Temporary Import

leonard2329

I'm a student and I just moved to Athlone from India. I have a Royal Enfield Thunderbird 350cc back at home and I was wondering if I could bring it here for temporary use without having to register permanently or pay VRT. Not sure how it works. Could you guys help me out? Could you tell me how much it would cost me apart from the shipping charges?

Paulw

Firstly, would your license be valid here?

If you are planning to be resident here for more than 6 months (I believe) then you need to pay VRT and register the bike.

There is an online VRT calculator - https://www.ros.ie/evrt-enquiry

Plopli

You can also have a look there:
http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/vrt/leaflets/temporary-exemption-foreign-registered.html

For your licence, it should work for 12 month, if I read this correctly:
https://www.ndls.ie/holders-of-foreign-licences.html#holders-of-driving-licences-from-other-countries

I'm sure you'll have fun explaining if you get stopped by the Guardai ...

And you will also have the matter of finding insurance (I very much doubt you're India insurance will cover you here and I'm not sure any Irish insurer will accept you)

cantdecide

Bear in mind that used Enfields tend to cost roughly the same to buy here as they do in India as far as I recall. Having said that, Thunderbirds are very hard to come by.

There's a very good chance it would be more worth your while to let the bike you have go and pick up a Bullet here with the intention of shipping it home eventually. That would probably be financially better and much easier. Having said that, you can pay VRT now and then apply for a refund when you wish to export the bike. That would square the paperwork but there probably isn't huge money involved anyway depending on how new the bike is.

As regards your licence, we definitely don't exchange with India which means you'd have to start from scratch here but as above, you can use your Indian licence for a year as a guest. The cost of training alone is at least €500. Having said that, if you get your full licence here then there are many other countries you would be able to exchange with if you wish to move on. We exchange with Australia, New Zealand, parts of Canada, South Africa and have other arrangements with places such as Japan.

I do hope you can sort it out. There aren't half enough Enfields on the road here

EDIT: I think this one looks great and I don't think you'd be able to buy it cheaper anywhere else.

Del2005

Paulw wrote: »

Firstly, would your license be valid here?

If you are planning to be resident here for more than 6 months (I believe) then you need to pay VRT and register the bike.

There is an online VRT calculator - https://www.ros.ie/evrt-enquiry

Students can't become resident for VRT purposes so they can use a vehicle without Irish plates as long as they are students.

TBH I can't see how it works out cheaper to ship an Enfield here, with the hassle of getting it insured, compared to buying a bike here for a couple thousand Euro and selling it when going home, there would be very little depreciation at this stage. You could even buy an Enfield here if you want.

Mesrine65

Clean little 350 Bullet on DungDeal for €1900...



https://www.donedeal.ie/motorbikes-for-sale/royal-enfield-350-bullet/10297106

leonard2329

Thanks for all the help guys. I appreciate it. So now that I know I'm allowed to ride for a year on my Indian license and that I don't need to register VRTS till the time I'm a student (which is till October next year), my question is that is it illegal to ride without insurance? As far as I know, in the UK, you can't even ride a few kilometers without insurance and that it's illegal. I'm not sure how it works here in Ireland though. Now I'm confused whether I should just sell of my bike there in India and buy one here (that one is just a year and a half old) or I should just buy a cheap used car if that budgets out better. I've heard that used cars are cheaper to buy than motorbikes.
Also, I'm a really good driver and I think I can pass the Irish driving test without having to train or go to a driving school. Is it still mandatory to undergo training or I can just give the tests?

Paulw

Yes, it is illegal to ride without insurance.

Do do your test in Ireland, you must do the compulsory training.

For a bike you must pass a theory test, do your IBT, then wait 6 months before applying for your full test.

cantdecide

This is looking more complicated for you...

It will definitely be cheaper to buy and run a cheap, small car than buy and run most bikes. A lot depends on your age and remember, from the point of view of the authorities, you are probably starting from zero here as the authorities won't recognise your licence or experience from India.

If you find that you have to get an Irish Learner Permit now, it will be an expensive process; you have to complete a Driver Theory Test, apply for a Learner Permit, complete training, pay for first-time insurance, buy a vehicle, tax it, insure it and pay for maintenance and repairs. There's a long list before you sit behind the wheel or on the saddle.

Different things will matter whether you go for a car or bike. The first question is whether you would prefer to go for a car or a bike. As much as we all love bikes here, most of us probably don't want to have to depend on one on a rainy December morning. If you would prefer a bike and will live with the down sides then great but if you're not very bothered about sticking to two wheels, then you can almost certainly own a car cheaper.

My feeling is that as you are not a student now then it's probably the case that you would have to VRT your bike immediately and I just remembered that the bike would be coming from outside the EU you will have to pay VAT also You will probably still have problems with your licence as it may be difficult for you to get insurance with an Irish vehicle and an Indian licence- I think most people on foreign licences are using rented cars. I really can't say if it will be a problem or not; the best thing is to pick up the phone and ask the insurance companies as there's no point in having a legally acceptable licence if no company will give you insurance. The insurance industry have their own rules and trust me, motor insurance in this country is a moving target.

Bear in mind that the cost of completing the mandatory training for cars will cost something like €350 and for bikes will cost something like €500. If you're experienced on cars and bikes and you go through the mandatory training, you should pass the test with the right attitude. You are just being tested on your abilities to apply the rules of the road and maintain standards of technique and observation but the effort is to remember every procedure every time; every time you miss something you are marked down and there are some mistakes that mean you fail instantly. You would never know the list of things testers are looking for without training so the best thing is to take your mandatory lessons but tell your trainer that you are planning to pass the test as soon as possible.

Del2005

Stick your details into an insurance company online quote system to see how much it'll cost, Liberty do bikes and cars so you can do a easy comparison. Can't see either being cheap as you've zero No Claims Discount and I doubt that any from India will be recognised and they load non Irish licences.

https://www.libertyinsurance.ie/