Car and driving licence on Zanzibar: the temporary permit and bringing a car

May your car come duty free?

Yes, if you are coming to live in Tanzania for the first time. The Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA), the tax and customs authority for all of Tanzania, then grants an exemption for one car. The conditions:

• The car is less than eight years old, counted from the year of manufacture.
• The engine capacity is at most 3000 cc.
• You have owned it for at least twelve months and used it outside Tanzania; the sea voyage does not count.
• It is not a bus or minibus with more than 13 seats, and not a goods vehicle above 2 tonnes.
• You are 18 years or older.

At customs you show the registration certificate and the insurance certificate from the Netherlands. The declaration is made by a licensed agent in TANCIS, the customs system that according to the TRA covers both the mainland and Zanzibar, preferably 7 days before arrival.

Duty free at the TRA does not mean the car costs nothing. Zanzibar regulations from 2015 mention a separate levy of 5 % of the value on cars entering Zanzibar, including from the mainland. Whether that still applies in 2026, we could not check. Nor what an older car costs in import duty and excise. Ask a licensed agent for a written quote before shipping.

How does your car get a Zanzibar plate?

Zanzibar registers cars itself, under the Road Transport Act of 2003. The mainland fees on the TRA website therefore do not apply on the island. The Zanzibar regulations of 2026 mention TZS 35,000 for the inspection of a private car. What the registration itself costs, we could not read. Ask the ZRA.

What do you arrange in the Netherlands?

At the RDW you register the car for export. Among other things you receive an export certificate, which you need to register the car on Zanzibar. After that you may drive in the Netherlands for another 14 days with export plates. The RDW warns: only deregister the car once you know which documents the destination country asks for.

For your household goods you file an export declaration with Dutch Customs; cars sometimes come with extra rules. You only get the bpm back if the car is permanently registered in an EU or EEA country. That does not apply to Tanzania.

Do not let your Dutch licence expire. You can renew it from abroad if you live outside the EU, are no longer registered in the Netherlands and give a correspondence address in the Netherlands. It costs € 36.40, and the RDW assesses the application within 10 working days.

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 4 of 5 of the journey: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Zanzibar or look inside the open plan first.