Car and driving licence in Singapore: why you leave the car at home and convert the licence after a year
A used car may only enter Singapore if it is less than three years old, and then you pay 9% GST, 20% excise duty, a registration tax of 100 to 320% of the value and a Certificate of Entitlement for ten years. The Netherlands refunds no bpm on export outside the EU. Your Dutch driving licence is valid the first year with an international driving permit; after that you must convert it after the Basic Theory Test.
Taking your car to Singapore is possible, in theory. In practice hardly anyone does it, and the Land Transport Authority explains why in a few lines: a used car may only enter if it is less than three years old, and then you pay 9% GST on the import value, 20% excise duty, a registration tax of 100 to 320% of that same value and a Certificate of Entitlement that gives you the right to own a car for ten years. The Netherlands refunds no bpm on export to Singapore. The driving licence is the simpler part: your Dutch licence is valid the first year alongside an international driving permit, after that you convert it.
What does importing a car cost?
Everything revolves around the Open Market Value, the import value set by Singapore Customs: purchase price plus freight, insurance and incidental charges. The LTA works it out itself with a car of S$ 100,000 plus S$ 1,000 freight and insurance: OMV S$ 101,000, excise duty 20% of that, S$ 20,200. Then the rest comes on top.
| Item at import and registration | What the LTA names |
|---|---|
| GST to Singapore Customs | 9% on the total import cost including duties |
| Excise duty | 20% of the OMV |
| Registration fee | S$ 350 |
| Additional Registration Fee (ARF) | 100% on the first S$ 20,000 of OMV, 140% on the next S$ 20,000, 190% on the next S$ 20,000, up to 320% above S$ 80,000 |
| Certificate of Entitlement (COE) | via a bidding exercise, valid 10 years |
| Road tax, per half year | on engine capacity: for 1,600 to 3,000 cc [S$ 475 + S$ 0.75 × (cc − 1,600)] × 0.782 |
The ARF is the item that changes everything: on an OMV of S$ 40,000 it is already S$ 48,000, on top of the car itself. Whoever deregisters the car within ten years gets part of the ARF paid back as a PARF rebate, declining with the age of the car.
What is the Certificate of Entitlement?
The COE is the right to own and use a car for ten years, and without a COE you cannot register a car. The LTA issues them through two bidding exercises a month, usually from the first and third Monday, in five categories; an ordinary car falls in category A (up to 1,600 cc and 97 kW) or B (above that). As an individual you bid via a DBS or POSB ATM, with a bank account in your name and your FIN card, and pay a deposit and an administration fee per bid. The price is the outcome of the auction and is not fixed; the LTA publishes the results per exercise. After ten years you choose: deregister, or renew the COE at the average of the past three months.
The Netherlands refunds no bpm. On the export of a used car the Belastingdienst only refunds bpm if the car is durably registered in an EU member state, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway. Singapore is not among them. Whoever takes the car anyway therefore pays the Singapore levies without the Dutch bpm coming back. Selling in the Netherlands and considering public transport or a used car with a running COE in Singapore is the sum almost everyone does.
How long may you drive on your Dutch licence?
According to the Traffic Police a foreigner who lives in Singapore for less than twelve months does not need to convert their licence, provided they have a valid foreign licence with an international driving permit, or an official English translation if there is none. NederlandWereldwijd puts it more strictly: your Dutch licence is only valid in Singapore with a valid international driving permit. So get that before you leave.
How do you convert the licence?
Whoever lives in Singapore for more than twelve months must, according to the Traffic Police, convert their foreign licence to a Singapore one. There are two conditions: pass the Basic Theory Test in Singapore, and hold a valid foreign licence. A practical test is not required for Employment Pass holders; only Work Permit and S Pass holders get a restricted class 3C and must also take the practical test for a full class 3.
| Document for conversion | Why the Traffic Police asks for it |
|---|---|
| Passport-size photograph | for the card |
| Valid foreign licence, with official translation if not in English | proof that you may drive |
| Proof of one year's residence in the country of issue, six months of it physical | to check that you did not obtain the licence only to convert it |
Passports, employment contracts or tax papers count as proof of that residence. Whether a Dutch licence is accepted without translation, the Traffic Police does not say; expect the request. How your FIN and your address work is in registration and numbers; the order of the first weeks in the first weeks in Singapore.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 4 of 5 of the journey, step 4.5: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Singapore or go straight to step 4.5 in the open plan.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change — when in doubt the source is leading, not this article.
- LTA — importing and registering a vehicle (less than three years old, 9% GST, 20% excise duty) — onemotoring.lta.gov.sg
- LTA — the tax structure at registration (registration fee, ARF, road tax) — onemotoring.lta.gov.sg
- LTA — the Certificate of Entitlement, ten years, two bidding exercises a month — onemotoring.lta.gov.sg
- Singapore Police Force — the Singapore driving licence and converting a foreign licence — police.gov.sg
- Belastingdienst — bpm refund only on export to an EU or EEA country — belastingdienst.nl
- NederlandWereldwijd — travel advice Singapore (licence only valid with an international driving permit) — nederlandwereldwijd.nl
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