Essential Malta: Importing a Car
Written by Elizabeth Ayling
There are a lot of steps to climb if you want to import a car into Malta!
This is probably one of the most difficult topics we’ve covered. We can only guide you, provide some personal insights and give you a feeling for what’s involved. We’ll be building on this article, adding to the body of links here. Your insights will be invaluable too.
Basic background
If you are foreign and importing a car into Malta to drive it here beyond the six months deemed permissible as a ‘tourist’ stay, then you will have to pay a vehicle registration tax (though may be eligible for an exemption). If you have a Maltese ID card, you will not be able to drive the car beyond the ferry and home, if that, without having it licensed here. With Maltese ID, you cannot claim to be a tourist visiting.
Vehicle Registration Tax
Malta has among the highest registration taxes for most types of vehicles. Some concessions were made in the 2008 budget, effective from 1 January 2009, that reduced the tax on some small- and medium-sized vehicles but increased them for larger ones. The new system was introduced to encourage us to purchase/import more environmentally-friendly cars so the calculations involve the registered value (RV), car length, carbon dioxide emission volumes and particulate matter volumes (diesel only). Also, under the new system comes a useful exemption – private individuals relocating to Malta will be able to bring in a car they’ve owned for two or more years without having to pay vehicle registration tax here. This exemption is limited to one vehicle per person relocating.
Of key interest to those bringing a car into Malta is the Registration Value (RV). The old system depended on a valuation carried out by the Malta Transport Authority and was a somewhat haphazard affair I’ve heard. But now, to quote the official document: “As of 1st January 2009, the valuation system [is] replaced with a new system which will take into account the depreciation rate (and residual value) of a similar vehicle in Malta, and [is] available online. The system [allows] the user to calculate the tax that would be due if the vehicle were to be registered.”
Vehicle registation tax rates have long been a contentious issue, among both local Maltese and incoming residents – the latter often left facing a nasty tax shock when their six months’ temporary vehicle permit (tourist stay period on the vehicle) is up! It can still be the case, when the RV calculations are done, that you face car registration taxes that are higher than the real value of the car. But, since used car prices hold up in Malta (see photo above for how we keep our cars going!), you might end up selling it here and not losing out too much in the long run, depending on vehicle type and its demand.
If you do end up driving a car with foreign plates for several months here, but within your six-month, temporary permit period (which you should get earlier rather than later in your stay!), you might be pulled over by ADT (Malta Transport Authority) officials doing road-side, spot checks. They can be officious.
Procedures
These are quite long and complicated and we’ve some links to help get you through them.
ADT site Registration, Tax & Documentation page gives you a blow by blow list of the procedures and what paperwork you’ll need.
The Malta Chamber for SMEs – the GRTU – has an unofficial guide that makes for an interesting read, and mirrors the official one step by step.
British Expat Forum – Malta has lots of Q&A threads that are worth spending an hour drilling through.
Official Links:
The ADT is the Malta Transport Authority. Its site has downloadable forms and details of the various, possibly useful, tax exemptions such as for overseas’ students or people taking up fixed-term, contract work in Malta who wish to bring their own car in with them for their stay.
http://www.maltatransport.com/en/
http://www.valuation.vehicleregistration.gov.mt/Car.aspx This is a quick, online calculator of the RV you can expect to pay.
Expat Insights
If expats have friends already here, they know the ropes and often opt to hire or buy in situ in Malta. Average hire car rates, for a family car (Ford Focus) on long-term hire, can be around €10/day.
Here’s one car import tale:
“Bringing the car in was fairly easy as you are given a 6 month visitor’s permit. However, the hassle started once this permit ran out. We were being asked to pay massive duty on the car (I think it was about 60% of the total car value) to get Maltese registration or send it back to the UK. Finally, after many meetings and heated discussions my husband ended up meeting both the finance and transport ministers (eds. note: Malta is small, and if your business has clout or you have connections, it’s possible!….) to get them to agree on an exemption for cars of incoming foreign staff at our firm. This meant we only had to pay a comparatively small fee to get it registered. The ADT seem to have clamped down significantly on foreign cars. Our main issues were: (1) duties and (2) the whole minefield of a procedure for getting the car registered.
Would I do it again? Maybe if laws on duty were relaxed – but at the time? No! It was major hassle and meant we couldn’t drive the car for months on end once the permit had expired. One guy I know in the same firm had his car seized and was told: either pay the duty or put the car on the next ferry out of Malta.
Another person’s experience…
We now have some kind of deal on vehicle registration tax because we have had the car more than 2 yrs and therefore fulfilled another criteria. We paid around €300 to get it registered with ADT, BUT they have our UK plates and logbook – which basically means we can’t sell the car here. Unless of course we pay the import duty, which seems to be assessed also, unofficial word has it, on the state of your car; if it looks a bit bashed up, you are more likely to get a lower rate!”
Photo: Gethin Thomas
When my wife and I arrived here in Malta to start our new life we brought with us our 1 year old Rav4. I knew that registration costs would be involved, what took us by surprise was the cost of said registration. Let me explain – cost of vehicle as bought in the UK £22000.00, UK value of Rav4 at 1 year old £16000.00 (ouch). An interesting point to note is that to by the same vehicle from a Maltese main agent at 1 year old would have cost an astonishing €42000.00
Cost of registration in Malta €12400.00 plus admin cost and cost of Maltese plates.
I drove the car back to the UK and part exchanged it for a 6 month old Toyota Prius cost of registration €3200.00 this is a vast improvement on the Rav4 but still represents a rip off.
Now the Prius for those that don’t know is a Petrol electric hybrid and so is subject to a discount over a car of the same type that was petrol or diesel only. After standing in a line at the ADT for 4 hours to submit my paperwork I got to the counter and was told a discount had to applied and this had to be applied by a manager, unfortunatly the manager is on holiday this week and he is the only person in Malta that can carry out this complicated procedure, would I mind returning next week when he will have returned from his vacation. Well I had to laugh, lets face it nobody likes to see a grown man cry.
Enough ranting from me, you can make big savings by bringing a vehicle in from the UK, just be prepared for the hassle.
Hi, Can anyone help me My wife is going back to malta to stay permanently and she has a car to take back and we have no idea on how to go about it. Do we have to pay registration tax. She own the car 4 years now. If she decided to sell the car in a few year time does she need to pay Reg Tax/ import duty. Her car is Audi A4 1999 2.4SE. Anyone can help me please email me on dixon@tesco.net thanks
No easy answers to this one, but do see our post on the issue of importing a car. It has a lot of info, plus links to various official bodies and other online ‘unofficial’ help! Let us know too if you come across something of use we can add to our site…
http://www.maltainsideout.com/7153/essential-malta-importing-a-car/
Hi, I am Maltese and tried to live in UK but i did not have work so i decided to go back home.
I bought a Peugeot 407 coupe multimedia sport 163, Fap 20cc In UK and its an 09 Reg Oct.
Just in May 2010 i had taken An ADT online vehicle valuation
and came up to euro 6055.00 Reg Tax. all a sudden i went to get a copy of this on the first of Jun 1st 2010 and found
it went up to euro 6500.00, i call ADT to check, and they said the value change each month,
I taught we had by time to get lower in car registration as we
are the only place in EU with expensive rates on car Reg, insurance and car windscreen road Tax are even higher then in UK.
I pay with TESCO £450 for a car under £40000-00 in value got a quote in Malta it came up euro 815.00 and that’s only on 30000.00 euro value.
Funny is i cant believe it my self as we join EU but things are not right like other EU countries.
another thing is if all car registration go dawn it will go dawn even on new cars so the car manufacture has no worries of loosing
few grand on the old stock, they made millions anyway and they can always get help from government or EU for the loss, beside all the same cars like mine
with same engine and co 2 even higher they pay much less even older ones, so some brands get away cheaper while well-known brands are
getting unfair rate of Tax.
seems in Malta all things are special and more expensive then UK, the funny thing is in Malta one can earn min of 200 euro BEFORE TAX a week in wages and in UK one can earn £500 a week after TAX just for a driver job
WELL i was a voter for EU and for this present government but for me i find that we where not given the promises that where suppose to be done.
i am so angry that my decision is no more vote will be given by me that’s for sure.
Msg to the Government is your doing great things for the country as projects, but not enough for the people to enjoy life and live liberty to choose
There right of how they spend there money with out getting robed with tax vat and so on.
Noel Borg
hi can anyone help ?
i’ve read all you’ve got on this site and yet i’m still confused.
if i import a car i have to pay registration tax this i understand, but do i also then have to pay registration value and also for registration plates
Rob,
It is confusing, but since we posted this, things have changed so I need to do an update on the car article. I know a lot of people here in Malta are ‘ordering’ ace second hand cars from the UK and getting them imported at very fair rates. So the situation is definitely different. I will make sure this is on my first ‘to do’ list in the new year! I’ll alert you when we’ve got things clearer. But certainly it’s not the stinger it used to be.
Is there a written procedure that details what is required to import a car from the UK to Malta. If so can any one let me know where to find it ?
Simon, we’re doing another piece this week on importation of cars – mainly the trade in secondhand ones (2yrs old) from the UK. Once I’ve the details together, I’ll let you know.
Im currently in the process of taking my car over to Malta, and was relieved to find out that with the ‘Transfer of Residence’ form, I will be able to avoid paying the registration tax…. HOWEVER, it costs 300 euros for this application! And then in a few years, if I decide to sell the car to get something else, or even SCRAP the car, I will then have to pay the registration tax which would have been paid when it came to Malta!! So they will get their money either way, PLUS 300 euros….. WHAT A JOKE.
Hi there,
You have a very informative article but i am a bit confused. I plan on relocating to Malta soon. I am from Ireland and i wish to bring my car with me. I have my car less than two years so i expect to pay the full tax. I was wondering if this registration tax (which is very high) has to be paid annually or is there a different annual tax? I’m beginning to think that it would be cheaper for me to sell my car and buy one in UK and import it from there. I’ve looked for cars for sale in Malta too but no luck. I would be grateful if you could point me in the right direction as I am completely lost and don’t know what to do.
Thank you,
Kevin.
Kevin,
You will have to pay the RV tax on your car when importing it. That’s a one-off thing and you’ve correctly worked out that is has to be paid. You get 6 months as a tourist, but if you are opting for residency, pay it earlier rather than later (as our article suggests) to save you the hassle of being stopped by traffic police re. your Irish plates. When you have your car registered in Malta, you are then subject to the annual road vehicle licence tax, which may first require a VRT (same as MOT) test to pass the car as road worthy. The frequency of the VRT depends on the age of your car. I just paid my annual road tax – Euro 180.00 – to the ADT office. My insurer here does it all from their office; the VRT garage has an online system to show my car passed, all connected to the ADT and which my insurer accesses. My VRT test was due and it cost me Euro20.00. Does this help?
[...] Essential Malta: Importing a Car [...]
Hi i am Maltese and interested in buying a 2001 car which was imported to Malta from UK. Engine is 15 petrol. the owner has showed me papers that the car has passed vrt and he paid nearly 350 Euro for road licence. Why is the licence so high? is it a fixed sum or it will eventually go up??
I have tried to look on Transport Malta website but did not find the info i require. Your help is appreciated
Hi, To import a car from UK.
If your a UK resident and have owned a car over 2 years you will not pay registration Tax but you would have to pay for Insurance, the Maltese number plates and logbook and road tax= (windscreen license).
People that live in Malta to import a car from UK will have to pay registration Tax.
As said from ADT:If this vehicle has not been registered for more than 6 months after the date of first entry into service and/or has not traveled for more than 6,000 km an additional 18% VAT on the Invoice value shall be paid.
Example: I imported a car 6 months old few days over and 11000 miles, as i came of the ferry in Malta right away i drove it straight in to the garage as your not allowed to use it on the road until you pay your registration tax have it insured and road taxed.
If your Maltese and just visiting you must apply for longer permission of stay.
THINGS TO DO: First i went to do insurance agent. then called ADT for an appointment,
then they give you a day and inspect your mileage and take a look at the car, after they give you the paper with how much you have to pay registration Tax, in my case came to 4300 euro,then in an near by office you go to pay in cash its best to check if cheques or visa are excepted, then you give your UK Plates and Logbook and they give you the Maltese plates and logbook plus you pay your maltese road tax, your insurance agent will ask you for a first letter of your plate as they cant do insurance with out knowing the first letter this is for the starting month of year, then you can go back to the insurance agent to verify your real full number plate chosen by you. in my case i chose a letter P but if you wont personalized plates then best to check with ADT for availability so you could tel your Insurance agent.
to get a Used Motor Vehicle Valuation link:
http://www.valuation.vehicleregistration.gov.mt/Car.aspx
i hope this helps.
Noel
PS: don’t be 100% of the vehicle valuation as it mite come less when done on site by ADT did for mine.
OPSSS forgot!!! i had to do a vrt test even if the car is under a year.
so i did it early before i went for my ADT appointment on same day.
its for 2 years.
sorry about that.
Noel
Kevin
Registration Tax is only paid onece.
you will only have to pay for road tax, Insuiance every year,
and MOT VRT depends how old the car,
and in my case i was given 2 years VRT on a 6 month old car.
AS for number plates These plates may be also personalized in 2 ways:
Either in the XXX999 format (€122)
Or any combination from 1-8 characters. In this case, one would place a bid for the requested combination against a deposit of €1,165. If after 30 days no one challenges the bid, the plates can be claimed.
for a number normal number plate there should be a small fee.
All privately owned vehicles are allocated randomly chosen marks, except that the first letter shows in which month the vehicle’s annual tax disc is due for renewal.
January’s letters are A, M, and Y
February’s are B, N, and Z
March’s are C and O
April’s are D and P
May’s are E and Q
June’s are F and R
July’s are G and S
August’s are H and T
September’s are I and U
October’s are J and V
November’s are K and W
December’s are L and X.
REGISTRATION TAX
AND
ANNUAL CIRCULATION
LICENCE FEES GUIDELINES
Effective as of 1st January 2009
https://secure2.gov.mt/vehicleregistration/file.aspx?f=258
@Noel, thanks for all your helpful comments to this thread. You’ve expanded our info with real life advice, much appreciated. Thanks for taking the time.
@Elizabeth Ayling,
your welcome, coffee is on you then:).
Certainly is Noel!
I would like to share info and links that mite come in handy.
Travailing from UK crossings and ferries rails ext:
IMPORTANT: before planing you must inform your Car insurance agent in UK to caver
EU and .European Breakdown Cover, and to get a green card from insurance agent.
Make sure you have all documents receipt of the car,and passports.
you mite need a certificate of conformity from your dealer.
You must inform DVLA BY sending the part of your UK Registration Certificate to exportation,i think it was the brown part at the back.
IF you recently had your license renewed you can claim back the money by getting an Application for a refund of vehicle tax V14 by post.
DO NOT CLAIM YOUR VAT ON YOUR CAR BEFORE DEPARTURE OTHER WISE YOU BE ENTITLED TO PAY THE VAT IN MALTA.
Things you must have in car:2 Reflective Jackets,Headlamp beam converter,Warning Triangle,First Aid Kit, Fire extinguisher.
As for money, best to have at least for one person and car around 600 euro cash
make sure you have coins for tools.this is only to caver fuel and tolls
and snacks from service station, if you plan longer stops or eating out prepare much more,its better not using the visa in EU as you mite get riped off, as herd from others, so try to avoid as possible.
Fuel up on full tank nearest to your departure from UK you probably need to fill in again in Italy, hide your money if possible divide in 4 places,do your breaks in safe places.
Calais to Livorno/Genova by car to take ferry to Malta
If no ferry to Malta from Genova then on each Saturday one can find ferry to Malta from Calata Tripoli Livorno Italy Dep 10 pm.
You Can book with Grandi Navi Veloci direct,or if from UK one can book from directferries.co.uk and from Genova with grimaldi-lines.com.
Or if you like to have an easy relaxed trip you can use the Motorail but it runs from June i think from s’Hertogenbosch to Livorno, Motorail runs on Fridays, loads cars 10:30-12:30, departs s’Hertogenbosch 14:16, arrives Livorno 10:05..,it will save you driving all the way to Livorno.
They had to do a Motorail from Calais, I’m not sure if they started to operate as yet.
This saves you wear and tear on your car ,fuel and tolls beside hassle free from driving, OR possible border checks.
best way to cross from UK for this is to take ferry from Harwich hook of Holland.
Info that mite help on Toll charges:
Departure:by car 62100 Calais
Destination: Livorno
Time: 12h42 including 11h47 on motorways
Distance: 852mi including 822mi on motorways
Toll costs:144.30 EUR Total costs 312.72 EUR,
…………
PART2
My case was about 500 Eur for fuel and tolls via Mount blanch tunnel,
15 hrs of driving with few breaks of 40 min, arrived 5 hrs early from boarding the ferry.
i drove mostly at night time, no traffic nice and easy trip,
this estimate is for a diesel car 20cc.
Ways of crossing from UK:
Seafrance – Dover to Calais – Crossing take approximately 70 minutes, up to 30 crossings a day
P&O Ferries – Dover to Calais – Crossing take approximately 90 minutes, up to 25 crossings a day.
NorfolkLine – Dover – Dunkerque – Sails every 2 hours from midnight, crossings take 2 hours.
P&O Ferries – Hull to Rotterdam or Zeebrugge – Overnight ferries both ways and very convenient for ‘s-Hertogenbosch. Leaves Hull at either 1900 or 2100 arriving at approximately 8am and returning 1900 or 2100 arriving at approximately 8am again.
Stena Line – Harwich to Hook of Holland – You will need the overnight ferry going out at 23:45 and return daytime at 14.30. The journey time in both directions takes 6 hrs 15 min.
Channel Tunnel Folkstone:The crossing takes just 35 minutes from platform to platform, although this can sometimes increase to 45 minutes at night.
make sure your bookings and timing are correct as if you miss the ferry you will have to wait till next Sat
so plan ahead.If you book few weeks early you save on UK crossing fees.
PART3
Best UK Booking site http://www.directferries.co.uk/
http://www DOT eurotunnel.com/uk/home/
http://www DOT poferries.com/
http://www DOT seafrance.com
Motorail: http://www DOT railsavers.com/livorno.html
http://www DOT stenaline.co.uk/ferry
http://www DOT norfolkline.com/ferry
Grandi Navi Veloci http://www3 DOT gnv.it
http://www DOT grimaldi-lines.com/
Driving in Europe
General advice for motoring in Europe: http://www DOT theaa.com/motoring_advice/overseas/general_advice.html
Applying for a refund of vehicle tax http://www DOT direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/OwningAVehicle/HowToTaxYourVehicle/DG_10012526
hope this helps.
DOT =.
Noel
I had no problem using the TomTom satnav was perfect.
Sorry about the links, i could not post so i replaced
Dot for. says awaiting moderation. not sure if it’s allowed anyway
so I’m sorry if they wont be listed.
FERRY from Livorno via Palermo stop over 6 hrs, takes 30 hrs in all to
arrive to Malta, nice ferry nice food, excellent.
price for one person and car with 4 beds cabin shearing from
135 Eur to 150 Eur food not included, food is a bit pricey
but i learn a trick you give gift like key chains or souvenir to the cash
person you get great discount. lol honestly.
Noel
European Direct
CARS
MOVING & RE-REGISTERING CARS ABROAD.
pdf link:
http://www.eu-cars.com/details/moving.pdf
[...] Essential Malta: Importing a Car [...]
Hi
I have accepted a job offer with a Maltese company and am moving to Malta later in June. I want to bring my 5 year old Yaris (its done 100,000 miles) with me and was wondering whether I could keep it on UK plates for 6 months before I take the plunge to register it locally. This is because I will be on ‘probation’ for the first 6 months in my new job and if things don’t work out, I will need to return to the UK. Is it likely that I will be stopped by the traffic police often? Also I would like to know whether the tax is likely to be less after the car has been in Malta for 6 months?
Many thanks for your help and apologies if the answer to my questions is already in the thread!
Best wishes
Michael
Michael,
I am going to scan the comments thread for you to try and pick out anything that can help. I need a day! I think the answers to most of your queries lie buried there! I’ll make sure I use the opportunity to update the original article with the choice bits we’re missing. Thanks for asking, and prompting us to reflect on the valuable info people have contributed here.
Having just gone through the nightmare of registering and paying the import tax on my car, my family have now decided that they want to move back to UK. How long do I have to wait before I can sell my car in Malta, I was told 6 months but have recently been told it coul;d be 2 years? My car is 7 yhears oil, but we owned it less than 2 years when we moved here[Malta]]
My cousin in Malta wants me to be a car for her here in England and drive it down to Malta and fly home. We’ve been on a Maltese government website to calculate taxes. I’ll be buying the car a month or so before taking it down. I’ve been put off by others saying it’s not possible as I haven’t owned the car for a period of time and can be made to leave Malta with the car and not give it my cousin. Anyone have any information on this? Is there any benefit to putting it in her name here in England and I’ll get temporary insurance to get me there? I’ll try the DVLA again Monday but yesterday couldn’t even speak to anyone as every option ended in a recorded message.
o’cmon stop moaning,
How can I go about selling used cars into Malta ????
@Ian, I won’t know the finer points of this but as a starter this article we have may help guide you. http://www.maltainsideout.com/15148/malta-loves-used-cars-more-than-ever/
Basically, it’s about a firm that is doing just that – getting secondhand cars to order for folks here in Malta. I would also suggest you contact Transport Malta which is the government entity overseeing all such legalities and regulations etc. Here’s the link: http://www.dca.gov.mt/Home.aspx
You can find help for importing a car from uk to malta on http://www.reviewthecar.com they do a lot of the work for you when you want to bring a car over
Thanks for the info review the car!
Hi, I have now been resident in Malta since April, I am staying with my future in-laws (expat) my partner is moving over at the end of the year. We are intending to drive our car (9 months old) here next month with a lot of our belongings. I intend to use the car to travel to work I have an ID card my partner does not what is the best way to proceed? THanks Nick
Nick,
There’s a lot of information in the comments above yours below the post. These issues never seem clear cut despite the official info. I would suggest you contact Transport Malta, which seems to be the govt entity regulating all things roads and on them. I would suggest you go over the comments with a tooth comb as it depends really on how old your car is. You may end up paying so much road tax, despite the law changes, that it won’t make that road trip worth it even if you are schlepping a lot of goods down in the car with you (think security there too, as I would expect you’ll be leaving personal effects in the car when you overnight en route down. TM should be your first port of call. It all seems such a grey area still.
Dear Sirs,
I kindly ask for a person to contact. I am importing a car from USA and would like to know what thw the Valuation Tax applicable. I have been given different numbers at Transport Malta but now they refereed me to Customs since it is coming from USA.
Please I need you assistance.
My number is 99470568 or give mw a contact person/number.
Really appriciated.
Lino
Lino,
I don’t have a number for customs, but am sure you can find something on gov.mt – try here: https://gov.mt/frame.asp?l=2&url=http://finance.gov.mt/page.aspx?site=cust&page=default
I would think Transport Malta know best on this! But do appreciate that you might have a run around from person to person and office to office. If it’s a car from a 3rd country (Non EU) then it might well be customs. Good luck, and if you do find a useful contact / number do post it here for others to use. Sorry I can’t be of more help. Try our Facebook wall too, in case someone can help there.
Hi there,
I am moving to Malta in 3 weeks and want to take my car with me. I have owned it for 20 months, it is a Peugeot 107.
I am trying to find out what duties or taxes I will have to pay to use the car in Malta.
I keep getting different answers everywhere I turn.
Many thanks Lou
Lou,
I know, it isn’t easy. I’ll drill down the various comments people have kindly left on this post and see if I can point you to the parts that seem to make sense. Failing that, there’s always a call (or email – if they reply) to Malta Transport – http://www.transport.gov.mt/Home.aspx .
I don’t know if you’ve come across these links in particular, but this one deals with ‘How to Register a Used Vehicle brought into Malta from an EU State’ and it has links to the tax evaluation table: http://www.transport.gov.mt/admin/mediacenter/PDFs/1_19610%20TM%20ON-LINE%20VEHICLE%20REGISTRATION%20AD%2028X4.pdf
In some circumstances, vehicle registration tax is waived: http://www.dca.gov.mt/Page.aspx?pageid=574&lid=1
This last link deals with tax relief in some cases for people moving to Malta permanently, though it does say the car has to have been in possession for 24 months – drill down it, and you may decide to keep the car out of Malta four months more!
http://transport.gov.mt/Page.aspx?pageid=694&lid=1
Hi everyone,
I would like to ship a car from UK to Malta, but I do not know which is the best route. I would like to choose the fastest route, but if this is rather expensive I would prefer the slower cheaper one.
Can anyone advise what ferries i need to board and tunnels to take from UK to Malta?
Thanks
Matthew
Matthew, I have no ready answer to this one. Try posting your query on our facebook wall and someone might be able to help. I’ll see what I can dig out as well. Thanks! http://www.facebook.com/MaltaInsideOut
We offer an online booking service, and in fact transport a lot of cars from Italy to Malta. I once drove from the UK to Italy, and boarded our ferry from Livorno, disembarking in Valletta. Now the sailing has changed by leaving from Genoa instead of Livorno , but Genoa is only 90 minutes away from Livorno. You can get a quotation online at http://www.gollcherferries.com, or email us at info@gollcherferries.com…thank you !
Seems to me it would be less hassle to sell car in uk, hire one in Malta and then buy in Malta when settled.
@David, I couldn’t agree more! I had no choice when I moved to Malta in ’94 other than to sell up and buy here. The Vehicle licensing tax was astronomical back then as was buying here I have to say. Ideally, use the second hand import garages running a pretty tight ship getting you what you want here at reasonable prices – and most are specifically sourced to clients’ reqs, from the UK. Seems to work and they’ve sussed it all out.
Hi,
does anyone know someone in the uk who can do a quick inspection of a car before I go there next week? I am on a tight schedule and would like to reassure myself that the car I am buying is in good condition. my e-mail is mvel0007@gmail.com
thanks
Matthew, do post this up on our Facebook wall as well if you like as it might get more traction there given your deadline.
ok have just brought a car in the uk and have questions the car is a 1.6 vauxhall safira estate model reg 2006
Q1 we have been quoted 900 euros to ship basic papers good/bad
Q2 once land as have w/perm I understand we have a week can this be done before arrive to save time/money?
Q3 insurance can this also be done before arr so can drive
Q4 the cost of everything here
Q5 have worked out a route for trav est 800 mls approx 300 eu one way excluding ferries from genoa any advice ?
John,
I’ve replied by email to you, but I think this link answers some Qs and would be helpful to others; it’s a list of Malta Transport’s administrative fees which seem to have gone up in June 2011.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110622/local/transport-malta-increases-administrative-fees.371914
Hi there, this website is a great resource thanks for your time setting it up. My questions is i am moving over permanently in Janurary and I want to bring my Vespa motorcycle. What taxes will I need to pay? Will it be treated as a car?
Thanks
Kieran
Kieran,
Thanks for your kind comments. Yes, we do try to give a service so to speak, and we’re glad you found it helpful. It’s a site run on a voluntary basis really right now, so every word of encouragement keeps us going!
Re your Vespa query, well, I couldn’t find specific mention of mopeds, but certainly people moving from abroad are eligible for exemptions from vehicle registration tax (cars) so I would think the same applies to mopeds an motorbikes. Here’s the car link at Transport Malta. I suggest you contact them to check what applies in your case.
http://www.dca.gov.mt/Page.aspx?pageid=694&lid=1
Do post up any info you find on this thread that might help others. This is in fact our most read post! So all things cars and moving to Malta are on a lot of people’s radars. Personally, I just dream of a day when Malta’s roads are less hassly and crowded! But we can’t have it all can we?!
if you exceed the 6 months vistor permit for a uk plated car can you go to sicily for a couple of days and re enter and start the 6 moinths again using the sicilian enter ticket?
thanks
Helen, thanks for this info; yes,the six-monthly exit trips are even something we considered when we moved here 18 years ago, and when vehicle license tax was even higher! But, in reality, if you’re living here, the bother of paying the ferry over and staying a bit, works out expensive, unless you really want a holiday in Sicily anyway.
hi i am a private car dealer in the uk, and would like more details on how to import cars to malta from the uk to used car dealers for their supply demand.can u help me with dealres that buy cars nd what customs and costs are involved basically can i mae money from doing this?