Importing a Car to Malta from the UK: Registration, VRT and Costs

Malta is a small island nation with an outsized appetite for cars relative to its road network, and the government has structured registration tax accordingly. Unlike many EU states that charge a flat customs duty plus VAT, Malta applies a Registration Tax calculated using CO2 emissions, engine size and the vehicle's depreciated value against a locally published price list maintained by Transport Malta. For a UK owner shipping a car to Malta after Brexit, this means the vehicle is treated as an import from a third country, so both customs duty (typically 10% for passenger cars) and 18% VAT apply on top of registration tax, unless the shipment qualifies for Transfer of Residence relief.

Sailings to Malta from the UK are almost always routed via a transhipment hub — commonly Antwerp, Genoa or Salerno — because there is no direct RORO or container service from a UK port. This adds one to two weeks to transit time compared with a direct European route, and it's worth building that into any moving timeline, particularly if you need the car for a specific date such as a job start or a lease handover.

Registration tax in Malta is charged once, at first registration, and is separate from the annual circulation licence fee. Transport Malta values the car against its own database of market values, adjusted for mileage and condition, then applies a percentage banding driven mainly by CO2 output. Low-emission vehicles under roughly 100g/km can attract registration tax as low as a few hundred euros, while larger petrol or diesel SUVs above 200g/km regularly see registration tax exceed €10,000, sometimes more than the value of the car itself.

Because of this steep curve, it is worth running your specific reg plate and mileage through Transport Malta's online calculator before committing to shipping, since a car that looks cheap to import on paper can become uneconomical once registration tax is added. An eco-contribution is also charged on vehicles without a valid end-of-life vehicle recycling scheme in the country of origin, though most cars leaving the UK with a certificate of destruction arrangement are exempt.

Container shipping is the standard method for private cars moving to Malta, since RORO services from the UK don't run direct and transhipment via container is more predictable for scheduling. A shared 40ft container carrying two or three vehicles from Southampton or Tilbury typically takes four to six weeks door to port once transhipment and Mediterranean feeder connections are accounted for, whereas a dedicated container can occasionally shave a week off this by avoiding consolidation delays at the transhipment port.

Booking early matters more for Malta than for larger, more frequently served destinations, because feeder vessel space to the island is limited and can be affected by wider Mediterranean shipping congestion. We recommend allowing at least six weeks from collection in the UK to the car being roadworthy and registered in Malta, and longer around the July–August peak season when the island's population swells with seasonal residents.

Before a UK car can be registered in Malta it must pass a VRT (Vehicle Roadworthiness Test), Malta's equivalent of an MOT, at an approved testing station. Right-hand drive cars are permitted, but Transport Malta will check that headlamp beam pattern is suitable or request a simple deflector fitting, and will verify speedometer units are metric or clearly convertible.

The paperwork bundle needed includes the UK V5C logbook, a certificate of conformity (or National Type Approval for older or modified vehicles), your bill of lading from the shipping line, proof of purchase or ownership history, and evidence of your Maltese address if claiming Transfer of Residence relief. Malta's customs department is generally efficient with complete paperwork, but incomplete certificates of conformity are the single biggest cause of delay we see, so it is worth requesting one from the manufacturer's UK office weeks before shipping if your car doesn't already have one on file.

UK nationals and residents genuinely relocating to Malta can apply for relief from registration tax, customs duty and VAT under Transfer of Residence rules, provided the car has been owned and used for at least six months prior to the move and is not sold within twelve months of import. This is a meaningful saving given how high Maltese registration tax can run, but the application must be submitted with evidence of the move — such as a rental or purchase contract, utility bills, and proof you are deregistering as a UK resident — before the car arrives, not after.

Applications are assessed by Malta Customs, and processing can take several weeks, so this is not a same-day formality. Anyone planning to claim ToR relief should start the application in parallel with booking the shipment rather than waiting for the car to land, since a vehicle sitting in port storage while paperwork is processed can quickly rack up demurrage charges.