EU Customs Duty Relief Tranferring Place of Residence

It allows for the granting of relief from the duties that would normally be payable on goods both imported into and exported out of the European Union (EU).

Requirements for Duty Relief

✅ Requirements

1. Transfer of normal residence
   • You must be moving your habitual residence from outside the EU into an EU country.
2. Ownership & use
   • The household goods must have been in your possession and use for at least 6 months before the date you move.
   • They must be for personal use, not for resale.
3. Timing of importation
   • You normally must import the goods within 12 months of officially transferring residence.
4. Continued use
   • You must keep using the goods yourself for at least 12 months after importation — you can’t sell, lend, or give them away during that time.
5. Eligibility
   • Applies to personal belongings, household goods, vehicles, pets, and household supplies.
   • Does not apply to alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, commercial vehicles, or professional equipment (except for portable ones for personal profession use).

📄 Documents usually required

• Proof of residence change (e.g., deregistration certificate from your old country + registration certificate or residence permit in your new EU country).
• Inventory list of personal belongings.
• Proof of ownership/use (e.g., purchase invoices, vehicle registration showing >6 months in your name).
• ID/passport.

🚫 If conditions aren’t met

You may have to pay import duty and VAT on your belongings.

👉 Rules are EU-wide, but each Member State’s customs office may have extra requirements or specific forms.

Generla Relief from Import Duties

Regulation (EC) No 1186/2009 setting up an EU system of reliefs from customs duty. It allows for the granting of relief from the duties that would normally be payable on goods both imported into and exported out of the European Union (EU).

It sets out the cases in which relief from import and export duties and measures adopted on the basis of Article 207 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union is granted when goods are imported into or exported out of the EU.

There are various categories of goods which are eligible for relief from import duties. Subject to certain conditions, goods are free from import duties when they concern the following.

Personal property:

• personal property of people changing their normal place of residence from a non-EU country to an EU Member State, provided that the place of residence had been outside of the EU for at least 12 consecutive months;
• goods imported on the occasion of a marriage, provided that the person concerned has been residing outside of the EU for at least 12 consecutive months and can provide proof of marriage;
• personal property inherited by an EU resident; clothing, study materials and furniture of students coming to study in the EU.

Goods of negligible value, non-commercial goods, capital goods and goods contained in travellers’ personal luggage.

Agricultural, biological, chemical, pharmaceutical and medical products.

Regulation (EC) No 1186/2009 setting up an EU system of reliefs from customs duty

Quotation for a Container

These are the most popular type of container and are used to transport dry goods including machinery, grain, paper and electronics.

The standard ISO dry cargo container is 7.8 feet (2.3 metres) wide and 7.9 feet (2.3 metres) high and comes in two lengths:

20 feet (5.9 metres)

40 feet (12.03 metres)

Others costs: you will have to pay your customs agent and transport to final destination.

Shipping Container Cost Calculator