Possibility of bringing back my Ghana-registered motorcycle overland to Europe
 

After my work in West-Africa is finished I am hoping to drive back my Ghana-registered motorcycle to the Netherlands. However I am unfamiliar with the official-processes that are bound to intervene with my travel. As such i believe that reaching Morocco will not give me trouble due to the ECOWAS- and African-agreements. However what will I have to do to allow my bike on the boat from Morocco to Spain? What will it all cost me? Will I be allowed to drive in Europe with my Ghanaian License-plate? And, upon reaching the Netherlands I have the option to "officially import" the bike and register it there as well, but my feeling is heading to storing the bike and just keeping it. Any help/information is highly appreciated.

Nick

Hi Nick,

As far as I know, ECOWAS is valid until Mauritania (please correct me if I made mistake), and there you're buying border insurance at the border until you reach Morocco.
For getting off the ferry in Europe you will need border insurance policy/third party liability, that we can sort out for you in advance (sending by mail to Morocco for example to chosen place where you plan to stay).

By using our border insurance policy you will be able to freely and insured travel all the way back to your home in Netherlands.

Using your licence plates from Ghana is totally fine.

Do not know the details of bike importation to Netherlands, but you have to check it by yourself is it worth it?

Let me know if you need any more info from us.

Safe journey back home :clap:

Cheers
Dooby

hi Dooby,

Thank you. It would be great if you could contact me on my E-mailaddress, so that we can further discuss these options: Nicktdterhorst@hotmail.com

Kind regards,
Nick

EU citizens are not allowed to drive non EU registered vehicles within the EU.
Doing so will get you prosecuted for tax evasion.

Upon entering the EU, probably Spain in this case, the vehicle has to be imported permanently.
Due are Customs duty, VAT and road tax.Spain is greedy here.

Now, if your vehicle meets the requirements of 'household goods' it would be duty and tax free in the Netherlands.

To prevent the Spaniards from relieving you from your moneys you need to find a freight company that is willing to issue you a 'T1' customs form.

This needs to happen BEFORE you get even close to customs.
Should cost around €40.

That form is your get home free pass.

Not sure that is 100% true. If you have been resident and working in Ghana you should be able to ride the bike back into the EU. The prohibition in entering the EU on/in a non-EU vehicle only applies to residents of the EU. Once in the Netherlands you will then need to re-register the bike.

That was my experience riding back from Turkey in 2008. Greek Customs checked that I had been resident outside of the EU but I was then able to ride accross Europe back to the UK.

I guess it helped that I had a Turkish CdP, Turkish residence Permit and Turkish registration documents that supported my case.