Can I import a car from South Korea to the UK?

Yes. The vehicle has to be brought in, declared to customs, approved as roadworthy for UK use, and registered with DVLA before it can be driven here — beyond a short period on foreign plates. South Korea drives on the right, so the car is left-hand drive and will need its lighting checked before it will pass an MOT.

Buy and arrange transport; tell HMRC the vehicle has arrived using NOVA within the deadline; pay any duty and VAT that is due; get the vehicle approved for UK use, which usually means an IVA or MSVA test unless it already holds European type approval; then register it with DVLA, who issue a V5C and a plate. An MOT and insurance are needed before it goes on the road.

How much will it cost beyond the purchase price?

Transport, customs duty and VAT where they apply, the approval test, first registration and vehicle tax, an MOT, and any work needed to pass — lighting most often. The tax position depends on where the car comes from, how old it is and whether you are moving to the UK yourself, so check your own circumstances with HMRC rather than assuming.

How long does registration take?

The driving is the fast part. Expect the approval test and the DVLA registration to be the slow steps, especially if the foreign documents need checking. Build in time and do not promise yourself the car for a particular date.

Importing a Car From South Korea to the UK: The Steps in Order

Importing a car from South Korea to the UK is a well-worn route, and the hard part is never the shipping — it is turning a foreign vehicle into a UK-registered one. This is the order to do it in, and where people lose time and money.

Before you buy

Three checks, all of which are cheaper to do now than later.

Confirm the car is clear. No outstanding finance, no outstanding fines, and the seller is the registered keeper. Overseas finance does not show on a UK check.
Get the original registration document. DVLA will want the foreign paperwork, and recovering it after the sale is extremely difficult.
Work out the approval route. A car with European type approval has an easier path than one built for another market. This single question decides how much the import costs you.

Korea drives on the right, so cars are left-hand drive. Domestic-market models often differ in specification from the versions sold here, which matters for parts and for the approval test.

Getting it here

Cars from South Korea usually leave Busan and Incheon and arrive at Southampton and Felixstowe, either on a vehicle deck or sealed in a container.

The usual port pairs. Which one your shipment uses depends on the service you book, not on where you live.

The five steps once it lands

The order matters: DVLA will not register a car that has not cleared customs and approval.

These happen in sequence, not in parallel. The NOVA notification has a deadline measured from arrival, and missing it causes problems that are tedious to unwind, so make it the first thing you do rather than the thing you get round to.

Making it road legal

Because South Korea drives on the right, the headlamps are aimed for right-hand traffic and will dazzle oncoming drivers here. They need adjusting or replacing before an MOT. The rear fog lamp may be on the wrong side, and a speedometer in kilometres needs to be able to show miles per hour.

Driving it back, or having it shipped

For a car already in Europe there is a real choice. Collecting it and driving home is quick, costs little beyond fuel and a crossing, and lets you inspect the car before money changes hands. It also means driving an unfamiliar vehicle on foreign insurance, and you need temporary cover and the foreign plates to be valid for the journey.

A transporter or a container costs more and takes longer, but the car arrives on a lorry rather than on its own tyres. For anything valuable, anything unregistered, or anything you would rather not put a thousand miles on before you own it properly, that is money well spent.

What the approval test looks at

The approval test exists to confirm a vehicle built for another market is safe and legal here. It is not an MOT and it is more searching: lighting, glazing, mirrors, seatbelt anchorages, emissions and the speedometer all get attention, and so does the structure if the car has been modified. A vehicle that already holds European type approval can often skip it; one built for another market almost never can.

The practical consequence is that you should establish the approval route before you buy, not after it lands. It is the difference between a formality and a bill.

What it costs

Beyond the price of the car: transport, customs duty and import VAT where they apply, the approval test, first registration and vehicle tax, an MOT, and any remedial work. The duty and VAT position turns on the car’s origin, its age and your own circumstances — a vehicle of historic interest is treated differently from a modern one, and someone relocating to the UK is treated differently from someone buying a car abroad.

Check your own tax position directly. Rates and reliefs change, and they depend on facts specific to you and the vehicle. Confirm with HMRC and DVLA rather than relying on any figure you read online — including this page, which deliberately quotes none.

Common questions

Can I import a car from South Korea to the UK?: Yes. The vehicle has to be brought in, declared to customs, approved as roadworthy for UK use, and registered with DVLA before it can be driven here — beyond a short period on foreign plates. South Korea drives on the right, so the car is left-hand drive and will need its lighting checked before it will pass an MOT.
What are the steps?: Buy and arrange transport; tell HMRC the vehicle has arrived using NOVA within the deadline; pay any duty and VAT that is due; get the vehicle approved for UK use, which usually means an IVA or MSVA test unless it already holds European type approval; then register it with DVLA, who issue a V5C and a plate. An MOT and insurance are needed before it goes on the road.
How much will it cost beyond the purchase price?: Transport, customs duty and VAT where they apply, the approval test, first registration and vehicle tax, an MOT, and any work needed to pass — lighting most often. The tax position depends on where the car comes from, how old it is and whether you are moving to the UK yourself, so check your own circumstances with HMRC rather than assuming.
How long does registration take?: The driving is the fast part. Expect the approval test and the DVLA registration to be the slow steps, especially if the foreign documents need checking. Build in time and do not promise yourself the car for a particular date.