Europe to Kenya without carnet
 

I gather that Kenya allows cars in on a temporary import, although it looks as though Egypt is quite tight; so is there a way of shipping to Kenya without heaps of hassle? Regular ro-ro from turkey or greece to Mombasa? Or other feasible alternatives?

Thanks in advance

Mark

Sorry chum - Kenya does not allow vehicles in without a Carnet, but they can be sorted out in Kenya as we did with our Zim registered truck. Cost 6,000 shillings for the AA to value the car, 30,000 for the surety and another 30,000 for the carnet. 66, 000 Kenyan shillings at 127 Sh to the pound is a just over 500 pounds so it aint cheap!

a guy who works at the customs office in MSA said there's a temporary import system, although it could be the 'local carnet' you refer to; I was planning on double-checking before trying it either way. My concern was more, ways of getting past the Egyptians without a carnet.

For now, I think I'll just have to satisfy myself with the [cheaper although less autonomous] 'chauffeur-driven' style :)

cheers

Mark

Yep, there is a temp import system but I think it applies to Ugandan and Tanzanian vehicles only, foriegn registered vehicles need a carnet. The only way I know in without a carnet is if you take a dodgy route into Kenya (from the south: rather than the main border post at Namanga. I know a man who brought his vehicle through a much smaller post behind Kili - they never even asked for a Carnet there although his vehicle is now parked up at JJ's in Nairobi until he can either sell or sort it).

Ethiopia also needs a Carnet and a copy of your Comesa Insurance before they will issue any sort of visa and I was under the impression that Egypt required a 500% of value carnet.

egypt carnet
 

bundu's right about Egypt ...when i went through not only did they check all of the details on the carnet minutely (including taking a tracing of the engine number) but also so checked for air con and other add-ons.

Interestingly though they didnt check on the value that I placed on my vehicle, and I don't recall them checking that the value of the carnet was 5 times the value placed on the car..perhaps however they were too interested in finding ways to rip me off..they seemed to particularly enjoy imposing the (then) new road tax rules for vehicles over 2000cc (or was it 2500cc?)

It took a friend 3 days to clear customs cos his paperwork wasnt in order, includinga train ride to Cairo!!!..

So whilst you may be able to blag your way through some borders i personally wouldnt try it in Egypt...good luck!!!!!!!!

jeff watts
www.gonewandering.co.uk

Mark:

I've been working in Kenya (Nairobi and Lokichoggio) for the last month, and every second day, the Kenyan papers are running big storys about the taxman / cops / government / whomever cracking down on importation of vehicles without the tax being paid. So, it seems this is a very topical issue here in Kenya this summer.

This kind of suggests that you might be best off to plan to follow the rules regarding temporary imports (for tourist purposes) of vehicles, lest you wind up either being turned back at the border, or worse, having your moto siezed by the Kenyan authorities if they find you in the country without proper papers for it.

Kenya imposes very high import taxes on vehicles - over half the value of the vehicle - so, anyone trying to bring a vehicle into Kenya without going through the proper procedures is assumed to be a smuggler, not a tourist.