Fordy
4th December 2005, 11:02
Having just gone through this (importing my own bike from the UK) and been pleasantly surprised at how easy it was, I thought I'd share the experience and hopefully this will be helpful to people about to go through the same thing.
Land Transport New Zealand publish their stuff online, info available here (http://www.ltsa.govt.nz/importing/). Its a bit of a forest of information though, and if you do email them with a specific question you may get a reply in a week from a cyborg referring you back to their website :tugger:
Shippers requirements may vary, for Crown I had to pay £150 for a crate to be supplied and also they wanted photocopies of this, that and the other. This got me my bike delivered to my address in NZ, getting it on the road was down to me.
Basically the main steps are:
Step 1 - MAF quarantine inspection and border check, Customs clearance.
What this means - Customs were supplied (via my shippers) with a copy of the receipt from when I bought my bike that proved I had owned it for more than a year, therefore no GST to pay. I also had to sign a form at Customs stating that if I sold the bike within 2 years of being here then I'd owe them the GST based on the bike's value. For MAF I had given the bike a good clean, even had the fairings off and cleaned the gunk off the inside, sprayed all the bare metal in WD40 and treated the wheels to a douche of Jayes fluid. The MAF girl said my bike was 'Perfect', well I knew that :p
Step 2 - Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) issued/decoded as soon as practicable by entry certifier
What this means - Prior to leaving the UK I had contacted the Vehicle Inspectorate New Zealand (http://www.vinz.co.nz/) office in Chch and got dialogue going so there would be no surprises. He had a copy of my V5 registration document which had the VIN number on it, and they deal with EU vehicles all the while so wasn't really an issue.
Step 3 - Certification process
Entry certifier (i.e VINZ):
1. verifies that the vehicle met the required standards when manufactured
2. carries out vehicle inspection to verify it is still in good condition
3. decides whether the vehicle needs any repairs and/or specialist certification for compliance with legal safety requirements
4. certifies the vehicle for compliance with the safety and emissions requirements
5. verifies legal entitlement to the vehicle
6. issues form MR 2A and warrant of fitness.
What this means - as noted above, starting dialogue with VINZ early helps heaps. I had also sent a photo of the EC whole approval plate (http://www.ltsa.govt.nz/publications/infosheets/infosheet-2-13-europe.html#app2), which along with a scan of the V5 allowed VINZ to talk to LTSA, and confirm that these proved compliance. Great, otherwise to get Suzuki UK or Suzuki NZ to send me a certificate stating the bike met compliance would cost c $300. Before going to see VINZ I needed a brake declaration done, so VINZ faxed a form to a local bike shop (Behind Bars MC's in Kaiapoi) who wrote down the make of my pads, the thickness of my disks and a few other bits. The rest of 2 - 6 is fairly straightforward if you have a roadworthy vehicle.
Step 4 Registration and licensing, then the vehicle can be driven legally on New Zealand roads.
What this means - Take all the rlevant docs, pay your c $300 for the the bits and away you go. IIRC I took my V5, the cert from MAF, the brake declaration and my passport...but speak to VINZ they'll let you know. I had dropped my bike off about 10am and walked into Chch for a browse and kill time. Before I'd finished my lunch just 2 hours later it was done, and they weren't particularly quiet either. I'd definately recommend emailing VINZ before you ship your bike, I'm sure it saved me a lot of time, PITA and $ :niceone:
I rode into Chch with UK plates on, and the NZ plate needs drilling and some thought before fixing, so rode back in UK plates to fix that evening. I presume that as I was booked into VINZ and rode straight there and straight back again that it would not be an issue if I encountered the Police, but the the occaision didn't present itself to test this theory :blip:
HTH
Land Transport New Zealand publish their stuff online, info available here (http://www.ltsa.govt.nz/importing/). Its a bit of a forest of information though, and if you do email them with a specific question you may get a reply in a week from a cyborg referring you back to their website :tugger:
Shippers requirements may vary, for Crown I had to pay £150 for a crate to be supplied and also they wanted photocopies of this, that and the other. This got me my bike delivered to my address in NZ, getting it on the road was down to me.
Basically the main steps are:
Step 1 - MAF quarantine inspection and border check, Customs clearance.
What this means - Customs were supplied (via my shippers) with a copy of the receipt from when I bought my bike that proved I had owned it for more than a year, therefore no GST to pay. I also had to sign a form at Customs stating that if I sold the bike within 2 years of being here then I'd owe them the GST based on the bike's value. For MAF I had given the bike a good clean, even had the fairings off and cleaned the gunk off the inside, sprayed all the bare metal in WD40 and treated the wheels to a douche of Jayes fluid. The MAF girl said my bike was 'Perfect', well I knew that :p
Step 2 - Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) issued/decoded as soon as practicable by entry certifier
What this means - Prior to leaving the UK I had contacted the Vehicle Inspectorate New Zealand (http://www.vinz.co.nz/) office in Chch and got dialogue going so there would be no surprises. He had a copy of my V5 registration document which had the VIN number on it, and they deal with EU vehicles all the while so wasn't really an issue.
Step 3 - Certification process
Entry certifier (i.e VINZ):
1. verifies that the vehicle met the required standards when manufactured
2. carries out vehicle inspection to verify it is still in good condition
3. decides whether the vehicle needs any repairs and/or specialist certification for compliance with legal safety requirements
4. certifies the vehicle for compliance with the safety and emissions requirements
5. verifies legal entitlement to the vehicle
6. issues form MR 2A and warrant of fitness.
What this means - as noted above, starting dialogue with VINZ early helps heaps. I had also sent a photo of the EC whole approval plate (http://www.ltsa.govt.nz/publications/infosheets/infosheet-2-13-europe.html#app2), which along with a scan of the V5 allowed VINZ to talk to LTSA, and confirm that these proved compliance. Great, otherwise to get Suzuki UK or Suzuki NZ to send me a certificate stating the bike met compliance would cost c $300. Before going to see VINZ I needed a brake declaration done, so VINZ faxed a form to a local bike shop (Behind Bars MC's in Kaiapoi) who wrote down the make of my pads, the thickness of my disks and a few other bits. The rest of 2 - 6 is fairly straightforward if you have a roadworthy vehicle.
Step 4 Registration and licensing, then the vehicle can be driven legally on New Zealand roads.
What this means - Take all the rlevant docs, pay your c $300 for the the bits and away you go. IIRC I took my V5, the cert from MAF, the brake declaration and my passport...but speak to VINZ they'll let you know. I had dropped my bike off about 10am and walked into Chch for a browse and kill time. Before I'd finished my lunch just 2 hours later it was done, and they weren't particularly quiet either. I'd definately recommend emailing VINZ before you ship your bike, I'm sure it saved me a lot of time, PITA and $ :niceone:
I rode into Chch with UK plates on, and the NZ plate needs drilling and some thought before fixing, so rode back in UK plates to fix that evening. I presume that as I was booked into VINZ and rode straight there and straight back again that it would not be an issue if I encountered the Police, but the the occaision didn't present itself to test this theory :blip:
HTH