you have to do???

[Carlos fandango]

Hey Carlos if you find out any more info can you let me know as we're in same boat as you. This is another pain in the you know what to have to try and sort out now!! Where does it say about the points bit and what you have to do???

 

No worrys.........

 

try reading from this lot........ http://www.customs.gov.au/site/page4371.asp#whatToDo

 

Cheers

 

Carlos

[yumimumi]

Yes you do........

seems a little daft that people, who have spent thousands of pounds and many months getting a visa to migrate including all the info and hoops you have to produce and jump through, then have to go through another points system to prove they are going to permanently move to Australia to take a vehicle....

Not only that but the points that you are required to get seem near on impossible for a big majority to get.

For instance you are staying in a holiday let first off before moving onto a more permanent let or possibly purchase which is what the biggest majority of people do........why cant this holiday let do for the purpose of importing your vehicle ????????..........Also I would have thought that the big majority of people would be organising things like this long before they were commited to finishing their jobs/houses/commiting to container shippers/ or perhaps even Australian requirements.....

 

Well I managed to sort out the visa process by myself and the help of P.I.O. so I suppose I'll sort this problem out with P.I.O. help also............

 

Cheers

 

Carlos

 

 

hi i too am very confused. have completed the import approval application form, and am struggling to get the required documents.

we have been granted our visa, have got our house up for sale now, but unfortunately no interested buyer yet. we havent handed in our notice on our jobs yet as not looking to go till our house has sold. when we do finally get over there we will be staying with my family until we get ourselves sorted with house, jobs etc.

i have had a shipping company come and give me a quote. not enrolled my daughter in school yet, not set up bank accounts/medicare or anything else on the list.

 

i have copied the visa grant notice (does this give u any points). also copies of insurance documents, receipts for work done on car. we have had the car for 2 and a half yrs. registration document, copy of quote from shipping company, copy of brochure of my house for sale, driving licence, passport.

 

can anyone please help me and tell me is there any point applying for this import approval at this time, i wanted to get this damm thing out of the way so i could concentrate on all the other things i have to do before we emigrate.

many thanks nicola

 

ps. kristian if you are reading this, we want you to do the paperwork side of things for us, just in the middle of getting various quotes for shipping. gonna send the car on RORO. well thats if i can pass the points.

[chandi]

hi i too am very confused. have completed the import approval application form, and am struggling to get the required documents.

we have been granted our visa, have got our house up for sale now, but unfortunately no interested buyer yet. we havent handed in our notice on our jobs yet as not looking to go till our house has sold. when we do finally get over there we will be staying with my family until we get ourselves sorted with house, jobs etc.

i have had a shipping company come and give me a quote. not enrolled my daughter in school yet, not set up bank accounts/medicare or anything else on the list.

 

i have copied the visa grant notice (does this give u any points). also copies of insurance documents, receipts for work done on car. we have had the car for 2 and a half yrs. registration document, copy of quote from shipping company, copy of brochure of my house for sale, driving licence, passport.

 

can anyone please help me and tell me is there any point applying for this import approval at this time, i wanted to get this damm thing out of the way so i could concentrate on all the other things i have to do before we emigrate.

many thanks nicola

 

ps. kristian if you are reading this, we want you to do the paperwork side of things for us, just in the middle of getting various quotes for shipping. gonna send the car on RORO. well thats if i can pass the points.

 

Hi, I fully understand your situation. The only way out if you need to apply now is:

1.Apply for a bank account online and try to get a TFN (25 each)

2. get at least one of the 50 point docs.

If your house doesn't sell soon, a rental contract from someone in Oz is the best shot in my opinion, even family should be fine (but please check with DIT beforehand)

 

Visa grant letter doesn't seem to count. The problem is that this scheme is not specifically intended for migrants.

[Iron Chef]

Ok I'm getting a bit behind here!!

 

Hi ironchef

 

Would you be able to advise me on how you go about getting the jeep/car registered in oz and once customs clear them, are we able to drive them away? We have the jeep and car booked on the ferry for 27 June and have to hand over to our shipping company on the 20th June.

 

 

Many thanks

S

 

The requirements for registration varies from state to state, so it's a bit hard to give you any definitive answer. If you need my help, feel free to email me.

 

Hi...

 

Just been reading the brochure VSB10 about info for importing your vehicle and it seems to me that the majority of people would be stuffed when it comes to meeting the 50 point requirment ,...here's a copy

50 points; you must supply at least 1 of the 50 points documents

1 your employment details, such as a letter from your Australian employer;

2 your resignation from employment in your former country of residence.

3 a rental agreement/purchase agreement for your residential property in Australia; (ie, longstanding holiday or second homes do not count)

4 the sale of your residential property in your former country of residence;

5 the cancellation of your residential rental property in your former country of residence;

 

 

......in my case..

1.. I havn't got a job to move to in Australia,

2..I'm self employed here in the UK,

3...we can't get a rental agreement until we are in Australia (we are actually going to be staying with friends for a while when we arrive), ..

4... we're not selling our house but are renting it out to my sister without using a rental agent ,...

5...we're not renting a property in the uk so cant cancel a rental agreement

 

I really want to take my van.....so how can I get around these problems .....any one help......

 

Cheers

 

Carlos

 

Many people find it easier to wait until they arrive in Australia so they can get their 100 points once they've got themselves sorted here. But your situation is the reason why it is so frustrating going through this process for so many people.

 

Even though they actually meet the criteria, some applicants have been known to be a little 'creative' with their documentation in the past just to save hassles with the DIT, but you didn't hear that from me!

 

I think a copy of a rental agreement of some kind with your sister would be ok, but it may be best to explain your situation to DIT and let them decide what they want from you in your circumstances as evidence that you're moving here permanently.

 

Thank you for all the info on importing cars to Oz. We hope to go in about 18 mts and intend to bring 2 cars. Can't believe there's so much paperwork involved. What about valeting, what documentation do you need for that. Looking at Border Control I should imagine if there's a spec of dust on it your in deep do do!

Good job we are starting this process in good time. Help!!!!!!!!

MKF

 

No need to go overboard with cleaning, just make sure the car is clean and tidy and the underbody has all the dirt removed, particularly on the tyres. Quarantine in Australia will almost certainly send your car for a steam clean to make sure there are no bugs on it regardless, but a dirty/muddy car can result in processes that cost lots to fix.

 

Hi,

We are going over on Parent Sponsored Visa and intend bringing out 2 cars. A Merc and an XTrail. Am shocked at the amt of paperwork involved. Am thinking now is it worth it.

Not moving for about 18 months, waiting to lodge our visa as we don't meet the criteria yet. I think we'll start now to get the ball rolling with the cars.

The thing is WHERE DO YOU START?????????

 

MKF

 

You need the visa before you can apply for the cars

 

Thanks a lot for the info, Iron Chef. I am particularly interested in applying early. While DIT says one could apply before leaving, it doesn't specify how long before the date of arrival in Oz is allowed. Could I apply one year in advance (just after the car purchase) if I can get the 100 points worth of documents to prove intention to move?

Also, they ask for the date of arriving in Australia. Would I have a problem if the actual date of arrival is different by a few days?

 

Basically, once you have the visa, can answer all the questions on the form, provide all the documentation and have owned the cars for 12 months, you can apply. Arrival date thing won't matter too much if they're only out by a bit.

[Iron Chef]

Hi, I think its definitely worth it (provided its right hand drive!).

I was looking for a 2003 996, but couldn't find a RH here in Japan.

Please check the customs site for tax details:

http://www.customs.gov.au/site/page4371.asp

You's have topay roughly 15.5% on the CIF value.

However, if the after tax value > AUD57,466 at the exchange rate when you are importing, a luxury car tax of 33% would be payabale on the amount exceeding 57k.

 

Unless you're buying something really recent, Porsches in Japan are almost exclusively LHD. The occasional RHD Ferrari pops up though, so keep your eyes peeled.

 

I wonder what kind of valuation method was used here.

Was the UK invoice not available..? and where did 65% spring out from?

Any ideas anyone?

 

Personal imports will almost certainly be revalued once they arrive in Australia. The method for calculating customs value is fairly convoluted, but it's generally a good deal lower than the market value.

 

Hi Iron Chef,

 

Great thread and I learnt a lot from it. 'figured I'd ask your opinion as you seem to have experience importing from JP as well.

 

I have owned a Z4 for a year now and recently purchased a Merc E500 and registered in wife's name, both in Japan. We plan to move as soon as the Merc's done its one year, and are planning to import both vehicles. The Z4 should be fine, but there are a few complications with the Merc.

 

1. My wife is going to be out of Japan for ~3months when she is to deliver at home in Thailand this winter. I believed this was acceptable as long as her residency was deemed to be in Japan. However, I saw your comment somewhere in the thread to the effect that absences have to be compensated with time from previous year. The DIT explanations do not necessarily suggest so. Are you sure about this?

 

2. My wife drives with an international drivers license in Japan, which would cease to be valid if she were not to go to Thailand. However, if she were to stay outside Japan for 3 months, she could use a new intl license for another year upon return, under Japanese law. Thus, technically she would be able to drive while she is in Japan. Would DIT understand this?

 

3. We prefer to move as early as possible in May2012 due to other involvements. Disregarding #1, would the Merc be eligible for import if we deregister exactly one year from the date it was bought, but 11 days short of the registration date? (After all, the condition is 1year ownership)

However, it wasn't registered to anyone at the time of purchase, meaning it wasn't "roadworthy" at the time, even thought this is not obvious from the reg. docs.

 

4. Last, but not least, what's your take on these two cars' market in Aussie?

I've done my homework, and given that I bought them dirt cheap, I plan to make some profit. Frankly, the price difference is too good to be true, so it would be really nice to know if there are any unforeseen glitches in importing German cars from Japan...

 

 

Thanks a lot in advance!

 

Ok, I'm having to make a few assumptions about your circumstances, but here goes...

 

1. I'm very sure about it - if your wife is away from the car for 3 months, that time will not be part of her 12-month qualifying period. She must be in the same country as the car and provide evidence that she has been driving around in it.

 

2. As long as she has a valid licence to drive the car in Japan, it won't be a problem. Tell her to get a Japanese licence - it's far easier than stuffing around with an international one, and if you come from a country already driving on the left, you don't have to do a driving test.

 

3. Presuming that your wife didn't go back to Thailand and met her 12 month qualifying period before your shaken ran out, then that should be ok. Bear in mind DIT WILL ask for every page of your passport though!

 

4. They're both fairly safe bets. If you don't need to sell either of them in a hurry, you should do ok from them.

[Iron Chef]

Hi Carlos we're in the same boat my hubby self employed, we're renting our house out here, gonna be staying in a holiday let for 4-6 weeks until we can get a long term rental!! I'm not sure how to go about it?? I did'nt even know there was a point system in place!!!!

 

It was introduced because there was one particularly interesting Russian syndicate operating where people were saying, years after they had arrived in Australia, that they had cars back in the motherland that they'd driven for 12 months (complete with totally forged documents to back it up). The syndicate did rather nicely off the profits on all the cars they managed to get in...

 

Carlos do you still have to have these points even if you have PR??

 

Even Aussie citizens have to provide the same paperwork when they return...

 

Has anyone managed to import a car on a 457 Visa when they have not owned it for a full 12 months BEFORE they moved to OZ?

 

Fergal

 

One, and that was because he eventually took DIT to the High Court of Australia with a team of QCs to bring in an Aston Martin from the UK. Aside from that, no, it's never going to happen unless you own and use the car for 12 months.

[Iron Chef]

Hi iron chef... Wonder what's your views on shipping our caravan??? it's a european spec (german) we have owned for 3 years, all paperwork etc?? Thinking of shipping with our car???????????????????????

 

I'd be taking a close look at prices here before bringing it over. Shipping will be fairly expensive on it, the door will open out on to the road rather than the footpath, it will need to be rewired to suit Australian electricity, and if you have a TV built in, it probably won't work here. Email me with the specifics of the van if you want a better answer.

 

hi i too am very confused. have completed the import approval application form, and am struggling to get the required documents.

we have been granted our visa, have got our house up for sale now, but unfortunately no interested buyer yet. we havent handed in our notice on our jobs yet as not looking to go till our house has sold. when we do finally get over there we will be staying with my family until we get ourselves sorted with house, jobs etc.

i have had a shipping company come and give me a quote. not enrolled my daughter in school yet, not set up bank accounts/medicare or anything else on the list.

 

i have copied the visa grant notice (does this give u any points). also copies of insurance documents, receipts for work done on car. we have had the car for 2 and a half yrs. registration document, copy of quote from shipping company, copy of brochure of my house for sale, driving licence, passport.

 

can anyone please help me and tell me is there any point applying for this import approval at this time, i wanted to get this damm thing out of the way so i could concentrate on all the other things i have to do before we emigrate.

many thanks nicola

 

ps. kristian if you are reading this, we want you to do the paperwork side of things for us, just in the middle of getting various quotes for shipping. gonna send the car on RORO. well thats if i can pass the points.

 

Shoot me an email and I'll try and reduce the stress a little! Basically if you're coming to Australia legitimately, you shouldn't have anything to worry about in terms of meeting requirements for docs. I can get you a price from a couple of shipping companies I use too, if you like.

 

Hi, I fully understand your situation. The only way out if you need to apply now is:

1.Apply for a bank account online and try to get a TFN (25 each)

2. get at least one of the 50 point docs.

If your house doesn't sell soon, a rental contract from someone in Oz is the best shot in my opinion, even family should be fine (but please check with DIT beforehand)

 

Visa grant letter doesn't seem to count. The problem is that this scheme is not specifically intended for migrants.

 

And that's pretty much the point - the scheme was only really meant for Aussie citizens returning to Australia initially. After the Russian debacle, we're lucky they didn't cut off non-Australian citizens all together...

[paulswin]

Iron Chef if I tell you the make and model of our car can you get a couple of quotes for us too ppllleeeaaassseeee!!!!!!!!!!

Cheers!

[Iron Chef]

No probs, just email them through

[yumimumi]

hey kristian,

 

thanks for your reply. do you want me to email you on here or your other email address. i am having difficulty with the required documents for the import application for our subaru. we want to take the car RORO, would be easier for us to have the car leave via HULL, East Yorkshire. As this is only half an hour drive from us. Can i apply for the import approval now, or would it be easier to wait until we have sold our house, put letter of resignation of job, etc in. We have decided we want you to do all of the paperwork for us. Can you tell me what this will entail. do i just complete the paperwork and then you arrange the RORO, customs, etc etc.

Let me know. cheers Nicola

[Iron Chef]

Hi Nicola,

 

Just email me at kristian @ ironchefimports.com and I'll go through everything with you and see what we can do. I suspect you may have to wait a little while till you apply for import approval, but we'll see.

[belaroy]

I was wondering if its worth importing my Kia Rio hatchback 1.5 CRDi 1 5 dr on a 2010 plate ? I bought it under the scrappage scheme so got it for about £5500. Taking into consideration shipping costs etc would I be better off selling it in the UK or not?? I am not looking to make money from it but I do like it as it gets me from A to B comfortably.

If I were to import it any idea of the total costs including shipping?? I am quite happy I pass all the criteria for importing

 

cheers

[Iron Chef]

Sorry to be brief and brutal - sell it in the UK

[Guest mikewheble]

Hi Iron Chef,

I'm heading for Sydney with my wife and son and am taking my 2007 Mitsubishi Raging Bull (in avatar) and my wife's Mini Cooper. I was hoping to take my VespaPX200 which was made in 1999. Reading the post's on here, it looks as if I can't bring my Vespa as well as the two vehicles...is this correct?

 

Regards

Mike

[Iron Chef]

Raging Bull?? Thank goodness we call it a Triton

 

But yes, you're right, the Vespa will be a no-go - putting aside the sentimental value, you'd probably be better off selling it and buying something similar already available here anyway.

[Guest mikewheble]

Raging Bull?? Thank goodness we call it a Triton

 

But yes, you're right, the Vespa will be a no-go - putting aside the sentimental value, you'd probably be better off selling it and buying something similar already available here anyway.

Oh... :-(

 

Thanks for the quick response. I'll be in touch a bit closer to the time regarding sending my Raging Bull (Triton) and the Cooper.

 

Thanks again

Mike

[Guest gchapmanswfc]

Hi Ironchef, what a fantastic post btw.

 

My wife and I are considering bringing over our 2 BMW cars, both bought in June 2007 from new. From what I can work out the resale prices for both cars would far outweigh what we could get here in the UK, even after taxes.

x5 3.0d SE

320i M Sport convertible

 

Our original plan was to sell them both, but we have just had shipping companies round for removal quotes and it was them who said check out the prices as even if you sold them straight away profits could pay for the full house removals.

 

What are your thoughts and is where could I get exact figures for all the import taxes etc.

 

Many thanks

 

Glenn

[Guest SUZY]

No probs, just email them through

 

Hi IRONMAN,

 

This thread is briil i also have a question we have a Toyota Avensis diesel 2 litre its six years old now but were not looking to come until june 2012 ( HOPEFULLY ) will it be worth bringing over ive heard toyotas do well over there and cheap to service, any help will be great. I must admit it looks a total nightmare with what you have to do

 

Many Thanks

 

susan x :cute:

[Iron Chef]

Hi Ironchef, what a fantastic post btw.

 

My wife and I are considering bringing over our 2 BMW cars, both bought in June 2007 from new. From what I can work out the resale prices for both cars would far outweigh what we could get here in the UK, even after taxes.

x5 3.0d SE

320i M Sport convertible

 

Our original plan was to sell them both, but we have just had shipping companies round for removal quotes and it was them who said check out the prices as even if you sold them straight away profits could pay for the full house removals.

 

What are your thoughts and is where could I get exact figures for all the import taxes etc.

 

Many thanks

 

Glenn

 

Hi Glenn, feel free to email me (kristian @ ironchefimports.com) for more exact quotes, but there somewhere buried in this thread is a rough guide to costs to help you get close.

 

In your situation, I'd be bringing both those cars over. You will need to give more thought to transport though, in terms of how much you can fit in a container with your other household goods vs sending them separately on a RO-RO boat.

 

One thing I forgot to mention earlier is that, should you put everything in the one container, if the import approval for your car is delayed, it effectively means you have to wait for everything else in your container too.

 

Hi IRONMAN,

 

This thread is briil i also have a question we have a Toyota Avensis diesel 2 litre its six years old now but were not looking to come until june 2012 ( HOPEFULLY ) will it be worth bringing over ive heard toyotas do well over there and cheap to service, any help will be great. I must admit it looks a total nightmare with what you have to do

 

Many Thanks

 

susan x :cute:

 

Hi Susan - you've timed it pretty well. If you love your Avensis, then bring it over as parts shouldn't be hard to come by here, but they weren't sold here in diesel which may make it a little trickier to sell later on. If you're not overly fussed about it, you can still look around for something with potentially more profit and still squeeze in your 12 month qualifying period.

 

As for the process being a total nightmare, it can certainly be frustrating and arduous, I won't lie, but the only real time someone risks being rejected is when they haven't met all the criteria in the first place. If you know you've done the right thing and have owned the car for long enough, then 99% of legitimate applications will eventually get there, even if DIT keep asking for more information.

[rockola57]

Someone's got to say it!Don't wish to be flippant and i love my Cars dearly,BUT...would and could you be asred bringing a Car over here with you,on top of all the other rigmarole you have to deal with?Personally i could'nt.Too much strife for me!:yes:

[Iron Chef]

And that's a fair call too - some will have you believe that Australia is like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, and that's not really true.

 

If you're a car lover and have an average car, do it for the love, not the money.

If you're a car lover and have a great car, do it for the love AND the money.

 

If you're not a car lover and have a great car, then do it for the money.

If you're not a car lover and have an average car, don't do it at all!

[Guest SUZY]

Hi Glenn, feel free to email me (kristian @ ironchefimports.com) for more exact quotes, but there somewhere buried in this thread is a rough guide to costs to help you get close.

 

In your situation, I'd be bringing both those cars over. You will need to give more thought to transport though, in terms of how much you can fit in a container with your other household goods vs sending them separately on a RO-RO boat.

 

One thing I forgot to mention earlier is that, should you put everything in the one container, if the import approval for your car is delayed, it effectively means you have to wait for everything else in your container too.

 

 

 

Hi Susan - you've timed it pretty well. If you love your Avensis, then bring it over as parts shouldn't be hard to come by here, but they weren't sold here in diesel which may make it a little trickier to sell later on. If you're not overly fussed about it, you can still look around for something with potentially more profit and still squeeze in your 12 month qualifying period.

 

As for the process being a total nightmare, it can certainly be frustrating and arduous, I won't lie, but the only real time someone risks being rejected is when they haven't met all the criteria in the first place. If you know you've done the right thing and have owned the car for long enough, then 99% of legitimate applications will eventually get there, even if DIT keep asking for more information.

 

Thanks for your quick reply , am i being stupid what do you mean by If you're not overly fussed about it, you can still look around for something with potentially more profit and still squeeze in your 12 month qualifying period.:confused:

To be honest my oh wants to bring the car over as he seems to think it will save us in the long run, all in all what is the cost of all this were not sure what size container we will need . Ive read in so many posts in how expensive second cars are over there. I rbr reading one of your posts that we had to send all our passport pages in , dose this mean we would not be able to go on holiday before we come to oz . As we have to prove we have been using the car in this 12 month period .

 

So sorry for all the questions :swoon:

 

susan x