Guides / Caravan or motorhome to Poland · Updated 30 September 2026

Bringing a caravan or motorhome from the UK to Poland

Relocating with your caravan, buying a motorhome in Britain or just towing on holiday: how EU relief, VAT, excise, DVLA export and trailer registration fit together.

This guide is also available in Polish.

Since the UK left the EU, a caravan, motorhome or trailer that crosses from Britain into Poland is a third-country import. That applies whether you are moving house, buying a used unit in the UK or simply towing a caravan on holiday. The rules differ sharply between these situations, so start by working out which one you are in.

Three scenarios, three sets of rules

Relocation. You are moving your normal residence from the UK to Poland and bringing a caravan or motorhome you already own and use. EU relief from import duty may apply.
Purchase. You bought a unit in the UK to keep, sell or register in Poland without moving house. This is a standard import: duty according to the tariff and origin, plus import VAT, with no personal relief.
Trip. You tow a UK-registered caravan to Poland for a holiday and bring it home. The main UK-side question here is trailer registration.

Relief for transfer of normal residence

Council Regulation (EC) No 1186/2009 sets out EU relief from import duty for the personal property of people moving their normal residence into the EU. Its definition of personal property covers household effects and also means of transport, including motor vehicles, trailers and camping caravans. The main conditions are:

you have had your normal residence outside the EU for at least 12 consecutive months;
the caravan or motorhome has been in your possession and used by you for at least 6 months before you move;
it is entered for free circulation within 12 months of you establishing normal residence in the EU;
it is not lent or disposed of for 12 months after the relief is granted.

Polish Ministry of Finance guidance on podatki.gov.pl applies the same framework in Poland. It confirms that relocation property can arrive in more than one consignment within the 12-month window, that motor vehicles must have been registered in the country you are leaving, and that disposing of relieved goods within 12 months of clearance triggers the duty that was waived.

Duty relief is not a blanket tax exemption. The podatki.gov.pl guidance states that VAT and excise are separate obligations, and that passenger cars are subject to excise independently of any customs relief. Check how VAT and excise apply to your specific vehicle with the Polish tax administration before you ship, rather than assuming the whole import will be tax-free.

Evidence you should gather

The Polish guidance lists the kinds of documents used to prove eligibility: purchase invoices, repair receipts and registration documents for the vehicle, plus evidence of your former residence abroad (such as tenancy agreements, utility bills or an employment contract) and evidence that you have established residence in Poland. For a caravan or motorhome, your UK logbook and service or repair history are useful proof of the six-month ownership and use.

Buying a caravan or motorhome in the UK to import

If you are not relocating, none of the personal relief applies. The unit is declared for release for free circulation in the EU and you pay any import duty due under the Common Customs Tariff, together with import VAT. Whether a preferential rate is available depends on the rules of origin under the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, which in turn depends on where the vehicle was built, not where you bought it.

Motorhomes are motor vehicles, so they raise the same issues as a car: classification, origin, VAT, and (for vehicles that fall within the Polish excise rules) excise. If you are comparing options, the process for importing an electric vehicle from the UK to Poland shows how duty, origin and type approval questions interact for a vehicle bought on the British market. A towed caravan is classified differently from a motorhome, so do not assume the same duty rate applies to both.

The UK export side

Leaving the UK also has formalities. If you take a UK-registered vehicle out of the country for 12 months or more, GOV.UK says you must tell DVLA. You complete the permanent export section of the V5C logbook, detach it and send it to DVLA, and keep the rest of the logbook because you will need it to register the vehicle abroad. If you are due a vehicle tax refund, GOV.UK says it usually arrives within 4 to 6 weeks. A personalised registration should be transferred off the vehicle before export, or the right to it is lost.

For goods travelling by road, the export declaration and any T1 transit movement to the Polish office of destination are handled through the usual customs systems. If you are unsure whether you need an agent for this, see do you need a broker.

Towing a caravan to Poland on a trip

For holidays, the key GOV.UK rule concerns trailer registration. Trailers over 750kg must be registered to be driven to or through most European countries; the only exceptions GOV.UK names are Ireland, Cyprus, Malta and Spain, so Poland is covered. A registered trailer needs its own registration plate and a trailer registration certificate that can be shown to a foreign authority on request. Trailers that are not registered may only be used within the UK or between the UK and Ireland.

A caravan taken abroad temporarily and brought back is not being imported for keeps, but keep your ownership documents with you, and remember that personal relief on relocation only works if the conditions above are met.

Registering in Poland

Once customs formalities are complete, a relocated or purchased unit will need to be registered in Poland. We have not reproduced the Polish registration steps here because we could not verify them against an official gov.pl source for this guide. Ask your local vehicle registration office (wydział komunikacji) for the current requirements before you move.

Practical checklist

Decide which scenario you are in: relocation, purchase or trip.
For relocation, check the 12-month residence and 6-month use conditions and collect your evidence.
Plan for VAT and excise separately from customs duty.
Complete the V5C permanent export section and send it to DVLA if you are leaving for good.
Register a trailer over 750kg before towing it into Europe.
Do not sell or lend a relieved unit for 12 months after clearance.

For the cost side of using an agent, see our cost guide.

Related guides

Moving a vehicle from the UK to Poland?

Easy Clearance is a UK–EU customs clearance agency handling import/export declarations, T1/T2 transit and UK–Poland removals.

Read the Easy Clearance vehicle guide

Sources

General information, not legal, tax or customs advice. Rules change; confirm current requirements on gov.uk or with a registered agent before you ship.