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What is Transfer of Residence relief?
It's HMRC's relief from import duty and charges on your belongings when you make the UK your main home. The official guidance says it covers "any personal property intended for your use or for meeting your household needs", and the list includes "cycles, motor cycles, private motor vehicles (and their trailers), camping caravans, pleasure craft and private aircraft".
Two things it doesn't cover are worth knowing before you start. HMRC says you "cannot claim transfer of residence relief for goods imported from secondary and holiday homes", so a motorhome kept at your holiday place in Portugal while you lived in Canada doesn't count. And the relief is "only available to 'living persons'", not to companies. If the motorhome is owned by your business abroad, talk to us first.
What are the conditions, exactly?
HMRC says you must satisfy all of these:
- You've been resident outside the UK for at least 12 consecutive months before the date you move to Great Britain or Northern Ireland.
- You're importing the goods within 12 months of coming to live in the UK.
- You intend to use the goods in the UK for the same purpose they were used for before you moved.
And separately: "You must have had the goods in your possession for at least 6 months before moving to the UK."
The 6 months counts back from your move, not from when the motorhome is shipped. If you bought it three months before the removal van came, it doesn't qualify on the standard rules. HMRC can consider waiving some conditions where circumstances beyond your control apply, and says you should include the evidence with your ToR1. That's HMRC's decision, not something to plan around.
Send us the details before you pay. We tell you what the import involves, then handle the customs, the NOVA and the DVLA paperwork.
What can't I do with it afterwards?
This one catches people out. HMRC says goods that get the relief "cannot be lent, used as security, hired out or transferred to another person within 12 months of the date you moved."
Read that carefully. It's not just "don't sell it". You can't lend it to your brother for a fortnight in the Lakes, rent it out, or use it as security for a loan, and the 12 months run from the date you moved, not from the day it came off the ship. If you were planning to sell it once you're settled, wait until those 12 months are up.
When do I apply, and how?
Before anything moves. HMRC says: "You must get approval from HMRC before claiming the relief", using form ToR1, and its guidance for shipped goods says to apply for your unique reference number "before your goods are shipped". If approved, HMRC sends a letter with the reference number, and that number goes on the import declaration.
The motorhome still has to go through customs properly. The relief is claimed on the import declaration; it doesn't replace it.
Do I still need NOVA and DVLA registration?
Yes, both. ToR saves you the tax. It doesn't save you the paperwork.
HMRC's ToR guidance says: "When you make your import declaration to claim relief for a vehicle you import permanently into the UK, you must also make a NOVA declaration." gov.uk gives you 14 days from bringing the vehicle in to do it, and you can't register until it's processed.
Then DVLA registration, as for any import. According to gov.uk, registering needs proof of vehicle approval if the vehicle is under 10 years old (unless exempt) and a current MOT if it's over 3 years old. For a used import the application is DVLA's V55/5, with the £55 registration fee and vehicle tax. And once you live here, DVLA's INF106 is clear: "If you're a UK resident you must not drive a vehicle displaying foreign number plates." So the motorhome is off the road from your move until it's registered, taxed and insured.
Are American RVs tax-free when you import them?
You may read online that American RVs are "exempt from paying any tax or duties" when they arrive in the UK. That's only true if the owner qualifies for a relief like this one. Someone buying a US-built RV to import pays customs duty at 10% (the UK tariff has no preference for the USA) plus 20% import VAT.
If you're moving here from America with an RV you've owned and used for at least 6 months, ToR may well cover it. If you're buying one over there to bring back, it doesn't. Our American RV guide covers the width, the approval test and the rest.
What we do for you
We check your dates against the ToR conditions before anything is shipped, so you know whether to apply on form ToR1 and have the reference number ready for customs. If you need it, we arrange the transport to the UK. We make the customs import declaration claiming the relief, submit the NOVA, and prepare the DVLA first registration pack: we fill in the V55/5, you sign it and post it. If the motorhome needs vehicle approval, the test and any changes are done by DVSA and a garage; we handle the paperwork around them.
Moving with a car too? That one goes to Cars Import UK, the team behind Motorhome Import, so both imports are handled by the same team.
Quick answers
I lived abroad for 11 months. Can I still claim?
Not on the standard rule, which is at least 12 consecutive months outside the UK. If circumstances beyond your control got in the way, HMRC says it will consider waiving it where you can show you intended to stay outside the UK for that period or longer, and the evidence goes in with your ToR1.
Can I ship the motorhome later than my furniture?
Yes, within limits. HMRC says the goods can be imported in multiple consignments, and they must come in within 12 months of you coming to live in the UK.
Can I sell the motorhome once it's here?
Not within 12 months of the date you moved. HMRC says goods under ToR relief cannot be lent, used as security, hired out or transferred to another person in that time.
I'm a Brit coming home with a motorhome I bought in the UK years ago. Is this the right relief?
Possibly, but look at Returned Goods Relief first: it's designed for vehicles you bought in the UK and took abroad yourself. Our guide on bringing a motorhome back to the UK explains it.
Official sources, checked on 27 September 2026: gov.uk/guidance/transfer-of-residence-to-great-britain; gov.uk/importing-vehicles-into-the-uk/making-import-declaration; gov.uk/importing-vehicles-into-the-uk/telling-hmrc; gov.uk/vehicle-registration/new-registrations; assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6911cb91bda892e068aa6400/inf106-how-to-import-a-vehicle-into-the-united-kingdom.pdf; gov.uk/importing-vehicles-into-the-uk/registering-an-imported-vehicle; trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/headings/8703.