Car Shipping to Portugal
from the United Kingdom
Portugal attracts many UK expats and retirees who ship their vehicles. The Ship Cars provides regular services to Leixões (Porto) and Lisbon from UK ports. View our shipping services or request a quote.
Methods
RORO & Container
Transit Time
4–7 days to Leixões/Lisbon
Ports
Leixões, Lisbon +1
Starting From
£700
Overview
Portugal attracts many UK expats and retirees who ship their vehicles. The Ship Cars provides regular services to Leixões (Porto) and Lisbon from UK ports.
Shipping Methods
RORO services available to Leixões. Container shipping to Lisbon and Leixões.
Shared Container Shipping to Portugal
For enclosed protection at a fraction of the cost of a dedicated container, our shared container shipping service consolidates two to four UK vehicles bound for Portugal into a single sealed 40ft high-cube container. Typically 25–35% cheaper than a dedicated container, with marine all-risks insurance, professional racking and personal-effects allowance included. See the full shared container shipping page for routes, prices and sailing schedules to Portugal.
Explore shared container shippingTransit Time
4–7 days to Leixões/Lisbon from Southampton.
Import Regulations
EU import regulations apply post-Brexit. Import duty 10% plus 23% IVA (Portuguese VAT). Additionally, ISV (Imposto sobre Veículos) tax applies based on engine size, CO2 emissions, and vehicle age. Vehicles must pass IPO inspection.
Documents Required
- V5C registration
- Passport
- NIF (Portuguese tax number)
- Commercial invoice
- Bill of Lading
- Certificate of Conformity
Costs & Fees
RORO from £700–£1,100. Container from £1,200–£1,800. Import duty 10%. IVA 23%. ISV varies significantly by vehicle.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is ISV tax in Portugal?
How long does it take to ship a car from the UK to Portugal?
Which UK ports do you ship from to Portugal?
What documents do I need to ship a car to Portugal?
What shipping methods are available from the UK to Portugal?
How much does it cost to ship a car from the UK to Portugal?
Shared Container Shipping to Portugal — FAQs
Common questions about shared container shipping to Portugal from the United Kingdom.
Do you offer shared container shipping to Portugal?
How much cheaper is shared container shipping to Portugal than a dedicated container?
Can I put personal effects in the car when shipping to Portugal by shared container?
Available Ports
Why ship a car to Portugal from the UK
The Ship Cars is a specialist UK vehicle export company moving cars, SUVs, classics, motorbikes and light commercials to Portugal every month. Post-Brexit Europe is still the lowest-friction export market for British-registered vehicles, with weekly RORO frequency, mature customs brokerage and predictable inland trucking once the vehicle clears the destination port. Typical clients on this lane include EU-based dealers sourcing British stock, alongside private owners relocating to Portugal and returning residents importing a personal vehicle. Our UK-to-Portugal corridor is engineered around predictable transit, transparent pricing and full compliance with Portugal customs.
Vehicles depart from Bristol (Portbury), Felixstowe, Southampton and arrive at Leixões, Lisbon, Setúbal via direct Atlantic and Mediterranean calls. Typical door-to-port turnaround is 4–7 days to leixões/lisbon from southampton, supported by marine all-risks insurance, GPS-tracked UK collection and bonded warehousing where required. For an instant indication of cost, use our car shipping cost calculator or request a tailored quote on our quote page.
How UK to Portugal car shipping works
Every shipment to Portugal follows the same six-step pipeline: free quotation, UK collection or self-drop at Bristol (Portbury), bonded UK warehousing and pre-shipment photos, HMRC NOVA / C88 export clearance handled by our UK customs clearance team, ocean transit to Leixões (and onward feeder to Lisbon where required), and destination customs handover. You choose the shipping mode that best matches the vehicle profile and budget — see the full breakdown on our car shipping costs page or compare live RORO sailing dates to Portugal.
RORO to Portugal
Roll-on/Roll-off is the lowest-cost method for running, road-legal vehicles bound for Portugal. Drive-on at the UK port, drive-off at Leixões. RORO shipping to Portugal — check the weekly RORO schedule.
Container to Portugal
20ft sole-use or 40ft dedicated containers give classic, high-value, modified or non-running vehicles fully enclosed protection on the route to Lisbon. Dedicated container shipping to Portugal.
Shared container to Portugal
Two to four UK vehicles consolidated into a sealed 40ft container — typically 25–35% cheaper than a sole-use container. Shared container shipping to Portugal — get a shared container cost estimate.
Portugal ports, routing and transit
Vehicles bound for Portugal are typically routed through Leixões as the lead discharge port, with Lisbon, Setúbal available as alternatives depending on sailing schedule and onward inland transport. We schedule loads to match weekly RORO sailing schedules to Portugal and consolidated shared container departures from the UK. For sole-use loads we book 20ft and 40ft container slots on the same rotation.
- Port of Leixões
- Port of Lisbon
- Port of Setúbal
- UK departure: Southampton
- UK departure: Tilbury
- UK departure: Bristol (Portbury)
Portugal import duty, VAT and customs in 2026
Importing a vehicle into Portugal is regulated and document-driven. The headline framework is summarised below; our team verifies every figure against the latest Portugal customs schedule before quoting.
- EU type approval and Certificate of Conformity (CoC)
- Post-Brexit 10% import duty and country-specific VAT (TVA, IVA, MwSt, BTW)
- National roadworthiness inspections (ITV, contrôle technique, TÜV, APK, IPO)
- Re-registration with local plates and CO2-based road tax
Document checklist for Portugal
- V5C registration
- Passport
- NIF (Portuguese tax number)
- Commercial invoice
- Bill of Lading
- Certificate of Conformity
For full country-specific customs rules, see our Portugal import guides and articles, our UK and Portugal customs clearance service, or use the duty-inclusive cost calculator for a landed estimate to Leixões.
Who ships to Portugal
- • Returning Portugal residents and dual nationals
- • UK expats relocating to Portugal
- • Europe car dealers and Portugal re-exporters
- • Private collectors and classic-car enthusiasts
- • Diplomatic missions and corporate fleets
- • Online auction buyers (Copart, BCA, Manheim)
Vehicles we ship to Portugal
- • Saloons, hatchbacks and family cars
- • SUVs, 4x4s and pickups (Land Rover, Range Rover, Toyota, Nissan)
- • Luxury and executive vehicles (Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi)
- • Performance and supercars (McLaren, Aston Martin, Porsche, Ferrari)
- • Classic and historic vehicles (pre-1990 with HMRC NOVA exemption)
- • Motorbikes, scooters and quad bikes
- • Vans, light commercials and motorhomes
- • Electric and hybrid vehicles (EV battery documentation supported)
Why exporters choose The Ship Cars for Portugal
• Specialist UK-to-Portugal corridor with weekly capacity
• Marine all-risks insurance and bonded UK warehousing
• HMRC NOVA, C88, EORI and DVLA V5C export handled in-house
• Transparent UK to Portugal pricing with no hidden destination fees
• Direct relationships with Leixões agents
• Dedicated account manager from booking to delivery
Related services and tools for shipping to Portugal
Shipping methods
Pricing & schedules
Guides & comparisons
Other Europe destinations from the UK
We ship to 8+ other Europe countries from the UK on the same trade lanes as Portugal. Many customers shipping to Portugal also enquire about Spain, France because routing, customs documentation and transit windows overlap.
Get an instant quote for car shipping to Portugal
Our Portugal corridor team responds through the online quote form. We confirm port pairing, container slot and indicative duty in a single reply.