Moving from Riyadh to Qatar

nanu19811
By nanu19811

I'm working in Saudi, maybe taking a job in Doha. The question is, how difficult / costly is it to bring my car with me into Qatar with me and register it there?

It saves the hassle of selling it here in Riyadh, then having to buy another one when / if I get to Doha. Also allows me to bring more stuff with me in the car!

Many thanks in advance for any info you can offer.

By dominic11• 11 May 2014 14:41
Rating: 4/5
dominic11

nanu: I've been digging through some threads on QL and came up with some information from four years ago that may be relevant to our situations. *********************************************************************************I have just shipped two 4WD to Doha from Dubai, there are lots of shipping agents, allied

pickfords, crown Alfa etc. It cost 13K for both cars. You need to visit the dealer where

you bought the car and ask for the bill of sale - go to the import/export section of the

dealer. We got the run around on the phone so best to go in person. Take the bill of sale

and a passport copy of the car's owner to customs house and you have to pay two fees 25dhs

and 75 dhs. This process saves you paying 5% duty on arrival in Qatar. Give yourself two

weeks to You also need to visit the RTA to get export plates, this is an easy job if you

use the help section and pay them 150dhs. Cars are expensive here and difficult to sell in

Dubai so it is worth shipping over IMHO. hope this helps

----------------------------------

Ash, I have recently imported my car from Dubai to Doha. It was a Prado 2009 and I never

faced a problem. Its not allowed if car is older than 5 years. The process goes like this

1) Obtain tax paid papers from agents in Dubai (or you will pay 5% on estimated value of

car in Doha) 2) Go to RTA inspection facility and get your car inspected for import (and

clear any fines) 3) With the inspection paper go to insurance company and take a third

party insurance for GCC. (If you have a comprehensive insurance, you can cancel it and you

may get some refunds) 4) Remove your Dubai number plate (physically) and surrender that

with all papers to RTA 5) RTA will issue a blue export plate with some other name. 6)

Exporting cars in some other name is difficult and expensive. You have to check with RTA on

that. 7) RTA will issue an export license 8) Fix the export plate and you may drive for

another 15 days (remember you now have only 3rd party insurance and don’t make any

mistakes) 9) There are two ways of shipping – by road and by sea. For sea you have to book

a 40 feet container and you may stack some other stuff in that if you wish. However

clearance at Doha port is difficult. It cost around 4 – 5K Dhs. By road its easier and you

can take the delivery in Qatar industrial area. It cost around 2-3K Dhs. 10) Hand over the

car with original export license to the shipper (you can find lots of then in Sharjah). He

will issue papers and you need them in original when you clear it in Doha. 11) If you opt

sea, you need to approach a shipping clearing agent. You cannot approach Doha port

directly. 12) You can drive with export number plate for 30 days provided you have

insurance. Otherwise you can take another 3rd party insurance in Doha (only 75QR). This is

required otherwise you need to use a towing service to take the car to inspection facility,

which cost more) 13) Get the car inspected for import and they will remove if you have any

glass tinting in front and rear side. 14) Submit inspection papers and 3rd party insurance

(or comprehensive) papers to traffic department and they will issue you a number plate

request and registration card. Remember to request for tinting permission if you wish to do

so. 15) Go back to inspection facility and fix your number plate. Happy driving

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4 years ago

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1)Tax exemption is only applicable if you have brought the car in any GCC and imported to the country in your name. That means you have already paid the tax in one of GCC and you don’t need to pay it again. This exemption is void if you import in someone else name or any other country other than GCC. All cars are taxed at 5% of the evaluated cost by Qatar customs. 2) RTA is Roads and Transport Authority of Dubai. Inspection is required in Dubai prior to exporting and it is not a requirement in Qatar. Qatar traffic department will evaluate the car prior to registration. However no cars older than 5years allowed. You need to repair, even the slightest dent or paint damage, prior to registration. 3) As far as I know the person importing the car (for personal use) must own the car. When I imported the car I got an export certificate from UAE, which states that I own the car. This export certificate is required in Qatar. You need to check with clearance agents the exact procedure. I imported the car without Qatari Resident Permit. However you need that to register or make a sale later. You can import car without residence permit but you cannot use it. 4) I lost the number of person who did clearance for me. There are shipping clearing agents near old airport. You can go to any of the shipping agents shops near old airport (service road where Tayseer, Suzuki showroom is located) and check in one of the shops. If they don’t do, ask for some reference. You need to get a shipping agent for clearance in Doha port.

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4 years ago

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By rambo31• 10 May 2014 10:42
rambo31

I heard that here other countries car's are not registered.Hence check with a knowledgeable person.

By nanu19811• 10 May 2014 10:35
nanu19811

Thanks Dominic.............

By Molten Metal• 10 May 2014 08:56
Molten Metal

BOXBE, Nanu and Dominic are research fellows , it seems .................. Sat , 10.05.2014 , 09.00 hrs

By BOXBE16DOBARA• 10 May 2014 08:34
BOXBE16DOBARA

Sell the car n buy a new one here

By dominic11• 9 May 2014 20:17
Rating: 5/5
dominic11

I'm trying to do the same for all the same reasons with a car from the UAE. One thing we both have to consider is that we could be in Doha for a month or two with only a work entry visa. You must have your Residency Permit and ID before you can insure and register a car in your name.

I think what some people do is insure and register the car in someone else's name, someone who has a Residency Permit and ID, but you would have to trust this person. Perhaps there are people who do this sort of thing for a fee.

Having said all that, here is what I found out about exporting a car from the UAE. Perhaps the steps are similar in SA:

1. Thirty days prior to your planned departure, go to your insurance company to set a cancel date for your insurance. Set the date to a few days after your planned departure. You should get a prorated refund for the unused portion of the insured period.

2. Twenty days or so before your intended move, take your vehicle to an inspection center for an export inspection. Pay 120AED. If anything needs repairing, get it repaired and return to the inspection center. One retest is free within 30 days of the initial inspection.

3. A day before you intend to physically leave the UAE with your car (or the morning of departure), go to the inspection center again and pay 300AED for export papers and 50AED for blue export plates.

4. Pay 100AED for four days of export insurance. You now have four days to get the car from the UAE to your destination.

But this still doesn't solve the issue regarding Residency Permit and Qatari ID.

By nanu19811• 9 May 2014 18:06
nanu19811

I am waiting for response

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