UK Car Shipping to French Guiana

Cost of Shipping a Car from the UK to French Guiana (Dégrad des Cannes)

The total cost of shipping depends on the vehicle make, model and most importantly size. We work directly with all shipping lines in the UK to arrange regular and reliable vehicle exports from the UK to French Guiana (Dégrad des Cannes).

Approximate — call for the latest rates. These are indicative shipping rates from our published rate table for Dégrad des Cannes. They move with the market and with the vehicle, and a full export quote covers the UK-side work listed below as well, so treat them as a guide rather than a final price. See the full rate table or ask us for an itemised quote.

What a full export quote covers

• Loading and lashing vehicle into ship
• UK customs export and clearance
• UK port handling charges
• DVLA documentation and export certification
• Export documentation (e.g. Bill of Lading)
• Posting of the Export Documents from UK by UPS/DHL
• Shipping of the vehicle from the UK to Destination Port

Not covered

• Pre-Export Inspection (if required)
• Marine Insurance (container only)
• Collection and/or delivery of the vehicle
• All destination country's import fees

Apart from import duty, taxes, port storage and demurrage at the destination, which the importer always pays, we can add any of these to your quotation, priced separately, along with customs clearance, registration and delivery to your door through a local agent.

Shipping to French Guiana

Dégrad des Cannes, at Rémire-Montjoly near Cayenne, is one of the two sites of the Grand Port Maritime de la Guyane; the other is Pariacabo at Kourou. The port authority calls itself French Guiana's main commercial port and says it handles more than 95% of the territory's imports and exports. It also says the car carrier service from Europe does not land vehicles there straight off the ocean ship. They are unloaded at a Caribbean hub and brought on by a regional feeder ship that calls at Pointe-à-Pitre in Guadeloupe before Dégrad des Cannes. The RoRo sailings on our schedule are transhipped on the way, so allow for the connection when you plan.

For customs, French Guiana is inside the EU customs territory but counts as a third territory for tax, even in its trade with mainland France. A car from the UK is declared on arrival and taxed. The taxes include octroi de mer and regional octroi de mer, which French customs describes as a specific tax on goods arriving in the territory. The importer pays those taxes, whoever makes the declaration. We can arrange customs clearance, registration and delivery to your door through a local agent, quoted separately, or work with an agent of your choice.

Once the car is cleared, customs issues certificate 846 A and the owner registers it through ANTS, the national agency that issues registration certificates, as anywhere in France. Proof of conformity is needed, meaning the manufacturer's European certificate of conformity or an individual approval (réception à titre isolé), plus a contrôle technique from France or the EU under six months old if the car is more than four years old. Right-hand drive is not a bar: in 2007 the French transport ministry told Parliament that French registration cannot legally be refused on that ground.

We work directly with the shipping lines serving French Guiana, delivering to Dégrad des Cannes, and handle the whole UK side for you: sourcing the vehicle, tax-free supply from the selling dealer where the car qualifies, collection, UK customs clearance and export documentation, and loading onto the ship. Sailings leave from Southampton.

Documentation Required for Booking

• Car Registration Document (V5 or Logbook) and Vehicle Invoice (or value).
• ID (one government-issued photo ID and one utility bill showing address).

Payment Terms / Modes

• A £1,000 deposit secures a vehicle we source or buy for you. It is part of the price, not an extra fee. If you cancel, our terms and conditions say what is refunded.
• The balance is due in full, in cleared funds, before the vehicle is loaded, unless your quotation sets out different terms.
• Bank transfer preferred. Card payments up to £5,000, with no fee on personal debit or credit cards.
• Letters of credit, cheques, money orders and cash are not accepted.

Our Other Services

Car Sourcing and Buying on your behalf

Buying and exporting a car to French Guiana doesn't need to be stressful. UK Vehicle Exporters specialises in sourcing and exporting vehicles from the UK, with trusted shipping partners and support at every stage, from choosing the vehicle through to loading it onto the ship.

Tax-Free Vehicle Supply and UK VAT

UK Preferential Origin (Reduced Import Duty)

Some UK-built vehicles may qualify for reduced or zero import duty. That depends on the UK having a trade agreement with the destination country and on the car meeting that agreement's rules of origin. During your quote, we'll confirm whether the vehicle you're interested in qualifies.

VAT-free Supply of VAT-Qualifying (VATQ) Cars

A VAT-registered dealer can sell a new car, or a used car that carries VAT on its full price, free of UK VAT when it is exported and HMRC's conditions are met. Used cars of that kind are known in the trade as VAT-qualifying: typically ex-rental or ex-lease cars, where the hire or leasing company reclaimed the VAT when it bought them. On a VAT-inclusive price, the VAT is one-sixth. A used car sold under the second-hand margin scheme is different: VAT is due only on the dealer's margin, and HMRC does not let a dealer zero-rate it as an ordinary export. We are not VAT registered, so the saving comes off the dealer's price, not as a refund from us. We arrange the export to French Guiana and give the dealer the proof of export it needs.

HMRC's Personal Export Scheme (PES)

The Personal Export Scheme lets overseas visitors and UK residents who are leaving the UK, and will stay outside it with the car for at least six months, buy a car free of VAT and use it here before it is exported. Only VAT-registered businesses can operate the scheme, so you buy from a dealer that runs it. The car must leave within 12 months of delivery for an overseas visitor, or 6 months for a UK resident, or the VAT becomes payable. It can suit anyone relocating to French Guiana: we find a dealer that runs the scheme and ship the car when you are ready. How the scheme works.