Hi Phillippe
Welcome to the world of the R4.
If importing from the EU, then everything is fairly straightforward. You need to do the following, copied from the government website, the words within the brackets are my own.
1. How to import a vehicle
You must complete certain steps as soon as you bring a vehicle into the UK permanently.
You can pay an importer or shipping company to do them for you.
- Tell HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) within 14 days that the vehicle has arrived in the UK. (this is called a NOVA declaration and can be done online. You will need to open an online account with HMRC to do it, but that is fairly straightforward. You can be fined if you let it drift beyond the 14 days. If you buy a car already imported make sure that the owner has already done this.)
- Pay VAT and duty if HMRC tells you to. (They will respond and advise, usually immediately, online. It is unlikely that VAT or duty will be payable with a car of the sort of age that an R4 will be)
- Get vehicle approval to show your vehicle meets safety and environmental standards. (this involves getting together the registration documents from the country of origin of the car being imported)
- Register and tax the vehicle with DVLA - they’ll give you a registration number so you can get number plates made up. (You will need to ask for an application pack....not sure that it is available online, send off the forms, with the application fee. DVLA will process your application. They may ask you to take it to a regional centre for inspection, but that just involves someone looking at it and recording the VIN number etc.
Make sure you read the requirements for supporting information carefully. DVLA are very pedantic, and will send it all back if in their view, you don't get it right. Alas there are no longer local offices, so all applications are direct to Swansea. A degree of patience may be required.
Good luck.
Bryan