Importing a motorhome into France from the EU

Importing a motorhome into France from the EU

If you are planning to import a motorhome into France from within the EU, we have a service to navigate you through the process. Also available to non-residents.

The documents necessary to import a motorhome

– Certificate of conformity.
– Purchase receipt (if from a private seller, we will draft the invoice).
– Current registration certificate (unless new).
– Safety inspection test dated within the last 6 months from country of origin (unless new).
– Driving licence + International driving permit.
– Passport.
– Proof of no claims discount.
– Proof of address in France or KBIS certificate.

The service

You will be guided step-by-step through each of the various hurdles including checking the documents, VAT clearance, import taxes if appropriate, insurance plus temporary and full registration documents.

If the French authorities want to inspect the vehicle (depending on conformity status and import country) we will also navigate you through this.

No matter what is thrown up, you’ll have the help to overcome it.

What are the costs involved?

– Care grise tax (normally ~500 EUR)
– VAT is not normally due if the vehicle is older than 6 months, greater than 6 000km or if the purchase invoice attests to it already having been paid.
– Insurance (normally ~1500 EUR / year)
– My import fee of 1800 EUR for most vehicles, complex cases will be quoted individually.
– There is much talk of the “tax malus” CO2 tax from 2024 but yet to see this applied to motorhomes.

Points to consider

– 4 months process on average but continued use during that period is normally possible.
– Converted or modified vehicles are desperately challenging to import, best avoided.
– For all intents and purposes the vehicle should be from a leading EU manufacturer with a full certificate of conformity.
– Anything outside the EU is fundamentally a different process all together.