DOCUMENTATION: PERSONAL & VEHICLE

SITUATION AS OF 2010

Home Affairs

Need a ‘care of’ address for postage etc. if renting out house and a reliable friend/relative, regardless, to take care of post and issues arising and to deal with any other ‘problems’.

We rented out our house and went for a full management package to take care of any arising problems.

Wills

Always a sensible thing to have. We left a simple document outlining what to do with us should the worst happen out in Africa!

Documentation - General

Copy all documents and store electronically on computer, USB stick and secure website, if available, or internet email provider. Cloud Storage now makes such matters a lot more simple and easy for files to be accessed from any computer and ensures a master copy. Paper hardcopies, several, of important documents should be stashed in various places within the vehicle. Leave a USB stick or similar with all documents thereon back in the UK.

Personal Travel Insurance

Specialist 1 year insurance required as most ‘ordinary’ policies only cover 90 days including the one through my previous employer. Got ours via the internet and went with Campbell Irvine and got a very reasonable single trip package for about £350 each, giving us 12 months worldwide cover (but excluding USA). Take contact details in case you need to make a claim or arrangements etc.

Medical printout

We obtained a printout from our doctor of our medical history that we could produce as required should we, for example, end up in hospital. We never did.

Prescribed Drugs

Take proof of legitimate use.

Passports

Make sure your passport expires at least 6 months after the end of your trip; this requirement varies from country to country but 6 months seems to be the longest requirement in the region. Have plenty of spare pages; some officials like to have their own clean page to stamp and some countries have large visa certificates that take up a whole passport page. If your passport is relatively full before you go probably best to renew early.

It is possible have a second passport issued in exceptional circumstances, for example visiting between countries with restricted travel. If you can get a second it would be handy as a spare.

Proof of wealth

It is a condition of entry of most, if not all countries that you are entering for a legitimate purpose (holidaying for example with a return flight) and are able to support yourself. We took a copy of our premium bond certificate on the basis we would be unable to produce a recent paper bank statement. However, the one and only time we had to prove our wealth (Home Affairs Office in South Africa) the premium bond certificate was greeted with a blank face but the production of a credit or debit card was sufficient in any event.

Air Flights

As a one-way flight was nearly as much as a return, opted for what we thought was an ‘open-ended’ ticket. This had a nominal return date of the 28th October 2009; not sure where this date came from but would have been about 10 months after we booked the tickets and 8½ months after we flew. We were advised this could be extended for a fee; British Airways was the cheapest at £50 each. When we came to extend the tickets with BA in South Africa it transpired there was an absolute maximum extension of 12 months from the date of the out-bound flight: this was when we intended returning anyway but could have come unstuck had we planned a later return date. In addition to the £50 each for the extension we also had to pay an unexpected £24 each for the re-issue of the tickets. Whilst we were able to extend the tickets over the phone without pre-payment and pay on departure this meant we couldn’t check in on-line. There was a complex bank transfer procedure but we opted to pay at an airport with a BA desk prior to departure date.

Most countries expect proof of an intention to leave the country rather than become a permanent resident and this is usually evidenced in the form of a return ticket.

Carnet de Passage en Douane

A virtually essential travel document for the vehicle allowing temporary duty free import into countries rather than paying a deposit against import duties; keep very secure. Make sure the customs official completes the individual sheet correctly as not all, especially at the quieter crossings, are au fait with carnets and the procedures. Some of the countries visited were part of the southern African union (RSA; Swaziland; Lesotho; Botswana; and Namibia) that in theory meant there was no need for it to be stamped between these countries, but even so it was very hit and miss.

Costs involved in getting a carnet are large and vary according to the nominal import duty charged by the country against the vehicle’s worth. Almost all the African countries have 150% import duties (e.g. a £10,000 vehicle will attract a £15,000 import duty) but Kenya is 200% and Egypt a massive 800%.

There are various methods of providing security: bank guarantee; insurance indemnity; or cash deposit and most of the costs involved are refunded once the correctly completed carnet is returned to the issuer. We opted for the insurance indemnity as it required a lot less up-front cash.

The carnet is valid for a 12 month period but can easily be extended. As it happened our vehicle remained in South Africa beyond its 12 months with the shipping agent but he arranged with the South African customs to get it extended without problem. The carnet is a complex document; the UK issuing authority is the RAC and they are very helpful – full details on their website.

Should you not be the vehicle owner you will need a letter of authority from the owner giving all drivers permission to have the vehicle.

UK Vehicle Insurance

Normally not valid for foreign travel to Africa: we cancelled ours as of the date of delivery to shipping agent. Probably possible to arrange cover, but no doubt at a cost. Minimum legal cover is provided in each country we visited by various methods. Knew we would have no cover for own fault damage, theft (a very real risk), and fire; also little chance of making a successful third party claim against an at-fault driver. This was accepted as a risk associated with the trip and if for example, the vehicle was hijacked that would be the end of the adventure. As it happens we had no accidents or mishaps but could be a distinct possibility, judging by the manner of driving of some drivers.

UK Test (MoT) Certificate

Not valid abroad (outside EU) and no means of renewing it so we let ours just lapse.

UK Vehicle Tax

Taking the vehicle abroad for more than 12 months is considered permanent export and the DVLA require notification. For periods of less than 12 months – we SORNed (Statutory Off-road Notification) our vehicle from the date of delivery to the shipping agent and got a refund on the remaining months. It is possible to renew tax abroad but current insurance and MoT are required and seems to be unnecessary apart from making return easier.

There is much official confusion regarding the situation regarding SORNing (apparently vehicle should be in UK) and if out of UK for more than 12 months. You are advised to make your own enquiries - at least you will know the pitfalls! 

Vehicle Registration Document V5C

Take original and various copies.

Documentation on returning to the UK 

Assuming the above documents have expired on return to the UK the problem of transporting from the shipping agent to home arises. Insurance can be obtained to cover the journey and it is possible to drive without MOT and Vehicle Tax but only if the journey is directly to and from a pre-arranged MOT. We opted to have ours delivered by vehicle transporter, at a cost obviously, as we knew the vehicle would be off the road for a while whilst it was prepared for its MoT and we still had the oil in the coolant problem.

UK Driving licence

You will need a valid photo licence covering the period of the trip; renew prior to leaving should it have an expiry date during the trip. Photo licences are valid for ten years only even though entitlement to drive is until the age of 70.

International Driving Permit

Obtainable from the RAC costs £5.50 for each one; you can have more than one. A very handy document for production at the numerous African police checks and means that if unlawfully seized you still hold a valid UK licence or spare IDP to continue. Document never queried at any police check. Zanzibar does not accept domestic licences and you will need a Zanzibar permit or International Driving Permit.