International Moving Customs Guide

• Passport and, where applicable, visa or residence permit
• Proof of your previous address abroad (lease, utility bills or tax records)
• Proof of your new address in the destination country
• Destination registration or tax number (NIF + Certificado de Bagagem)
• Detailed, valued and signed inventory of everything shipped
• Bill of lading or air waybill

Certificado de Bagagem (Portuguese consulate)

Relief from import duty and 23% import VAT on used household goods is available under the EU transfer-of-residence rules, but it must be applied for — it is not automatic. In Portugal, the filing is handled through Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira.

Jurisdiction-specific: these conditions come from eu customs framework (jurisdiction-specific) and do not apply to other countries.

• Normal residence outside the EU customs territory for at least 12 continuous months before the move (EU Regulation 1186/2009).
• Each item owned and used in your previous household for at least 6 months before export.
• Goods imported within 12 months of establishing normal residence in the destination country.
• Relieved goods not sold, lent, hired out or given away for 12 months after clearance.

• Alcohol and tobacco are excluded from household-goods relief and taxed at national rates.
• Firearms, ammunition and replicas require a national import licence issued before shipping.
• Plants, seeds, soil, and meat or dairy products from outside the EU are generally prohibited in personal effects.
• Solid wood packing and crating must carry the ISPM 15 heat-treatment mark.
• Ivory and protected species items require CITES documentation.

Where relief is granted, used household goods normally enter free of duty and import VAT. Goods that fall outside relief (new purchases, alcohol, tobacco, some vehicles) are assessed at the applicable duty rate plus 23% VAT and any national excise.

Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira is responsible for clearance in Portugal. In practice, the declaration is lodged by your moving company’s destination agent or a licensed customs broker acting for you.

• Get your NIF before shipping — The Número de Identificação Fiscal is issued by Finanças or via a tax representative and is required on every customs document.
• Request the Certificado de Bagagem — Apply at the Portuguese consulate with jurisdiction over your origin address, attaching the packing inventory. Processing typically takes 2–4 weeks.
• Register your Atestado de Residência — The municipal residence certificate from your Junta de Freguesia proves your Portuguese address for the clearance file.
• Keep the goods for 12 months — Imported effects cannot be sold, lent or hired out for 12 months after clearance without repaying duty and VAT.
• Confirm your immigration status and arrival date at destination — most relief schemes are tied to it.
• Prepare a detailed, valued inventory in the destination language where required, signed and dated.
• Photograph high-value items and record serial numbers for both customs and insurance.
• Check whether your destination requires a filing or certificate issued BEFORE the shipment departs.
• Declare alcohol, tobacco, firearms, medication and artwork separately to your moving company.
• Arrange marine or air transit insurance based on declared replacement value.
• Ship pets and vehicles as separate consignments — they never travel in household goods.

• Your appointed moving company or customs broker lodges the import declaration with Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira.
• Ports of entry commonly used: Lisbon, Leixões (Porto), Setúbal.
• Customs may inspect the shipment; inspections and any storage while documents are completed are chargeable.
• Once released, the shipment moves to delivery — keep the cleared declaration for your records.