How long can you use a car with Ukrainian plates in Germany and how to re-register it.
From the first days of the Russian invasion, many Ukrainians, fleeing the war, left for Europe in their cars. Since the summer of last year, Ukrainian driver's licenses have been recognized throughout the EU. Also, most EU countries allowed Ukrainians to freely use cars with Ukrainian registration in the first months, but this has its time limits.
According to the refugees themselves, many Ukrainians in Germany are worried that the term of use of the car may expire in the near future, and there is still no official consensus on this issue. Because of this, many Ukrainians began to sell cars with Ukrainian registration in the EU or even specially take them to Ukraine for sale.
Why do they sell cars with Ukrainian registration in the EU?
Even in the first months of the war, refugees in Germany were allowed to use cars with Ukrainian plates without separate registration for 6 months, then this period was extended for a year - from the moment of their arrival in the country. Recently, information began to spread among Ukrainians in the country that this term is ending and cars must be registered, says Lyudmila Zhuk, who moved with her mother to the community of Karlsruhe in the west of the country at the beginning of the invasion of the Russian Federation.
"People began to worry because of the uncertainty, they did not see official information about it, and many advertisements for the sale of cars on Ukrainian registration began to appear. There were problems with the sale - some were expensive, others did not want to buy, because they would still have to re-register this car," she describes the problem.
Such cars were often bought, mostly by middlemen, in order to bring them back to Ukraine and sell them there at a higher price. Or other Ukrainians who are ready to drive them inside the country and re-register them, says the woman.
"People were faced with the fact that such cars had to be sold in Germany much cheaper than they would cost in Ukraine. If they published ads in groups for Ukrainians, they began to criticize them there, saying, why is it so expensive. In short, some managed to sell, some did not," adds Ludmila.
When Ukrainians need to re-register their car in Germany
Ukrainians in Germany must re-register their cars after a year of stay in this country.
"To date, there are no new decisions at the federal level. Accordingly, all cars that are in the territory of Germany must be re-registered and registered in Germany after a year of stay. Otherwise, you risk receiving a fine," the Telegram page "Germany/Ukraine/Refugees" explains.
In the official response of the Federal Ministry of Digital Technologies and Transport (BMDV), it is noted that the issue of registration of cars with Ukrainian license plates is still being studied.
The deadline is when a year has passed since entering Germany (usually based on the date you received paragraph 24). At the same time, it is noted that there is no precise explanation from the authorities.
"On February 24, 2023, a year has already passed since the first refugees arrived in Germany. Among them are many who came by car or imported a car later. All of them should urgently deal with this issue. Those who more soberly assessed the perspective of the development of events took the car back to Ukraine in a timely manner or handed it over to relatives for use or sale in Ukraine," the ISCR service center for migrants explains.
Certain changes to the terms of use of cars in Germany are introduced at the local level. Thus, recently the German state of Saxony-Anhalt in the north of the country extended the term of use of cars with Ukrainian registration. Ukrainians who entered Saxony-Anhalt are now allowed to use their cars for two years from the moment they crossed the border.
At the same time, it is allowed to use a car with Ukrainian registration no longer than until April 1, 2024. There is no need to apply for a German license.
"Few people need a car with Ukrainian registration in the EU" - a broker
Many of our citizens went abroad with their own Ukrainian-registered cars after the beginning of the full-scale invasion, customs broker Andriy Pinchuk said in a comment to RBC-Ukraine. Reregistration of such cars with European license plates is a difficult procedure, and it is not well regulated everywhere.
"Usually, it is easier to sell a car in Ukraine, and to buy another in Europe. It will even be cheaper. It is difficult to sell cars with Ukrainian license plates in Europe. Will it be bought by Ukrainians who will return to Ukraine on it? Or, at most, you can sell it at some sort of spare parts sale for a low price. First of all, the prices for cars in Europe are not very high anyway, so they are brought to Ukraine from Europe, and not back. Secondly, there are already a lot of offers on the car market in the EU, the market is oversaturated. Those cars that are already on European registration are the first to be bought there. Therefore, it turns out that cars with Ukrainian license plates are not needed by almost anyone," he says.
According to the customs broker, when a car with Ukrainian registration enters Europe, it automatically means that it will cost less there.
"For example, we bought a car in Europe with European registration for thousands of dollars, cleared customs, brought it to Ukraine, paid taxes for it. In Ukraine, it already costs 5 thousand. If we bring it back to Europe, then it will cost 2 thousand. No one in Europe will buy it for 5, especially if it is registered in Ukraine. For Europeans, this will be a foreign registration, such a purchase does not make any sense for them," explains Andriy Pinchuk.
After the cancellation of zero customs clearance last year, importing cars from Europe to Ukraine has become less profitable. And if you want to buy a car to drive it in Ukraine, instead of bringing it to the EU, it is more appropriate to buy it here, the interlocutor believes.
"There are also a lot of offers on the market in Ukraine. Prices are reduced, and you can often buy a car cheaper than advertised. It is also better to buy here, because you can come at any time, take a look, check its condition. The price will not be much different from those that need to be transported from the EU and cleared through customs," says the broker.
Where to apply for car registration in Germany and how much it costs
To register, you need to contact the Zulassungsstelle (Straßenverkehrsamt) - this is an analogue of the Ukrainian MREO, where they register and check the presence of technical inspection. Be sure to contact your place of registration.
Ukrainians need to collect documents from this list:
- Ausländische Fahrzeugpapiere (Ukrainian technical passport)
- gültige Hauptuntersuchung (inspection/exhaust gas measurements)
- CoC-Bescheinigung (certificate of car conformity)
- Zollbescheinigung (customs certificate)
- EvB. Nummer von der Versicherung – insurance
- gültiges Ausweisdokument (AT or passport)
- an account in a German bank, from which the transport tax will then be deducted.
With this, the Zulassungsstelle will issue a new German technical license and numbers. By the way, the Zulassungsstelle must provide proof that the car entered the customs zone of Germany legally. This proof must be obtained from the customs office (Zollamt).
In order not to pay 29% customs clearance, within a year from the moment of registration, you must submit a statement that the car is the property of a permanent resident emigrant to Germany (Übersiedlungsgut). Then they will be exempted from paying customs duties, but it will not be possible to sell the car for 1 year. The application (Antrag 0350) must be accompanied by a copy of the foreign passport, technical passport, German plastic, confirmation of registration (Meldebescheinigung). The car must be available to check the VIN code.
"Also, the customs office has a question as to how you moved through Germany in this car. Because if you applied for a residence permit, and "paragraph 24" is exactly its variant, you automatically had to declare your car to the customs authorities as soon as possible. If this is not done, this violation of the law is called Die widerrechtliche Benutzung von Fahrzeugen. In the ideal case, they will be asked to pay transport tax (Kfz-Steuer) for the period from the moment of registration under p24. But there were also cases when large fines were issued," the association warns refugees.
The cost of registration depends on each individual case. Insurance can be viewed on service comparison services such as Verivox or Check24.
You can calculate the transport tax on the website. CoC certificate - from 50 to 200 euros through dealers. Technical inspection in the presence of SoS - 70-150 euros, without a certificate - it can be very expensive. Final registration at the Zulassungsstelle — 50-70 euros including numbers.
In general, the procedure can take 2 weeks. Ukrainian license plates will be taken away, but the technical passport will be left to the owner.
"In some cases, they may try to damage it (cut off a corner), but you must insist that you are going to return, remove the car from German registration, and then you will need a valid, undamaged technical passport to cross the border and continue using the car," the volunteers advise associations
Refugees re-import cars to Ukraine for sale
Some Ukrainians, having left for Europe with a car with Ukrainian registration, after some time take them to sell in Ukraine in order not to lose money. Kiyanka Svitlana Yeschenko drove her car to Hamburg in the first days of the invasion of the Russian Federation. Then she used it in the country. But realizing that the permit will not be valid for years, she decided to sell the car.
"At that time, no one thought whether it would be necessary to register a car in Europe. My daughter and I just took a couple of bags, got into the car and left. Then they drove it freely in Germany, without any problems. Because we plan to stay here for the time being, we decided to sell the car. I have a 2012 Toyota Yaris. I understood that I would not be able to sell it profitably at the Ukrainian registration, but I tried anyway. She set a price of 6 dollars and began to spread sales announcements in profile Facebook groups. Dealers started calling. Strongly undercut the price. I bought a car in Ukraine for 9 dollars, sold it for 6, the condition is perfect. I thought, why shouldn't I do it myself? I took it to Ukraine and quickly sold it for 8. Then she bought another in Germany, with European registration. In fact, many Ukrainians did this - they took the car to sell in Ukraine. But the Germans allow you to drive on Ukrainian license plates and beyond, so I wouldn't advise you to rush too much," advises Svitlana.
Although there is still no consensus regarding the terms of using Ukrainian-registered cars in Germany, refugees are still advised to register their cars in order to avoid fines in the future.
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