The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) has made it harder to keep a foreign-registered car in Zimbabwe on a Temporary Import Permit (TIP) without close oversight. Public Notice Number 60 of 2026, dated 21 October, follows concerns that the permit system was being misused.

The notice does three things. It restates a 30-day limit on each permit, it caps any extension so that a motorist's total stay cannot pass three months, and it spells out documents that some applicants must now produce. It also gives ZIMRA officers more room to probe an application before a permit is issued, especially when the person driving is not the owner named in the registration book.

The rules apply to people ordinarily resident outside Zimbabwe who bring a vehicle in for tourism, business, study, employment, sport or any other lawful purpose. In practice that means two groups: foreign visitors, and Zimbabweans who live and work abroad and drive home.

TIPs are designed for private vehicles. ZIMRA's standing guidance says hired cars and vehicles used in commerce need a separate Commercial Temporary Import Permit, backed by a Commercial Vehicle Guarantee arranged through a Zimbabwean clearing agent. Visitors holding triptyques or carnets do not need a TIP at all.

Every applicant needs a valid passport and the original vehicle registration book, not a copy. If the driver is not the registered owner, the application must also include a letter of authority or a sworn affidavit from the owner.

Zimbabweans residing abroad carry an extra requirement: a work, employment, study or residence permit from the country where they live, so officers can confirm they are genuinely non-resident. ZIMRA's earlier online guidance already listed a host-country permit for Zimbabwean drivers, so for returning citizens the notice appears to firm up an existing requirement rather than create a new one.

Beyond the checklist, officers may carry out additional verification on any application. That discretion matters most where the driver and the owner differ, which is exactly where the original registration book and the authority letter or affidavit come into play. A motorist who arrives without the right paperwork should expect questions and possible delay at the border.

Conditions for permit holders

• The vehicle must stay under the permit holder's control.

• It cannot be sold, abandoned or otherwise disposed of in Zimbabwe without ZIMRA's approval.

• It must leave the country before the permit expires, unless an extension has been granted.

• The holder should not leave Zimbabwe without the vehicle unless this has been arranged in advance with the nearest ZIMRA office.

ZIMRA's earlier visitor guidance adds that a breach can leave the vehicle liable to seizure, that compliance checks can be made after clearance, and that a breakdown or accident must be reported to the nearest ZIMRA office as well as the police. Selling a visitor's vehicle to a Zimbabwean resident requires written authority from ZIMRA's Commissioner General and payment of the full duty that applied when the vehicle came in.

Costs

The notice lists the following charges, in US dollars. The last two apply to motorists crossing at Beitbridge.

The timing is notable. Some Zimbabweans who drive South African-registered cars home have reported being told to pay import duty promptly or take the vehicle back across the border. Many say they came home temporarily to get away from growing anti-migrant sentiment in South Africa and plan to return there.

For these motorists, a 30-day permit, a three-month ceiling and a demand for proof of foreign residence narrow the options. Keeping the car for good means going through ZIMRA's formal importation and local registration process, which its guidance says involves customs clearance, police clearance, proof of residence and a national identity document.