Bringing Your Car to South Africa? Left-Hand Drive Is a Dead End
Before you price shipping, get a quote, or ask anybody about permits, there is one sentence in South Africa's own import guidelines that settles this for most people moving from the United States or continental Europe.
Legislation changed from 27 May 2009 with regard to left hand drive vehicles stating that such vehicles which were not registered in the Republic before 23 July 2004 may not be registered, licensed, roadworthied and operated on a public road in South Africa.
South Africa drives on the left, so its cars are right-hand drive. If your car is left-hand drive — as it is in the US, Canada, Germany, France, the Netherlands and most of Europe — it cannot be registered, licensed, roadworthied or driven on a public road there.
Not "difficult". Not "expensive". It cannot be put on the road.
That question comes before every other question on this page, and almost no relocation guide leads with it.
If your car is right-hand drive, here is the actual framework
For readers coming from the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Japan or elsewhere on the left, the import question is real — and the rules are narrow.
ITAC states the position plainly: because vehicles are manufactured and assembled in South Africa and the sector employs around 124,000 people, "strict control is applied to the importation of used vehicles and import permits are issued only in very specific and defined circumstances."
There are only a handful of those circumstances.
If you are immigrating
You apply on form IE462, and there is a hard sequencing rule:
applications can only be considered when permanent residence status has been issued by the Department of Home Affairs
That is the whole timing problem in one line. Permanent residence first, then the vehicle permit. You attach the vehicle registration certificate, a copy of your foreign passport and a copy of the permanent residence certificate.
If permanent residence is not available, the guidelines direct you to SARS Customs and Excise for temporary clearance instead — a different mechanism with different consequences, and one to ask about rather than assume.
And once it arrives:
Imported vehicles may not be disposed of within a period of 24 months from the date of importation
So the car is not a way to move value. You cannot land it and sell it.
If you are a returning South African
The rules are more generous and more specific.
You may import a maximum of three vehicles per person, if you hold a valid driver's licence and are returning permanently after an uninterrupted absence of no less than six months working, studying or conducting research abroad. The vehicle must have been registered in your name for that corresponding six-month period before you return.
Two things here catch people out badly.
What counts as proof of employment is unusually strict. It must be a typed, signed, dated letter on company letterhead confirming your permanent employment and the start and termination dates. The guidelines then rule out, by name, almost everything you would instinctively reach for:
Please note that salary advices, pay slips, job offers, job contracts, tax returns, work permits, etc are not considered as sufficient proof of employment.
And you cannot ship the car ahead of yourself:
used or second-hand vehicles may not be sent to South Africa from abroad by returning residents prior to their permanent return to South Africa
That is the opposite of how most people plan a move — car on a ship, family on a plane, meet at the other end. Doing it in that order can disqualify the import.
A two-year disposal bar applies here too.
The other narrow categories
Each of these is available to South African citizens or nationals, each uses form IE463, and each carries the same two-year bar on selling:
Physically disabled persons — for a specially designed vehicle suiting the person's requirements, with a certificate from a medical practitioner.
Inheritance — with the will, the deceased's ID or passport, the vehicle registration certificate in the deceased's name, and the death certificate.
Vintage vehicles — defined precisely as "vehicles of 40 years old or older", with an affidavit confirming you will not sell the vehicle for two years, where it is being imported from, and that it is not sourced from a bonded warehouse.
Collectors' items — deliberately harder to pin down. ITAC says such requests are discussed with the industry and the South African Veteran and Vintage Association, and the vehicle must be considered a collector's item internationally.
Racing cars — for holders of a Motorsport South Africa competition licence, and with a significant restriction: imported racing vehicles "may not be registered locally and may not be used on SA national roads." Circuit and track use only.
What is simply not allowed
The guidelines are blunt about the boundary:
No import permits are issued for the importation of used or second-hand motor vehicles for commercial/resale purposes or any other purpose falling outside of the specifically defined circumstances referred to herein above.
No permits for vehicles sourced from bonded warehouses, either. And for used buses, trucks, taxis and coaches, no permits are issued at all beyond the personal categories above.
New vehicles are a different matter entirely — new passenger vehicles, trucks, taxis, buses and coaches are not subject to import control measures. Duties are still payable.
The exception that surprises everyone: motorcycles
Because motorcycles are not manufactured locally, the entire logic reverses.
Import permits for used or second-hand motorcycles "are issued freely", and — uniquely in this document — imported used motorcycles "may be sold or disposed of after importation without restriction."
No two-year bar. No narrow qualifying category. If you are moving with a motorbike rather than a car, you are in a completely different regime.
Two things everyone needs regardless
A Letter of Authority from the NRCS. The guidelines state that all imported vehicles are subject to the issuing of a Letter of Authority by the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications. That is a separate body and a separate process from the ITAC permit.
Apply before you ship. ITAC advises applying for and obtaining the permit before placing an order or buying or shipping a vehicle. Where an applicant clearly qualifies and the documents are correct, permits are issued within an average of four to five working days. Where the merits have to be evaluated, it takes longer.
Four to five days is not the reason to leave it late — the reason to do it first is that shipping a vehicle you turn out not to be permitted to import is an expensive way to discover the rules.
About the date on these guidelines
Worth flagging, because we noticed it and you should know.
ITAC's own guidelines index lists this document as November 2019. The document's footer says "Import guidelines January 2016". And the document itself notes that the guidelines "may change without prior notice."
We have quoted it as published. Given the discrepancy, treat every detail here as something to confirm with ITAC directly before you act on it — particularly if you are about to spend money on shipping.
What this page does not cover
Customs duty and VAT on import. That is SARS's, it was not read for this page, and it can be a very large number. Ask before you commit.
Shipping costs, insurance and the practicalities of the freight itself.
Whether you personally qualify for any category. The guidelines say all applications are considered on their own merits and ITAC may request further documentation.
For all of it: ITAC for the permit, SARS for duty and clearance, and the NRCS for the Letter of Authority.
The short version
Left-hand drive: stop here. It cannot be registered or driven on a public road unless it was registered in South Africa before 23 July 2004.
Immigrating with a right-hand-drive car: permanent residence must be issued first, then IE462, and you cannot sell for 24 months.
Returning South African: up to three vehicles, six months abroad, six months of registration in your name — and do not ship before you return.
Motorcycle: permits issued freely, and no resale restriction at all.
Anything commercial: no.
How does this affect YOUR Money OS?
The most expensive outcome here is shipping a vehicle that cannot be registered at the other end. One sentence about left-hand drive prevents it, and it costs nothing to check first.
FAQ
Can I bring a left-hand-drive car to South Africa? Effectively no. South Africa's import guidelines state that left-hand-drive vehicles not registered in the Republic before 23 July 2004 may not be registered, licensed, roadworthied or operated on a public road.
Can immigrants import a car into South Africa? Yes, on form IE462 — but applications can only be considered once permanent residence status has been issued by Home Affairs. The vehicle may not be disposed of within 24 months of importation.
How many cars can a returning South African import? A maximum of three per person, for someone with a valid driver's licence returning permanently after an uninterrupted absence of at least six months working, studying or researching abroad, with the vehicle registered in their name for that same six-month period.
Can I ship my car before I move back to South Africa? No. The guidelines state that used vehicles may not be sent to South Africa by returning residents prior to their permanent return.
What counts as proof of employment abroad? A typed, signed and dated letter on company letterhead confirming permanent employment and its start and termination dates. Salary advices, pay slips, job offers, job contracts, tax returns and work permits are explicitly not sufficient.
Can I sell an imported car in South Africa? Not within two years of the date of importation — the guidelines say 24 months for immigrants' vehicles and two years for every other category. Used motorcycles are the exception and may be sold without restriction.
What is a vintage vehicle for import purposes? ITAC describes vintage vehicles as those 40 years old or older.
Can I import a used car to sell? No. No import permits are issued for used or second-hand motor vehicles for commercial or resale purposes.
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