Something one needs to consider when deciding to ship a vehicle overseas, besides the laws regulating the operation of any vehicle, is whether the cost is worth the effort. Along with the costs of making your vehicle compliant with whatever laws apply and the expense of shipping, some other factors to include are; How long will you be there ? How often will you really need that vehicle ? Will prevailing weather patterns affect your ability to use your vehicle ?
I will be going over to Ireland in March to study language and will probably be there for about 6 months maybe a little longer. When I first made my plans I wanted to ship my motorcycle over. The good news was that Ireland doesn't have too many restrictions as long as the vehicle is there temporarily. I can't remember the actual time limit but I think it was something like 3 months with the option of extending another 3 months should you stay a little longer. Mostly they just wanted to make sure the vehicle and yourself were properly insured before they allowed it into the country. I never did get around to checking whether my insurance company would even cover my bike while overseas or would I have to purchase a separate , more expensive policy to have it covered. It's my guess that it would have required me to dig into my wallet a little more one way or the other. The first tangible wall I ran into was the shear cost of shipping it. Approximately $4500 US round trip, based on size and weight I might add, and that's not even guaranteed because shipping costs vary daily.
Then I started calculating the logistics, how often would I really need to use it, not often because the school and all amenities are in such close proximity that I can walk to just about every place I needed to go. Plus, public transportation in a lot of places outside the US is pretty efficient. It beats hell out of battling traffic and finding suitable parking. I'd be in class all day 5 days a week so I'd hardly have a chance for pleasure riding except for the weekends. And then there is the predominant weather there, which is wet a pretty good amount of the time. Ultimately I came to realize that the amount of use I would get from my vehicle just didn't justify the expense of getting it there. It would actually be cheaper for me to buy a bike there and then sell it when it is time for me to return. Or even renting one when I have the chance to go for a ride.
Having said all that, I know that sometimes we just want OUR vehicle and nothing else will do. If you plan on being there for a long time and expense isn't a major factor, then it's money well spent I'd say !
