Import your car in 3 steps

Yes, we can import cars from most countries. Countries we have imported from are in the EU, UK, North America and more. Please contact us and we will look into your specific country. 

We mostly work with people who are moving from another country to Portugal. People who move to Portugal can import one car (per person) tax free. Importing tax free quite a bit more complicated than a normal import. We can also assist in importing your car if yours is not eligible for tax free import. Please send us a message if that is you!

We do not import cars to other countries than Portugal. 

Most of the taxes you pay for the import are ISV and VAT (these are the taxes we target with this service). If your car is eligible for tax-free import, we can help with that. There are still a few smaller fees in the process, for registration and your licence plates. 

In general the rules are:
- you can import one car tax free (per person) if you are moving to Portugal;
- you have to have owned the car for at least six months before moving to Portugal;
- you have to import the car within one year of (formally) moving to Portugal;
- you have to have proof of living in your previous country for at least 6 consecutive months.

It all depends on your situation if the car can be imported without paying taxes. We will make an estimate before starting the process but it is up to you to deliver the documents required by customs. 

Depending on your car, the fuel, its size and other details you would have to pay a certain amount of tax. The types of tax to be paid are VAT and ISV (vehicle tax).

Usually bigger, heavier diesel cars are most expensive. A car that is worth a couple thousand euros can even cost 10 to 20 thousand in import. With small cars, the taxes are a lot lower. 

Interestingly the European Commission considers Portugal's import vehicle import tax scheme to be illegal. See this article for more information. 

All we can do is avoid these taxes together as much as we can!

In general you will need the following documents:
- proof of income;
- proof of payment of utility bills, such as electricity or water;
- proof of rent or a mortgage payments.

If you don't have these we could work with other kinds of proof such as bank statements. You will need documents for 6 consecutive months. These months need to fall within a 12 month window, prior to moving to Portugal. We have written this article for detailed information about the these documents. 

When you contact us, we will ask for your car registration document/card. Based on the information on this document we can find the right details, whether or not a homologation is needed, what the taxes on your vehicle are, etc. Based on this you will get a quote for the total cost of importing your car. 

If you decide to work with us, we will send you a list of the documents needed to start the process. 

We will then send you pre-filled documents that you can sign. You can then get your car inspected. After that you will send the documents directly to our Portuguese (import) partner. They will arrange part of the process and have decades or experience doing this.

At this point we will do the customs declaration.

Once this is done you will be able to get your license plates made and insure your car in Portugal. You may drive, however, the car is not yet fully imported. 

We will do the IMT and Conservatory registration for you and after 4-8 weeks you will receive your Portuguese license registration card. 

After this, you will need pay your regular road taxes and then everything is fully arranged. 

This package includes everything we do in the basic package. We have added several services to make things even easier for you. 

Pre-filled documents
All the documents are pre-filled, so you only have to sign and send them.

License plates
We will also arrange license plates for you so you don't have to go out of your way to get these made.

Car insurance
On top of that we can handle your car insurance. We will get quotes made by a trusted broker. These quotes are from well known insurance companies such as Zurich.  If needed we can arrange a temporary import insurance as well.

Optional: vehicle inspection appointment
We can also make an appointment for your vehicle inspection. 

This can all be done online so you won't have to spend any time getting into the bureaucracy of all these things. 

The first payment will be in the middle of the process, around the time of the customs application.

The second payment will be at the end of the process. 

If we provide extra services, such as arranging a COC or other necessary documents, these payments will be made separately. 

Payments can be made to a Portuguese account, a Dutch account or PayPal. 

We are happy to discuss the possibilities if you need additional assistance. Please send us a message and we will get back to you.