Some of the most luxurious cars are driven on the roads of UAE and Saudi Arabia, and once you fall in love with your car, it’s hard to get away from it and you want to keep driving it for as long as you want, in case you’re going from UAE to Saudi Arabia, changing countries isn’t an obstacle for it. Here at CarSwitch, we will provide you with all the necessary guidelines and rules that you need to know if you are importing a car from the UAE to Saudi Arabia.
General Guidelines:
The first thing you need to know is if you’re a Saudi or Gulf citizen, you can import two cars per year, on the other hand, a resident can only import one car every three years.
Customs duty is based on customs finals assessed by the custom books. 5% is applied on the cars while it is 12% for trucks.
The most common ways are to either use land trucking delivery which is faster but expensive or ocean-going delivery which can take longer but is economical comparatively. But before choosing the way to ship it, you need to fulfill all the obligations and rules set by the KSA government.
If you’re looking to import a used vehicle, you cannot import a car older than five years. And since cars in Saudi Arabia are left-hand drive, the import of right-hand drive vehicles is not allowed. When importing a car, you cannot put any luggage or personal belongings in the car. Let’s get to know the rules of customs.
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Documents required for customs clearance:
When it comes to the documentation required, a passport with a picture and visa page is a fundamental need along with the Iqama (national residency permit). A title certificate is also required to show the ownership of the car. You could have other proofs as well to show ownership but a title certificate is fundamental.
You’ll also need a police clearance / de-registration form from the UAE (country of origin). You must have a Saudi Arabian standard organization (SASO) conformity certificate, it protects you from frauds and ensures products are without defects, you can apply for it online as well. You may also need other proof of ownership i.e, purchase invoice if it is available.
You must have a Saudi driving license, a copy of it will be required if you are to import a car to Saudi Arabia, and an authorization letter for it from Four Winds, A Saudi Arabian logistics company. Half of your job is done.
Car registration procedure:
Once you get the customs clearance and your car is shipped to Saudi Arabia, now you will need to get the authorization for it to be used in the country, now we will guide you about the procedure for car registration in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabian logistics company, Four winds will provide you with a copy of Bayan. Copy of Bayan is essential to get the SASO (Saudi Arabia standard organization) certificate, which you will hand over to Four Winds. After this, you will need to submit the SASO certificate to Jeddah customs which will give you the green card. After receiving the green card, now you need to get your car inspected by MVPI (Motor Vehicle Periodic Inspection), remember you can’t import a damaged car to Saudi Arabia, a car involved in an accident, rollover, drowning, fire or anything else cannot be imported.
You can’t drive your car unless you have secured your car registration and Traffic Police certificate, before your car is cleared you need to get your car inspected from MVPI (Motor Vehicle Periodic Inspection), you will have to buy a car insurance. And your car is available for you to drive!!
Documents required for registration:
We’ll list all the documents which are required for car registration for your ease.
- Copy of Bayan – which was provided to you by Four Winds
- Green Card – which you will get from Jeddah customs after clearance.
- MVPI approval
- Copy of your passport with picture
- Copy of your Saudi Driver’s license
- Car Insurance – you will need to buy it.
- Copy of Iqama (Saudi residence permit).
Enjoy your rides, keep having fun and make sure you give us your feedback. We hope you found this article helpful!!
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