Need help... totally confused about shipping my possessions over for retirement

[OneMoreFarang]

14 hours ago, PadPrikKhing said:

Thanks in advance for any help

Welcome to Thailand! 

[norbra]

I would look for a more receptive remolist / shipping co.

10 years ago I brought my household furnishings from Australia, AUD 3000.

I was in Australia to sign contract and see my stuff loaded on trucks.

The contract stipulated door to door including customs clearances.

3 weeks later all my belongings were on site in Bangkok. No customs issues, I cannot recall having to provide visa details to the shipping co 

[The Hammer2021]

13 hours ago, PadPrikKhing said:

I guess it was a misunderstanding, sorry. I interpreted your reply as being flippant, as if you hadn't really read my post or didn't care to consider what I was saying. I'm stressed out right now because I'm trying to figure out the reality of things from information I'm getting online, which is always tough to do where Thailand is concerned. 

 

"Old pots and pans" was a hyperbolic way of saying I have a lot of kitchen stuff that I did want to bring as long as I was going to ship a pallet. But now I'm beginning to see I'm not going to able to ship a pallet because the conditions for doing that are turning out to be very different from what I thought based on things I've read. In fact here on this very forum I've read where guys said that they brought over whole shipping containers with all their furnitiure, motorcycles, all kinds of stuff and only paid about $2000. I'm being told that for just one pallet it will cost me $3000+ and all it would be is about 14 boxes... no furniture, appliances, nothing like that.

 

I guess I can just dump my kitchen stuff, all my books, and things like that. It'll be painful, but I'm willing to do it. But I do have some very important things to bring over, music-related, and it's not anywhere near a pallet load. And if I'm not going to use a mover/shipper type outfit I need to start over again to find out how I actually would ship those things over and how much duty they're going to hit me with.

Well it can definitely  be done in one way of another.  I would be very careful about guitars as they are delicate. Books- you can get free  digital  versions of them.

Regarding other stuff Thailand is Brilliant  for shopping for modern Western stuff. Have you considered selling/ ebaying stuff. Leaving books with a friend or storage or just biting  the bullet moving everything and forget an retirement  discount.

The alternative is just your music instrument and a few clothes. EVERYTHING you need you can get here. Retirement  is start of a new life perhaps look at your shipping problems in a philosophical light- starting a new life with new stuff excluding instruments

[sanuk711]

2 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Not the same thing!

No-not same thing-- I feel its better if you reside in Asia....which is what he intends to do. 

Where you live you probably have the choice of buying many different printed Books.

 

When I travel I carry about 16--20 books in my pocket, from my motor bike manual--to  a history & Lonely  Planet Book of the route I'm taking.

 

I understand the reluctance to throw away stuff he has accumulated in his life--I felt the same 30 years ago.

 

But paying for shipping around boxes of books---no.............

 

 

[Pib]

OP,

  Ubonjoe's post/link above to Thai Customs gives the correct info....basically for someone like you there is no customs-free shipment of household goods.   The Thai wife and I moved to Thailand in 2008 and the words on that customs sites are pretty much the same now as they were in 2008.  

 

We shipped everything under the Thai wife's name as a returning resident to avoid customs on the 16 larges boxes of junk we couldn't stand to leave behind/sell....around 2,000 pounds.....which was about 1800 pounds of stuff we should not have shipped.   For each box we shipped over each box contained a rough inventory of items enclosed and the estimated "used/personal effects" value.  And each box was labelled as "Used/Second Hand Household Effects" which was buzz words from the Thai Customs website.   

 

Anyway, we pretty much escaped any customs charges except for a Bt3,000 "customary charge" as they called it.  

 

Even in 2008 it was not cheap to ship stuff from the U.S. to Thailand....and of course costs a lot more now.  We used a shipping broker company named "XS Baggage" who brokers with many shipping companies....using XS Baggage was by far the cheapest after making a half dozen of some comparisons with other shipping companies.   Using XS Baggage made the move a lot easier and cheaper.  Here is their web site...still in business: https://xsbaggage.com/

 

Believe me I know it's hard to leave some stuff behind....sell it...give it away....yes, I know very well.  I also know very well after we (i.e., the wife and I) made the move and shipped over a lot of stuff we thought we couldn't live without, bear to give-up, or replace/buy in Thailand that we finally realized we should have shipped over a LOT less as we simply really didn't need to bring over and lot of stuff we did bring over.  Live and learn.   

 

Have a good trip over...try not to stress out too much.

  

 

 

[flexomike]

13 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

This page on the customs website will help you.

http://www.customs.go.th/cont_strc_simple.php?ini_content=individual_F01_160426_01&ini_menu=menu_individual_submenu_02&lang=en&left_menu=menu_individual_submenu_02_160421_01

To get it duty free you have to be working with a work permit.

Or have a Thai wife that has lived in your country 

[PadPrikKhing]

4 hours ago, Pib said:

OP,

  Ubonjoe's post/link above to Thai Customs gives the correct info....basically for someone like you there is no customs-free shipment of household goods.   The Thai wife and I moved to Thailand in 2008 and the words on that customs sites are pretty much the same now as they were in 2008.  

 

We shipped everything under the Thai wife's name as a returning resident to avoid customs on the 16 larges boxes of junk we couldn't stand to leave behind/sell....around 2,000 pounds.....which was about 1800 pounds of stuff we should not have shipped.   For each box we shipped over each box contained a rough inventory of items enclosed and the estimated "used/personal effects" value.  And each box was labelled as "Used/Second Hand Household Effects" which was buzz words from the Thai Customs website.   

 

Anyway, we pretty much escaped any customs charges except for a Bt3,000 "customary charge" as they called it.  

 

Even in 2008 it was not cheap to ship stuff from the U.S. to Thailand....and of course costs a lot more now.  We used a shipping broker company named "XS Baggage" who brokers with many shipping companies....using XS Baggage was by far the cheapest after making a half dozen of some comparisons with other shipping companies.   Using XS Baggage made the move a lot easier and cheaper.  Here is their web site...still in business: https://xsbaggage.com/

 

Believe me I know it's hard to leave some stuff behind....sell it...give it away....yes, I know very well.  I also know very well after we (i.e., the wife and I) made the move and shipped over a lot of stuff we thought we couldn't live without, bear to give-up, or replace/buy in Thailand that we finally realized we should have shipped over a LOT less as we simply really didn't need to bring over and lot of stuff we did bring over.  Live and learn.   

 

Have a good trip over...try not to stress out too much.

  

 

 

Thanks, I guess one big mistake was thinking that I could ship the things over and then they'd wait on hold in customs (if necessary, timing-wise) until I acheived the "retired" status, then I would go pick them up, having a retirement status. But apparently what counts is what your visa status is on the day that the stuff arrives...? Whether I have that right or not, I have come to my senses about shipping heavy stuff like books and kitchen stuff. Now I'm looking at just shipping the vital (music related) things—only about 4 items—via UPS or similar.

[PadPrikKhing]

5 hours ago, sanuk711 said:

No-not same thing-- I feel its better if you reside in Asia....which is what he intends to do. 

Where you live you probably have the choice of buying many different printed Books.

 

When I travel I carry about 16--20 books in my pocket, from my motor bike manual--to  a history & Lonely  Planet Book of the route I'm taking.

 

I understand the reluctance to throw away stuff he has accumulated in his life--I felt the same 30 years ago.

 

But paying for shipping around boxes of books---no.............

 

 

I've gotten over the books thing... finally. Working on getting over the kitchen stuff and other things except the music production gear.

[Pib]

12 hours ago, PadPrikKhing said:

Thanks, I guess one big mistake was thinking that I could ship the things over and then they'd wait on hold in customs (if necessary, timing-wise) until I acheived the "retired" status, then I would go pick them up, having a retirement status. But apparently what counts is what your visa status is on the day that the stuff arrives...? Whether I have that right or not, I have come to my senses about shipping heavy stuff like books and kitchen stuff. Now I'm looking at just shipping the vital (music related) things—only about 4 items—via UPS or similar.

 

The wording at the Customs website has always been somewhat vague/can be interpreted  in different ways as to whether a foreigner coming to Thailand on a long term non immigration visa, like an O or OA Retirement Visa, was allowed X-amount of Customs-free personal effects/household goods.   

 

In one area it states/implies simply having a non immigrant visa would be enough OR, repeat OR if arriving and not having a non immigrant visa yet then having certain docs confirming you will be allowed to work in Thailand is good enough.   See partial quote below and notice where I bolded the OR part.

 

 

Quote

 

 - Nonresidents

                         (1) Nonresidents changing their residence into Thailand must be granted a non-immigrant quota as shown in their passports or Nonresident Identification Cards; OR

                         (2) Nonresidents granted to work in Thailand are regarded as resuming residents in Thailand provided they have a one-year non-immigrant visa issued by the Immigration Department. In case where the non-immigrant visa has not yet been granted, either of the following documents may be accepted"

1. The letter from the Immigration Department certifying that the nonresidents shall be granted an annual temporary stay in Thailand; or
2. .The work permit from the Department of Labor to work in Thailand for no less than one year.

 

 

But then at the bottom of the Customs website it implies a non immigration visa "and" work permit will be needed for nonresidents. See partial quote below

 

Quote

 

Documents required:

1. A draft Import Declaration
2. A passport
3. Nonresidents are required to submit the following documents:
   1. The letter issued by the Immigration Department confirming that an annual temporary stay is granted
   2. A one-year (or more) work permit issued by the Department of Labor
   3. The letter from a relevant government agency confirming that a non-immigrant visa from the Immigration Department is granted and that working period in Thailand is not less than 1 year, for those entering Thailand as an expert, specialist, or under government contracts
4. Thai Residents are required to submit an evidence of changing residence e.g. a transcript, reshuffle of positions, termination of employment contract, etc.
5. A Bill of Lading or air waybill
6. An invoice (if any)
7. A packing list or sale documents (if any)
8. A permit in case of restricted goods
9. An application for duty exemption
10. Other documents e.g. a letter of power of attorney (if any).

 

 

 

And then if a person reviews many ThaiVisa/Aseannow posts over the past decade or more you will see where some foreigners entering Thailand on a long stay non immigrant visa that some got before arriving and some got right after arriving were able to escape any customs charges on shipment of household goods/personal affects....like shipping over a couple hundred or even thousands of pounds....or a whole 20 ft by 20 ft container.  But I think generally the number of folks who posted their experience who "did" get charged customs fee far out-numbered those folks who escaped any customs fees....and then there are some posts where you scratch your head as to if the poster really knew whether he escaped customs or not.

 

As mentioned earlier when the Thai wife and I moved/retired to Thailand from the U.S. we shipped everything under her name...using her Thai passport although see is a dual Thai/US citizen with Thai and US passports.  And even then Thai customs wanted to personally see her current Thai passport and previous/expired Thai passport before releasing the shipment here in Bangkok for final delivery to our Bangkok home versus just accepting the copy of her current Thai passport which was part of the shipping docs.  Then they released the shipment without any additional customs fee other than the one Bt3,000 "customary fee" shown on the receiving agent's invoice before Customs asked to see her Thai passport---we did not contest/ask what this Bt3,000 (about $100) was really for because we were too durn happy to escape any serious customs fees of the thousands of dollars worth of household goods/personal effects we shipped over which even included to electronics gear.   But I expect the fee was what the shipper's receiving agent used on most all shipments to help speed customs clearance.  

 

Good luck in your move....definitely bring over that you simply can't bear to part with as I know certain things, expensive or in-expensive, can carry a lot of sentimental value like I had around 50 pounds of some of my deceased Dad's tools which were passed to him by his Dad....to me they were a family heirloom and by gosh they will remain with me until I die regardless of where I live on planet Earth.    

 

But as I mentioned earlier both the wife and I shipped over stuff we couldn't bear to depart with "before leaving the U.S." (mostly it was stuff the wife couldn't bear to part with).  However, after completing the move to Thailand both of us would quickly say we should have never shipped over certain things because we ended up buying new stuff in Thailand, just didn't really need or use a lot of stuff we did ship over, etc.  Hindsight is a great thing.

 

Good luck on your move....only bring stuff you simply MUST keep for whatever reason.....be it a practical and/or sentimental reason.

 

[Liverpool Lou]

19 hours ago, sanuk711 said:

22 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Not the same thing!

No-not same thing-- I feel its better if you reside in Asia....which is what he intends to do. 

Where you live you probably have the choice of buying many different printed Books.

"Where you live you probably have the choice of buying many different printed Books".

I live in Thailand but what has where I live got to do with it?

[sanuk711]

3 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

I live in Thailand but what has where I live got to do with it?

You live in Thailand ---Really...

 

Well it has a lot to do with it-if you live in BKK as far as book buying is concerned there's some options ---In most parts of Issan your options for English printed books is, what do they have in the 2nd hand book shop this week. (Not a lot since Covid stopped people traveling)

 

So the advent of e-books have been a real bonus, & IMO about the only way to go.

[Liverpool Lou]

15 minutes ago, sanuk711 said:

29 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

I live in Thailand but what has where I live got to do with it?

You live in Thailand ---Really...

Yes, really, that's what I wrote.  why are you so quizical about it?