Moving to the EU with your car

If you have lived outside the EU for at least a year and you are moving here for good, your car can come with you without customs duty and without VAT. It is called Transfer of Residence relief, and most people have never heard of it.

What it is worth

On a car worth $30,000 the relief is worth more than €9,000 — the duty and the VAT together. That is not a discount we are offering. It is a customs relief that already exists and that you either qualify for or do not.

Citizenship does not matter

EU customs does not look at your passport for this. It looks at where you were living. An American qualifies on exactly the same terms as a returning Lithuanian. What matters is previous residence, not nationality.

The conditions, all of which must hold

Your normal place of residence was outside the EU for at least 12 consecutive months
The car has been registered in your name and used by you for at least 6 months before you move
You are genuinely transferring residence — not on a temporary assignment
The car arrives within 12 months of your relocation date
You do not sell or transfer it for 12 months after import

Miss any one of them and the relief does not apply. That last condition catches people out: the twelve-month hold is a real restriction, not a formality.

What still applies

Homologation and technical inspection are required either way. Relief removes the duty and the VAT; it does not remove the engineering. A US-specification car normally needs lighting, speed display and emissions work before it can be registered here.

If you do not qualify, the numbers may still work. Since 1 July 2026 a car built in the United States pays 0% duty instead of 10%, so the gap between relief and no relief is smaller than it used to be. Origin follows the plant, not the badge — a Mercedes built in Alabama is US-origin, one built in Germany is not.

Not moving, just importing? The import from the USA page covers the ordinary route.

What we do

Shipping to Klaipėda, the TOR customs clearance, homologation, and registration in Lithuania — or onward transport to whichever EU country you are actually moving to. The car clears customs here and can be registered anywhere in the EU afterwards.

Common questions

I am moving to Spain, not Lithuania. Does this still work?

Yes. We ship to Klaipėda for customs clearance and the car goes on to your country from there. Alternatively you can clear customs at any EU port of entry yourself — we will tell you honestly which is cheaper for your route.

What if I have owned the car for only four months?

Then you do not qualify, and no amount of paperwork will change that. Wait until you cross six months, or import it normally and pay the duty and VAT. We will price both.

Is it worth shipping a cheap car?

Usually not. Freight, clearing, homologation and registration barely move with the value of the car, so on an inexpensive one they eat the saving. Ask us before you book anything.

Tell us about your move