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Non US vehicle in US??? Non US vehicle in US???
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4 wheel Overland Travel NON-technical 4 wheel forum, for subjects specific to TRAVEL with 4 (or more!) wheeled vehicles. e.g. Driving Techniques, Shipping etc.
Photo by Ellen Delis, Lagunas Ojos del Campo, Antofalla, Catamarca

I haven't been everywhere...
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Photo by Ellen Delis,
Lagunas Ojos del Campo,
Antofalla, Catamarca



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  #1  
Old 22 Jun 2012
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Non US vehicle in US???
Looking for some direction here. My wife is a dual citizen, Romanian, and next february I will also have my Romanian citizenship/passport. So here is my question...

From what I understand you can bring a non US registered vehicle into the country for 1 year. Done all the time by Overlanders. What I cannot find is if it leaves the country can it come back and do another year?? Does anyone have info or experience?? How long it has to be out etc. We are waiting to hear back from Romanian consulate as well. Thanks
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  #2  
Old 23 Jun 2012
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I'm not sure about how it works but we had a guy stay with us 2 years ago. He was a British citizen with an American Green Card. He shipped a British bike to the States for a trip from there to Argentina. Customs wouldn't allow the bike in because he wasn't a tourist but a resident. He eventually sent the bike back to the UK which cost him over 2 thousand dollars and bought another in The States.
Your situation may be completely different but investigate carefully before spending the money.
Garry
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  #3  
Old 23 Jun 2012
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That was what I was worried about. Thanks
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  #4  
Old 28 Jun 2012
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If you are a tourist, you can import it for a year. The US is NOT a signator of the Carnet system so while it won't hurt, a carnet is only good for you if your going to travel to Canada, Mexico and/or points further south.

What you WILL need is insurance. You need to find a good friend in the US that will let you "live" at their address, register it there (its a state issue, not a federal one) and then insure it.

When lived in Norfolk, VA I had a mate who would ship his truck over and register it at my house. That way he had VA plates and insurance while he was in the states for 364 days!

Btw, if the truck is 25 years old then there is no worries at all. Just pay the customs and duty on your 500$ beat up old defender ;-)

Good luck!
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  #5  
Old 29 Jun 2012
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I'm not American, but I've read that the US is the same as Aus on this one...

If you are an American resident/citizen and owned the car/bike overseas for more than a year you can bring it in and register it in the US. Then there is nothing to stop you later exporting it back again. The only factor is the costs involved.
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  #6  
Old 29 Jun 2012
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bnicho View Post
If you are an American resident/citizen and owned the car/bike overseas for more than a year you can bring it in and register it in the US.
Nope. Not unless my understanding of the laws has been very incorrect for a long time. Cars (or bikes) need to have certain certifications before they can be imported. This can be at least awkward, and at worst prohibitively expensive (i.e., in the six to seven figures). This gets posted about fairly frequently here, so you might do a search.

Mark
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  #7  
Old 5 Jun 2013
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Shipping into US 25 year old car...
I am shipping in or maybe crossing from Mexico/Canada my 25 year old Honda Civic. I just wanted to understand what scaryfasthummer's comment meant with regard to importing old vehicles in below.

Is there anything else regarding import that I should be aware of?

Many thanks,

Jon

Quote:
Originally Posted by scaryfasthummer View Post
If you are a tourist, you can import it for a year. The US is NOT a signator of the Carnet system so while it won't hurt, a carnet is only good for you if your going to travel to Canada, Mexico and/or points further south.

What you WILL need is insurance. You need to find a good friend in the US that will let you "live" at their address, register it there (its a state issue, not a federal one) and then insure it.

When lived in Norfolk, VA I had a mate who would ship his truck over and register it at my house. That way he had VA plates and insurance while he was in the states for 364 days!

Btw, if the truck is 25 years old then there is no worries at all. Just pay the customs and duty on your 500$ beat up old defender ;-)

Good luck!
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