# Skyline-friendly countries



## kismetcapitan (Nov 25, 2005)

I thought it might be interesting to collect in one thread information about which countries welcome Skylines, which don't, and which countries do people manage to get around the law anyways. I'll start with what I know for certain:

friendly countries:

Japan (obviously)
UK (obviously)
Australia (not sure on details re: legalization)
Hong Kong
South Korea (costs about USD$5000 in taxes to bring in, but that's about it)
Canada (at least 15 years old)


difficult countries:

United States (basically illegal now, but there are grey market ways, and there are a few hundred registered Skylines, many of them fully complianced or with full federal legalization)
Singapore
New Zealand (did the laws recently change making Skylines hard to keep or import over there? I think I read that somewhere)


impossible countries:
??


----------



## Asim R32GTR (Sep 24, 2003)

Norway :chairshot


----------



## Rain (Apr 8, 2006)

Singapore isnt that hard, you just have to pay crazy taxes on the car, i think like 150% or something, but a Taxi driver told me if you had good govnt. connections you can bring any car you want there, while there i spotted rather few Bulls and Horses  so i shouldnt thing a Skyline would kick up a fuss to them anymore. they are getting rich quick.


----------



## Chingy (Jun 17, 2006)

In New Zealand every man, and his dog has owned or driven a skyline at least once. You can just drive around Auckland, and you'll see every thing from the lowest spec r32 gte to gtr. There are just some many around here like you wouldn't believe. 

i may be wrong but i think new zealand had the second most skylines per capita following japan


----------



## Bite Me (Aug 29, 2005)

Australia does accept the importation of Skylines under its strict importing laws, which include no accident repair history (exculding dings and stratches), no heavy modifications done to the car (excluding lightly bolt on mods ie wheels, suspension providing you have the stock parts).

For xenon lights equipped Skylines (R33 GT-R S3, some R34's) requires removal of the system as it is not approved by dept of transport as they are not self levelling or something like this (from what i understand), it could easily replaced by normal non xenon units and pass the compliancing process.

Other than these, just need normal things to meet the criteria for licencing process, tyres, fuel filler restrictor, other things i forget.

So put Australia as friendly country to own a Skyline.


----------



## gtrlux (Mar 8, 2006)

Japan (obviously)
UK (obviously)
Australia (not sure on details re: legalization)
Hong Kong
South Korea (costs about USD$5000 in taxes to bring in, but that's about it)
Canada (at least 15 years old)
Luxembourg (R32&R33)+10 years old
Belgium (R33) might be also possible for R32
Germany (R32-R33? and R34)
Holland (R32-R33-R34)
Italy (R34)


difficult countries:

United States (basically illegal now, but there are grey market ways, and there are a few hundred registered Skylines, many of them fully complianced or with full federal legalization)
Singapore
New Zealand (did the laws recently change making Skylines hard to keep or import over there? I think I read that somewhere)



impossible countries:
France
Spain?


----------



## SAMFISHER (Nov 30, 2005)

NZ is definately one of the most friendly car import wise.
No tariffs or compliance costs.
However, can only (as of 3-4 years ago) register new imports that are manufactured 1996 on (complying with a change in safety standards at that time). Heaps of R32's and older R33's already here though.


----------



## Eikichi (Jul 25, 2006)

gtrlux said:


> impossible countries:
> France


Yeah I confirm that :chairshot :chairshot :chairshot 

Spain, there's a guy who lived in France & kinda imported a GTR from the UK but still fully registered in the UK which is getting it registered in Spain
For France, a guy bought one recently & is still in the process to register it, but sounds easier to find the Holy Grail than registering a Skyline in France :nervous:


----------



## CarCouture (Dec 24, 2005)

*East Europe*

Hi there,

I have inported two GTr's into Slovakia and both are road legal. have no problems registering anything, just bring it over :O)
Importing is not the problem, there is just the tax. If indicated as scrap or part taking car then the tax is minimal. Registering is more difficultbut certainly possible. Even with right hand drive there is no problem. If anyone is interested in using my services for a european license, feel free to contact me. There are many ways of getting a road legal skyline in your drive way.


----------



## Scott (Jun 29, 2001)

Lots in Malaysia, even have their own club, a few visit here.


----------



## Micky Hanson (Oct 1, 2006)

Thought Italy would be hard to import a RHD


----------



## Perra (Jan 6, 2002)

In Sweden it´s no big problem. We have most of the versions of R32, R33 and R34 here. 

/P


----------



## Pekuman (Mar 7, 2005)

Finland: car taxes, registration costs, emission tests, very expensive (R32,R33)
Pretty much impossible with R34, even with big wad of dough... 

We have several R32, 1 or 2 R33 and one R34. Finland sucks as a Skyline country..


----------



## Dougie (Apr 2, 2006)

Just went through the process of legalising a GTR 33 here in Belgium and its an expensive pain in the ****. After the high import costs, you need to pay about 3000 euro to get it past the 'Control Technique' and then its another few grand to pay a one off 'immatriculation' cost to put it on the road. This whole process takes a few months too. (I've been without mine for the past 14 weeks)

All worth it though!


----------



## Eikichi (Jul 25, 2006)

Dougie said:


> Just went through the process of legalising a GTR 33 here in Belgium and its an expensive pain in the ****. After the high import costs, you need to pay about 3000 euro to get it past the 'Control Technique' and then its another few grand to pay a one off 'immatriculation' cost to put it on the road. This whole process takes a few months too. (I've been without mine for the past 14 weeks)
> 
> All worth it though!


So how much is the final bill mate? (I'm just curious that's all  )


----------



## Dougie (Apr 2, 2006)

I bought the car direct from a Japanese auction (if you dont mind i wont tell you how much that was). The boat cost me nearly 2 grand because i wanted it delivered to Zeebrugge which meant i had to pay for a whole container, then there was a 3 grand bill at the docks, this was for haulauge, unpacking, customs, VAT and all that stuff, then there was the 3 grand for the legalisation and I havent got the bill for the immatriculation yet but i think thats about 1500!! I got a great deal on the car originally because its in mint condition with only 50K kms on it but at this stage its gettin expensive!! 

Oh and there is only one mechanic in Brussels that will service it and he charged me €900 for it. 

The only saving grace is that my insurance is only 1200 a year and considering i'm 26 thats not bad!!

Still worth it though! 

James


----------



## m6beg (Apr 21, 2003)

Dougie said:


> Just went through the process of legalising a GTR 33 here in Belgium and its an expensive pain in the ****. After the high import costs, you need to pay about 3000 euro to get it past the 'Control Technique' and then its another few grand to pay a one off 'immatriculation' cost to put it on the road. This whole process takes a few months too. (I've been without mine for the past 14 weeks)
> 
> All worth it though!


ahhhh.

Love the tunnels in Brussels :flame: :flame: 

Mick


----------



## KKR (Oct 2, 2006)

Dougie, was your R33 first registered in UK or did it come directly from japan?


----------



## KKR (Oct 2, 2006)

Sorry, question has been answered but was not yet on my screen! To which control technique did you go? Schaerbeek? Would they charge the same for a 1993 R32GTR?


----------



## Dougie (Apr 2, 2006)

Hey KKR, if you want give me a call on 0494-088179 and i'll talk you through the whole process!! its a bit more complicated than just turning up at the control technique!


----------



## stealth (Jul 6, 2004)

The UK is the only Country apart from Japan that has genuine registerd cars like the 80 or 100 or so 33's and 34's that are not classed as grey imports .Dont think there was anywhere else where you could walk in a showroom and just buy or order one .


----------



## gtrlux (Mar 8, 2006)

stealth said:


> The UK is the only Country apart from Japan that has genuine registerd cars like the 80 or 100 or so 33's and 34's that are not classed as grey imports .Dont think there was anywhere else where you could walk in a showroom and just buy or order one .


That's why the green island is paradise for many of us . .:chuckle: :chuckle:


----------



## SAMFISHER (Nov 30, 2005)

In New Zealand (2001-02) you could purchase R34 GTR Vspec2's & R34 GT-ts (update model) from your local Nissan Dealership.
In Australia in the early 90's you could purchase R32 GTR's new.


----------



## Dohc (Nov 29, 2005)

Iceland...3 skyline´s here already and two coming...one arrived today (wednesday)
Im importing two now..one of them arrived today
and I´ve imported two before.


----------



## MINTER (Mar 29, 2006)

plenty of them in Ireland !


----------



## Mazinger (Jan 2, 2003)

U.A.E. is tough now, No new Skylines are allowed to be registered (legally), only the existing ones can be transferred from owner into another. Cities such as Abu-Dhabi are making it difficult to renew the registration.

Saudi Arabia won't let them enter their country, same goes for any RHD car or even those that have been converted to LHD.


----------



## mana_r32 (Jun 24, 2006)

Mazinger , you are right , but it's bad


----------



## deef (Aug 4, 2005)

Yep lts in Ireland, But big tax n shit makes you think is it worth it


COURSE IT IS LOL !!!! DEADLA


----------



## i4dat (Sep 29, 2006)

You can bring anything from Japan into the Bahamas. 

The duty rate it 57% of the cost of the vehicle + freight. I paid 7k+ for mine in taxes.

Unfortunately you can only get 'Third party' Insurance coverage which only covers damage to another persons stuff. I have to cover any damage or theft myself. For this wonderful service I pay $361.00.

I think there are three GTR's here in Nassau, and a slew of GTS-t.

Theres my two cents worth. :squintdan


----------



## kismetcapitan (Nov 25, 2005)

addendum - South Korea is no longer Skyline-friendly. As of 01 January 2007, no preowned cars with turbocharged engines can be brought into the country., and emissions requirements for N/A used cars are now at least as stringent as California and CARB requirements, including OBD-II. I think this move was bought from the government by new car importers, who are enjoying huge markups on new luxury cars, and are probably sick of people who, with not much hassle required, can just buy a used one overseas and bring it in for far less than buying a new one. A lot of year-old Benzes have been coming in from Japan for example, and if you want an Aston Martin it's far cheaper (at least 100,000 pounds cheaper) to fly to England yourself, buy one, ship it over, pay tax on it, than to have a dealer arrange it or sell you one from stock.

My mechanic mods cars to pass these new emissions tests (which Korean cars couldn't pass), and it's quite funny. On one car he bolted four catalytic convertors in a row, and while I stopped in this weekend, he was burning the midnight oil finishing a Ferrari F430 - basically, he pulled off the entire exhaust from the headers to the tailpipes, and started stuffing rolls and rolls of platinum-plated mesh through the ENTIRE exhaust. I guess that's one way to skin a cat


----------



## GibraltarR33GTR (Apr 8, 2004)

anybody can provide me with the details of the guy that imported his car into spain?


----------



## Finevo (Jan 7, 2007)

Pekuman said:


> Finland: car taxes, registration costs, emission tests, very expensive (R32,R33)
> Pretty much impossible with R34, even with big wad of dough...
> 
> We have several R32, 1 or 2 R33 and one R34. Finland sucks as a Skyline country..


Just checked customs records. There isn't a single R34 ever taxed here, and only two R33's. One of which I know for a fact is not registered. I'm currently trying to get them between finnish plates without the ridiculously expensive tests (http://www.gtr.co.uk/forum/upload/67926-r33-gt-r-noise-emissions.html)


----------



## joker69 (Mar 13, 2006)

Switzerland is very very very ex*****ve. It cost round 8000 till 20'000 CHF.

We have one street legal r34 gtr here. but a second come soon ;-)


----------



## mjeezy (Jan 14, 2007)

How about Washinton?


----------



## mjeezy (Jan 14, 2007)

I mean Washington.


----------



## bkvj (Feb 13, 2006)

washtington is still the USA so it will be very hard near impossible (continuous changing laws) to get one legally.

i believe the R33 GTR is legal for import now but dont qoute me on that.


----------



## kismetcapitan (Nov 25, 2005)

bkvj said:


> washtington is still the USA so it will be very hard near impossible (continuous changing laws) to get one legally.
> 
> i believe the R33 GTR is legal for import now but dont qoute me on that.


dual factory airbag version only, pre OBD-II, but no registered importer has been able to comply one yet, although it is technically possible.


----------



## usagtrpilot (Aug 19, 2005)

kismetcapitan said:


> dual factory airbag version only, pre OBD-II, but no registered importer has been able to comply one yet, although it is technically possible.


G&K did mine, but I had a waiver from the DOT, so basically just the emissions conversion (4 cats). G&K is no longer accepting Skylines for conversion/compliance. Mine is one of the last.

Rules now changed to 96-98 only, but need functioning OBD2, which exists, but is not official. Essentially illegal now, but many coming in as parts and re-assembled and titled as "kit-cars" in lenient states like Florida and Arizona. This method is pretty risky without EPA (emissions) conversion/certification. Car can get seized and destroyed if caught. May also not be covered by insurance if involved in an accident. 

Seen some in Philippines as LHD.


----------



## kismetcapitan (Nov 25, 2005)

aren't kit cars exempt from EPA regulations?

It's true though, there are a lot of states where the DMV never, ever physically inspects the car. You just keep your paperwork up to date and that's about it.


----------



## BBD (May 30, 2002)

hell ya they cracking up on Skylines in UAE even regesterd ones they want them off the roads asap and makeing it more difficult to renew the car,,, and dont tell me insurance its a nightmare finding one as only 3rd party is allowed for us at a hefty price


----------



## JB. (Jul 4, 2004)

GibraltarR33GTR said:


> anybody can provide me with the details of the guy that imported his car into spain?


Curious about this also, be great if its possible to register the car there.


----------



## Mazinger (Jan 2, 2003)

BBD said:


> hell ya they cracking up on Skylines in UAE even regesterd ones they want them off the roads asap and makeing it more difficult to renew the car,,, and dont tell me insurance its a nightmare finding one as only 3rd party is allowed for us at a hefty price


Time for the steering wheel to back where it belongs, and get it on a trailer then


----------



## lil bill (Jun 14, 2006)

We welcome Skylines in The Bahamas, have lots of R32 and R33 but just one R34 and its only a 4 door


----------



## chrisnova (Aug 22, 2006)

Cyprus is a sort of friendly country for Skylines... as long as you can afford import taxes!


----------



## seagull (Jan 15, 2007)

:smokin:


Dougie said:


> I bought the car direct from a Japanese auction (if you dont mind i wont tell you how much that was). The boat cost me nearly 2 grand because i wanted it delivered to Zeebrugge which meant i had to pay for a whole container, then there was a 3 grand bill at the docks, this was for haulauge, unpacking, customs, VAT and all that stuff, then there was the 3 grand for the legalisation and I havent got the bill for the immatriculation yet but i think thats about 1500!! I got a great deal on the car originally because its in mint condition with only 50K kms on it but at this stage its gettin expensive!!
> 
> Oh and there is only one mechanic in Brussels that will service it and he charged me €900 for it.
> 
> ...



i pay 600/euro on a carboat to get the skyline from japan into zeebrugge  

and for service the car ? ill go to Custom Import Arts
thy do good deals for the few skyline's in belgium :bowdown1:

oh i have a black gtr r34 v-spec :smokin:


----------



## crazyass (Sep 12, 2006)

Portugal is an impossible country to own a street-legal skyline :bawling: :bawling: :bawling: :bawling: :bawling: :bawling: politics sucks.


----------



## GTRJack (Aug 27, 2005)

HOW can you guys forget Thailand? :chairshot Now that country is Skyline friendly


----------

