Bringing a car from Greece to Switzerland

When your car comes in tax-free

Your car counts as personal belongings, with no automobile tax and no VAT, when all of these are true:

1. 01

   You used the car yourself abroad for at least 6 months before the move.

2. 02

   You keep using it yourself in Switzerland. A car you bring in to sell is not personal belongings.

3. 03

   You import it in connection with the move, at the latest 2 years after it.

4. 04

   You declare it the first time you cross the border, at a staffed customs office, using form 18.44.

5. 05

   You register it with Swiss plates within 12 months of the move.

This also applies to Swiss citizens returning after at least a year in Greece.

Customs Ordinance, Art. 14 (German) · Swiss customs: moving with vehicles (German)

What moving with your car costs

A car you have been driving in Greece for years, with customs clearance, registration and the deregistration in Greece by us:

Your canton’s fees for the inspection, registration document and plates come on top, and transport if you don’t drive yourself. The moving calculator checks with your dates whether your car qualifies.

Is there a CO2 penalty?

Only if the car counts as new in Switzerland. A car first registered in Greece more than 12 months ago does not count as new. Nor does one registered more than 6 months ago with at least 5,000 km on the clock. For newer cars the calculator works out the penalty: in 2026, every gram above the target costs CHF 95. Source

Deregistering in Greece: we handle it

The car has to be finally deregistered in Greece (οριστική διαγραφή λόγω εξαγωγής). Until then it stays in the Greek vehicle register, and Greek road tax (τέλη κυκλοφορίας) can keep running. We take care of it together with the registration in Switzerland. The Greek registration tax is not refunded: only cars that were never registered in Greece get it back.

What we need from you

• the Greek registration certificate (άδεια κυκλοφορίας)
• the Greek number plates
• a certificate from your Greek tax office (ΔΟΥ) that no road tax is owed
• an authorisation for us, the signature certified at the Greek consulate, or a notarial power of attorney

Switzerland is not in the EU, so the deregistration is only complete with the Greek customs export confirmation (IE599) and a copy of the Swiss registration certificate with an official translation. The Greek fee is EUR 0. The deregistration costs CHF 150 with us, a fixed price.

Region of Crete: final deregistration for export (in Greek)

How does the car get to Switzerland?

Drive it yourself, or our transport partner collects it anywhere on the Greek mainland. It goes to the nearer port, Patras or Igoumenitsa, by ferry to Ancona and on to you in Switzerland. The calculator shows the price as soon as you enter the postcodes. If you drive, you drive on your Greek plates: Greek export plates only exist for cars that are not registered in Greece. From the islands, we quote transport individually.

Registering in Switzerland

With the inspection report 13.20 A, the car is inspected at the cantonal road traffic office (the MFK). Ask for the EU certificate of conformity (CoC): with it the inspection is cheaper in many cantons. You then receive the registration document and Swiss plates. Each canton sets its own fees and deadlines.

Rates checked on 8 October 2026. All figures are estimates without guarantee. What you actually pay is set by Swiss customs (BAZG) and your cantonal road traffic office.