A lot of people have asked us about how we keep our US-plated vehicle in Europe for so long without permanently importing it. We made a video to help explain the information we have found and what has worked for us in our last 2 years in Europe.
Please be aware that this is as of September 2020 and none of the information included here should be used as legal advice. These are simply our experiences in the last 24 months of us traveling across continental Europe.
The 27 EU countries (As of Sept 5th 2020)
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Ireland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Netherlands
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
The 30 EEA countries (As of Sept 5th 2020)
- The 27 EU member states plus
- Liechtenstein
- Iceland
- Norway
The 27 Schengen countries (As of Jan 1st 2023)
- Austria
- Belgium
- Croatia
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
(The EU member states Bulgaria, Cyprus, Ireland, Croatia and Romania are not Schengen countries.)
4 Comments
Lance · August 30, 2021 at 11:14 am
Dan, just viewed your video on extending a temporary vehicle permit in Europe. I am somewhat familiar with the process of shipping a vehicle as I’ve twice shipped a VW Camper to Europe and once to Australia. I think I had a year available to me in Australia. I briefly looked at buying a car in Europe and selling it a year or two later. Not having a European residence seemed to make this impossible, is that correct? Anyway, is there a better country to ship to for ease of transfer? I can ship from Canada or USA. Am I correct in saying that since England is no longer in the EU, that taking a ferry over to England from Europe or landing in England and taking the ferry to Europe – would give me another 180 days? Enough questions, yikes. I enjoyed your video and subscribed to your blog. Lance
Mike Bravo · February 20, 2023 at 7:34 am
Hi Dan. Thanks for your great content! I shipped my US-plated Toyota FJ Cruiser from Argentina to Spain in November. I’ll be driving through Africa later in 2023, but I plan to visit Switzerland, for a friends wedding. From your video, it would seem that driving to Switzerland would reset my EU permit. Have you been to Switzerland? What insurance did you use? My EU temporary import liability insurance does not cover Switzterland. Many thanks!
Dan Lin · May 27, 2023 at 10:11 am
Hi Mike, We have been to Switzerland and even though it is not part of the EU, just like Norway, it does not count as having left for temporary import reasons. Switzerland has its own Single Market treaty with the EU for importing goods like vehicles making it the same as any other EU country. You need to talk to your green card insurance company to add Switzerland to the policy. We use Tour Insure from Germany,
Exploring Europe with an American-plated vehicle – Freely Roaming · May 31, 2023 at 5:27 pm
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