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ZM

Temporary vehicle import to Zambia

A visa and a vehicle are different law: the person and the car are given their terms by different authorities, and those terms need not match.

Any weight Any plates medium
Maximum term
365
How the term is counted
per entry
Carnet de Passages
Not required
Extension
Not available

ZRA’s general temporary importation rule allows up to 12 months for goods, including vehicles, but tourists are usually issued a free Customs Import Permit (CIP) that is valid only for the length of their immigration stay (often up to 30 days) and must be renewed on re‑entry. Longer stays require a paid Temporary Import Permit (TIP) under the 12‑month framework.

"The maximum period allowed for goods to remain in Zambia under Temporal Importation is twelve (12) months. … The period of all extensions including the initial period shall not exceed 12 months." — Zambia Revenue Authority, Temporary Importations. (This is the general ceiling of the temporary import regime. A separate ZRA page on tourists' vehicles describes processing via the Integrated Border Declaration Form (IBDF) — "used for entry of motor vehicles temporarily imported into Zambia by visitors and tourists for their own use" — but gives no specific period for a tourist vehicle; in practice the border officer sets the period to match the driver's stay. So 12 months is an upper bound, not a guaranteed period.)

Source: www.zra.org.zm

Vehicle import to other countries

AL Albania 180 days DZ Algeria 180 days AG Antigua and Barbuda 180 days AR Argentina 180 days AM Armenia 365 days AU Australia 365 days AT Austria 180 days AZ Azerbaijan 365 days BS Bahamas 183 days BH Bahrain 180 days BD Bangladesh 180 days BB Barbados 90 days BY Belarus 365 days BE Belgium 180 days BJ Benin — BT Bhutan 30 days BA Bih 365 days BO Bolivia 180 days BW Botswana 14 days BR Brazil 730 days BN Brunei 90 days BG Bulgaria 180 days BF Burkina Faso 365 days KH Cambodia 365 days CA Canada 365 days CV Cape Verde 365 days CL Chile 90 days CN China 90 days CO Colombia 90 days CR Costa Rica 90 days HR Croatia 180 days CU Cuba 30 days CY Cyprus 183 days CZ Czech Republic 365 days DK Denmark 180 days DM Dominica 90 days DO Dominican Republic 90 days EC Ecuador 90 days EG Egypt 180 days SV El Salvador 180 days EE Estonia 180 days SZ Eswatini 30 days ET Ethiopia 180 days FI Finland 180 days FR France 180 days GM Gambia 365 days GE Georgia 90 days DE Germany 183 days GH Ghana 90 days GR Greece 180 days GT Guatemala 90 days GW Guinea-Bissau 365 days GY Guyana 90 days HN Honduras 90 days HU Hungary 180 days IS Iceland 365 days IN India 180 days ID Indonesia 60 days IR Iran 90 days IE Ireland 365 days IL Israel 90 days IT Italy 180 days CI Ivory Coast 180 days JM Jamaica 90 days JP Japan 365 days JO Jordan 90 days KZ Kazakhstan 365 days KE Kenya 90 days XK Kosovo 90 days KG Kyrgyzstan 180 days LA Laos 30 days LV Latvia 180 days LB Lebanon 90 days LS Lesotho — LR Liberia 90 days LI Liechtenstein 180 days LT Lithuania 180 days LU Luxembourg 180 days MG Madagascar 365 days MW Malawi 30 days MY Malaysia 90 days ML Mali 180 days MT Malta 180 days MX Mexico 180 days MD Moldova 180 days MC Monaco 180 days MN Mongolia 30 days ME Montenegro 180 days MA Morocco 180 days MZ Mozambique 30 days NA Namibia 90 days NP Nepal 30 days NL Netherlands 180 days NZ New Zealand 365 days NI Nicaragua 30 days NG Nigeria 90 days MK North Macedonia — NCY Northern Cyprus — NO Norway 365 days OM Oman 180 days PK Pakistan 90 days PA Panama 30 days PG Papua New Guinea 180 days PY Paraguay 90 days PE Peru 90 days PL Poland 180 days PT Portugal 183 days QA Qatar 90 days RO Romania 180 days RU Russia 365 days RW Rwanda 15 days SA Saudi Arabia 180 days EU Schengen Area 180 days SN Senegal 10 days RS Serbia 180 days SC Seychelles 12 days SG Singapore 365 days SK Slovakia 180 days SI Slovenia 180 days SB Solomon Islands 120 days ZA South Africa 183 days KR South Korea 365 days SS South Sudan 30 days ES Spain 180 days SD Sudan 30 days SE Sweden 7 days CH Switzerland 180 days SY Syria 120 days TJ Tajikistan 60 days TZ Tanzania 365 days TH Thailand 180 days TG Togo 365 days TO Tonga 120 days TN Tunisia 90 days TR Turkey — TM Turkmenistan — AE UAE 90 days UG Uganda 90 days UA Ukraine 365 days GB United Kingdom 183 days US United States 365 days UY Uruguay 365 days UZ Uzbekistan 90 days VN Vietnam 45 days YE Yemen 90 days ZW Zimbabwe 90 days

Reference data, not legal advice. Rules change without notice — check with the consulate or at the border.

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