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Moving to Finland from an EU country
- Finnish Customs does not require an import declaration on your vehicle. Customs duty or value added tax is not required. If your vehicle is new, check the Tax Administration website if you should value added tax levied on new vehicles.
- Submit a declaration of use and car tax to the Tax Administration.
- Be prepared to pay car tax on your vehicle. The Tax Administration provides instructions on car taxation.
- Register you vehicle and take it to vehicle inspection. See instructions on the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency (Traficom) website.
- The car must be declared immediately the first time you bring it in as removal goods to Finland. Be prepared to pay value added tax if the prerequisites for duty-exempt importation of removal goods are not met. More information: Moving to Finland from elsewhere in the EU.
- Submit a declaration of use and car tax to the Tax Administration.
- Be prepared to pay car tax on your vehicle. The Tax Administration provides instructions on car taxation.
- Register you vehicle and take it to vehicle inspection. See instructions on the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency (Traficom) website.
- If you decide to give up a vehicle that you imported as removal goods prior to end of the 12-month prohibition of transfer, you should contact the Customs Information Service regarding the payment of the import duties and taxes.
Moving to Finland from outside the EU
- The car must be declared immediately the first time you bring it in as removal goods to Finland. Be prepared to pay customs duty and value added tax if the prerequisites for duty-exempt importation of removal goods are not met. More information: Moving to Finland from a non-EU country.
- Submit a declaration of use and car tax to the Tax Administration.
- Be prepared to pay car tax on your vehicle. The Tax Administration provides instructions on car taxation.
- Register you vehicle and take it to vehicle inspection. See instructions on the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency (Traficom) website.
- If you decide to give up a vehicle that you imported as removal goods prior to end of the 12-month prohibition of transfer, you should contact the Customs Information Service regarding the payment of the import duties and taxes.
There are restrictions on the import of cars registered in Russia.
Using your car in Finland
You must submit a declaration of use on your car before you start using it in Finland. You can start using your car in Finland when it is under valid registration in an EU or EEA member state or when you have a transfer permit issued by a vehicle inspection office, and a traffic insurance policy effective in Finland.
If the vehicle does not have a valid registration or a transfer permit, the only legal way to transfer the vehicle is by trailer. You are not allowed to even tow the vehicle.
If you need a transfer permit, get it in advance from the vehicle inspection station. To acquire the permit, you need to know the specifications of the vehicle (serial number).
Other things to note
This guidance concerns individuals whose permanent domicile was in Ukraine immediately before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and who have fled the war to the EU territory or to Finland after 24 February 2022.
Using your own car in Finland
Persons fleeing from the war in Ukraine in their own cars can use their cars free of customs duty and tax in Finland for 6 months. No customs duty or VAT has to be paid for the car during this time. This is called temporary admission. The car is also free from car tax for 6 months.
The time limit for the temporary admission begins on the day when the car was brought into the EU territory, for example via Poland, Slovakia, Hungary or Romania.
Example: The car was brought in by driving it to Poland on 1 October 2024 and to Finland on 5 October 2024. The six-month time limit runs out on 30 March 2025.
The time limit for temporary admission can be extended
You can apply for extension of the time limit for temporary admission before the time limit (6 months) has run out. Request the extension from Customs with the customs form ‘Extension of procedure time limits (975e).’ Submit the form to the customs office through which you arrived in Finland. If the extension is granted, you will receive a decision from Customs with the heading “Päätös menettelyn päättämisen määräajan pidentämistä koskevaan hakemukseen” (Decision regarding your application for extension of the time limit for discharging the customs procedure).
You can also apply for extension of a time limit that has already been extended before. Send the new extension request using form 975e to the same customs office that granted you the first extension. The contact details of the customs office can be found in the decision on extension that you received from Customs.
Apply for extension of the period of use exempt from car tax from the Tax Administration
The car tax is paid to the Tax Administration; this means that the extension of the period of use exempt from car tax must be applied for from the Tax Administration. Apply for the extension in good time before the end of the 6-month time limit. Read more on how to apply for an extension of the period of use exempt from car tax on the Tax Administration’s website (in Ukrainian). See also the Tax Administration’s other guidance for individuals who have arrived from Ukraine.
Read more: Tax Administration: Tax-exempt use of a vehicle
Declaring your car as removal goods
You can declare your car as removal goods when you have a residence permit in Finland. No customs duty or VAT has to be paid for a car brought in as removal goods. Proceed in the following way:
Declare the car. You have the following declaration options:
- The form Private persons declaration of removed goods imported from outside the customs and or territory of the EU (1161). Please also read the instructions for completing the form.
- Customs offices with customer service
- You can ask a representative to declare the vehicle on your behalf.
Enclose the following documents with your declaration:
- copy or photo of your passport
- copy or photo of your residence permit
- copy or photo of the vehicle’s documents, such as the registration certificate
- any decision on extending the time limit for temporary admission that Customs may have granted (“Decision regarding your application for extension of the time limit for discharging the customs procedure”)
Customs may also ask you to submit other documents that prove that your permanent domicile was in Ukraine immediately before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
- Submit a declaration of use and a car tax return to the Tax Administration.
- Be prepared to pay car tax for your car. The Tax Administration provides instructions on car taxation.
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Register your car and take it to vehicle inspection. See the guidance on the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency (Traficom) website.