Exporting a car from Oman to UAE

[me dicen el siete mares]

Hi all,

I've just accepted an offer to work in the UAE and I want to export my car there from Oman. As a teacher, I must first finish my current contract, take my summer holidays in July/Aug., and then be back in UAE by early September to start the new job. I have a friend (a GCC national who works in UAE law enforcement) who has kindly offered to look after my car in UAE over the summer for me. As such, I will drive it to UAE before leaving Oman this summer, then fly back to Oman, then fly home. Then, in September, upon my arrival in UAE my friend and I will take the car across the border to Sohar and handle the export process once I have my UAE driver's license and residency card. Btw, the car is registered until October 2013 and is fully insured for both Oman and UAE.

My friend insists that this plan is perfectly legal and customary, which might be true for a GCC national. But I guess I still feel a little queasy about a few things that seem like legal limbo. Like, am I really allowed to drive a foreign-registered car in the UAE with a UAE driver's license (or my own U.S. license, for that matter), even if said car is registered in my own name? I assume since I'm American that I'm entitled to cross the border without paying a visa fee in order to do the export paperwork. But I'm concerned as well about what they might say at the airport upon leaving Oman if I've not sold or transferred ownership of a car I bought while holding an Omani residence visa.

Any advice from legal eagles or folks who've been through this or similar would be most welcome.

mdsm

[xchaos777]

You have the process complicated and specific so I don't know how much actual experience you will find here.

I do know someone that just recently moved from Oman to UAE. The car export and registration was simple. They will give you an export plate to drive the car to registration.

In fact, it was easier to export from Oman to UAE than even from Dubai to AD! Now, in Dubai they take the plates and you have to have the vehicle towed to AD....they no longer provide the export plate for this.

[me dicen el siete mares]

Originally Posted by xchaos777

You have the process complicated and specific so I don't know how much actual experience you will find here.

I do know someone that just recently moved from Oman to UAE. The car export and registration was simple. They will give you an export plate to drive the car to registration.

In fact, it was easier to export from Oman to UAE than even from Dubai to AD! Now, in Dubai they take the plates and you have to have the vehicle towed to AD....they no longer provide the export plate for this.

Thanks, xchaos.... I'll actually be re-registering the car in Sharjah... I hope that won't be a whole new can of worms! I've heard little good about that particular Emirate...

The car itself is nothing special... but it is reliable and it is paid for, two things in its favor when considering diving into a murky used-car market in an unfamiliar country.