Shipping Household Belongings...

[rogerluli]

It seems easier in many ways to acquire the O visa for retirement purposes...But it also seems that only with an O-A visa are you allowed to ship your household belongings to Thailand...

Nonresidents: Nonresidents may import the used/secondhand household effects acquired abroad tax and duty free if such household effects accompanied them in the change of residence and they are qualified under the requirements listed below:

2. Nonresidents resuming residents in Thailand must be granted a non-immigrant quota as shown in a passport or a Nonresident Identification Card; or
3. Note : Nonresidents entering into the Kingdom with a non-immigrant visa "code O" who wish to retire in Thailand or accompany spouses of Thai residents are not qualified for (1)

http://www2.customs.go.th/Customs-Eng/HouseholdEffects/HouseholdEffects.jsp?menuNme=HouseHold

[ThaidDown]

With non immigrant category 'O' or 'O-A' you are not entitled to duty free importation of household goods.

To obtain duty free import of such goods you need a work permit and import the goods within 6 months.

The quote re 'resuming residents' refers to non-quota immigrants, brief description ..

Non-Quota Immigrant

This category includes former residents who have lost their resident
status but who have reapplied to resume their residency and who have
been able to demonstrate a convincing reason to support the granting of
this type of visa.

Members of the diplomatic or consular corps, aliens coming to perform
their duties in Thailand with the approval of the Thai government,
aliens performing their duties in Thailand under an agreement between
the Thai government and a foreign government, heads of international
organizations or agencies operating in Thailand, and dependants of all
the aforementioned persons, including private servants of members of the
diplomatic corps, are exempted by the Act from the normal visa
requirements.

This would not apply to you.

edit...changed 'returning' to resuming

Edited June 6, 2013 by ThaidDown

[rogerluli]

Thanks very much...Somewhere along the line that seems to have been changed but it's perfectly clear now...

[avander]

With non immigrant category 'O' or 'O-A' you are not entitled to duty free importation of household goods.

To obtain duty free import of such goods you need a work permit and import the goods within 6 months.

The quote re 'resuming residents' refers to non-quota immigrants, brief description ..

Non-Quota Immigrant

This category includes former residents who have lost their resident

status but who have reapplied to resume their residency and who have

been able to demonstrate a convincing reason to support the granting of

this type of visa.

Members of the diplomatic or consular corps, aliens coming to perform

their duties in Thailand with the approval of the Thai government,

aliens performing their duties in Thailand under an agreement between

the Thai government and a foreign government, heads of internationalorganizations or agencies operating in Thailand, and dependants of all

the aforementioned persons, including private servants of members of the

diplomatic corps, are exempted by the Act from the normal visa

requirements.

This would not apply to you.

edit...changed 'returning' to resuming

I am moving to Thailand from Australia later this year with my Thai wife and kids,

As far as I have been lead to believe we can ship our household effects under my wife's name and as we have been married a while and she is a Thai national duty will not be charged...on used items.

My wife has researched this from her contacts in Thailand and I have been told by two removal firms. I hope that is enough research?

[rogerluli]

One expects that even paying duty on a load of normal used household goods, like clothing, books, furnishings and kitchen/dining stuff, would not be very expensive...

[Mario2008]

With non immigrant category 'O' or 'O-A' you are not entitled to duty free importation of household goods.

To obtain duty free import of such goods you need a work permit and import the goods within 6 months.

The quote re 'resuming residents' refers to non-quota immigrants, brief description ..

Non-Quota Immigrant

This category includes former residents who have lost their resident

status but who have reapplied to resume their residency and who have

been able to demonstrate a convincing reason to support the granting of

this type of visa.

Members of the diplomatic or consular corps, aliens coming to perform

their duties in Thailand with the approval of the Thai government,

aliens performing their duties in Thailand under an agreement between

the Thai government and a foreign government, heads of internationalorganizations or agencies operating in Thailand, and dependants of all

the aforementioned persons, including private servants of members of the

diplomatic corps, are exempted by the Act from the normal visa

requirements.

This would not apply to you.

edit...changed 'returning' to resuming

I am moving to Thailand from Australia later this year with my Thai wife and kids,

As far as I have been lead to believe we can ship our household effects under my wife's name and as we have been married a while and she is a Thai national duty will not be charged...on used items.

My wife has researched this from her contacts in Thailand and I have been told by two removal firms. I hope that is enough research?

A returning Thai national can import duty free.

[Mario2008]

One expects that even paying duty on a load of normal used household goods, like clothing, books, furnishings and kitchen/dining stuff, would not be very expensive...

Use an agent. Normally they will negotiate a favorable fee for you.

[avander]

Thanks Mario,

Confirms the research we've done.

Cheers

Sent from my GT-I9305T using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Jasun]

With non immigrant category 'O' or 'O-A' you are not entitled to duty free importation of household goods.

To obtain duty free import of such goods you need a work permit and import the goods within 6 months.

The quote re 'resuming residents' refers to non-quota immigrants, brief description ..

Non-Quota Immigrant

This category includes former residents who have lost their resident

status but who have reapplied to resume their residency and who have

been able to demonstrate a convincing reason to support the granting of

this type of visa.

Members of the diplomatic or consular corps, aliens coming to perform

their duties in Thailand with the approval of the Thai government,

aliens performing their duties in Thailand under an agreement between

the Thai government and a foreign government, heads of internationalorganizations or agencies operating in Thailand, and dependants of all

the aforementioned persons, including private servants of members of the

diplomatic corps, are exempted by the Act from the normal visa

requirements.

This would not apply to you.

edit...changed 'returning' to resuming

I am moving to Thailand from Australia later this year with my Thai wife and kids,

As far as I have been lead to believe we can ship our household effects under my wife's name and as we have been married a while and she is a Thai national duty will not be charged...on used items.

My wife has researched this from her contacts in Thailand and I have been told by two removal firms. I hope that is enough research?

Correct. But duty free limits on things like alcohol and tobacco still apply.

[happynthailand]

if married to a thai (living out of country) ship item in her name( we used 2 60 foot containers) make a list of things in the containers,

shipping company will tell you when the box's get here,take the list of stuff in each box( 3 copy of each) wife's passport(3 copy's + copy's of visa pages)

you unload them at the shipping company(custom's will inspect the items) which is a big pain(tea money for customs,and unloaders/loaders) have to rent trucks+ drivers

or you can pay a deposit of 50,000B on each container,you will get your deposit back when the containers are returnrd to the shipping co.

they will bring the containers right to your house for unloading

customs will not inspect the containers,still had the seals that were put on it the states

took 3 weeks for the containers to get here from the states

each container will hold 90,000 lbs max or less same price

oh yea no duty was paid

Edited June 7, 2013 by happynthailand

[MichaelJohn]

I believe a returning Thai national can only obtain duty free imports if they've been out the country for 12+ months and have the passport stamps to prove the fact.

[Markaew]

One expects that even paying duty on a load of normal used household goods, like clothing, books, furnishings and kitchen/dining stuff, would not be very expensive...

It depends on what you call expensive. I had 3 boxes 24"x24" shipped via UPS and the Thai officer claimed I intended to sell the contents and I needed to pay a tax as if I had just bought all the goods. They were just common household items. Nothing was new. The wife tried to explain I was moving here but the officer would have nothing to do with it. She wanted 10K baht but after I said you can keep the boxes for that much money she came down to 5K.

Personally, I thought that was ridiculous.

Edited June 8, 2013 by Markaew

[simple1]

With non immigrant category 'O' or 'O-A' you are not entitled to duty free importation of household goods.

To obtain duty free import of such goods you need a work permit and import the goods within 6 months.

The quote re 'resuming residents' refers to non-quota immigrants, brief description ..

Non-Quota Immigrant

This category includes former residents who have lost their resident

status but who have reapplied to resume their residency and who have

been able to demonstrate a convincing reason to support the granting of

this type of visa.

Members of the diplomatic or consular corps, aliens coming to perform

their duties in Thailand with the approval of the Thai government,

aliens performing their duties in Thailand under an agreement between

the Thai government and a foreign government, heads of internationalorganizations or agencies operating in Thailand, and dependants of all

the aforementioned persons, including private servants of members of the

diplomatic corps, are exempted by the Act from the normal visa

requirements.

This would not apply to you.

edit...changed 'returning' to resuming

I am moving to Thailand from Australia later this year with my Thai wife and kids,

As far as I have been lead to believe we can ship our household effects under my wife's name and as we have been married a while and she is a Thai national duty will not be charged...on used items.

My wife has researched this from her contacts in Thailand and I have been told by two removal firms. I hope that is enough research?

Yes it's correct, but for the detail go to:

http://www.customs.go.th/wps/wcm/connect/custen/individuals/importing+used+or+secondhand+household+effects/importingusedsecondhandhouseholdeffects+

In Australia I used Conway Removals who have a reciprocal agreement for customs clearance in Thailand with Asian Tigers and delivery to your residence, strongly recommend you check them out

Edited June 8, 2013 by simple1

[rogerluli]

One expects that even paying duty on a load of normal used household goods, like clothing, books, furnishings and kitchen/dining stuff, would not be very expensive...

It depends on what you call expensive. I had 3 boxes 24"x24" shipped via UPS and the Thai officer claimed I intended to sell the contents and I needed to pay a tax as if I had just bought all the goods. They were just common household items. Nothing was new. The wife tried to explain I was moving here but the officer would have nothing to do with it. She wanted 10K baht but after I said you can keep the boxes for that much money she came down to 5K.

Personally, I thought that was ridiculous.

You probably would have done better following Mario's advice and used a shipping agent rather than free lancing...It's certainly what we'll do if we decide to ship...

[soihok]

We have brought some of our electrical goods, desk tops etc, back via an agent when we return to Thailand some years ago. All in my Thai wifes name, otherwise there is duty to pay. She has had to be overseas for 12 months +, this was a requirement by the agent, had to produce her passport.

After doing all this, I can honestly say its all not worth the hassle. Better to leave / sell the stuff behind and buy again in Thailand.

Did consider registering my bikes in my wifes name so can avoid the import tax when bringing them into the country (when we are overseas), but then again. Its all unnecessary hassle. Just can't be bothered with it any more.

[avander]

With non immigrant category 'O' or 'O-A' you are not entitled to duty free importation of household goods.

To obtain duty free import of such goods you need a work permit and import the goods within 6 months.

The quote re 'resuming residents' refers to non-quota immigrants, brief description ..

Non-Quota ImmigrantThis category includes former residents who have lost their resident

status but who have reapplied to resume their residency and who have

been able to demonstrate a convincing reason to support the granting of

this type of visa.Members of the diplomatic or consular corps, aliens coming to perform

their duties in Thailand with the approval of the Thai government,

aliens performing their duties in Thailand under an agreement between

the Thai government and a foreign government, heads of internationalorganizations or agencies operating in Thailand, and dependants of all

the aforementioned persons, including private servants of members of the

diplomatic corps, are exempted by the Act from the normal visa

requirements.

This would not apply to you.

edit...changed 'returning' to resuming

I am moving to Thailand from Australia later this year with my Thai wife and kids,

As far as I have been lead to believe we can ship our household effects under my wife's name and as we have been married a while and she is a Thai national duty will not be charged...on used items.

My wife has researched this from her contacts in Thailand and I have been told by two removal firms. I hope that is enough research?

Yes it's correct, but for the detail go to:

http://www.customs.go.th/wps/wcm/connect/custen/individuals/importing+used+or+secondhand+household+effects/importingusedsecondhandhouseholdeffects+

In Australia I used Conway Removals who have a reciprocal agreement for customs clearance in Thailand with Asian Tigers and delivery to your residence, strongly recommend you check them out

Are you sure it wasn't Conroy removals? We have had one quote from them for door to door and am sure they also mentioned Asian Tigers too.

We have looked at Australian Vanlines and Conroy as well as hiring our own container and also some discussion with a Thai guy here in Sydney who imports and exports container loads but we really want a door to door service. Luckily we aren't bringing much with us and will repurchase most of what we need in Thailand so it's only one 20' container and so far with insurance for loss only looks like Conroys is in the lead. I never had a quote back from Australian Vanlines

[simple1]

With non immigrant category 'O' or 'O-A' you are not entitled to duty free importation of household goods.

To obtain duty free import of such goods you need a work permit and import the goods within 6 months.

The quote re 'resuming residents' refers to non-quota immigrants, brief description ..

Non-Quota ImmigrantThis category includes former residents who have lost their resident

status but who have reapplied to resume their residency and who have

been able to demonstrate a convincing reason to support the granting of

this type of visa.Members of the diplomatic or consular corps, aliens coming to perform

their duties in Thailand with the approval of the Thai government,

aliens performing their duties in Thailand under an agreement between

the Thai government and a foreign government, heads of internationalorganizations or agencies operating in Thailand, and dependants of all

the aforementioned persons, including private servants of members of the

diplomatic corps, are exempted by the Act from the normal visa

requirements.

This would not apply to you.

edit...changed 'returning' to resuming

I am moving to Thailand from Australia later this year with my Thai wife and kids,

As far as I have been lead to believe we can ship our household effects under my wife's name and as we have been married a while and she is a Thai national duty will not be charged...on used items.

My wife has researched this from her contacts in Thailand and I have been told by two removal firms. I hope that is enough research?

Yes it's correct, but for the detail go to:

http://www.customs.go.th/wps/wcm/connect/custen/individuals/importing+used+or+secondhand+household+effects/importingusedsecondhandhouseholdeffects+

In Australia I used Conway Removals who have a reciprocal agreement for customs clearance in Thailand with Asian Tigers and delivery to your residence, strongly recommend you check them out

Are you sure it wasn't Conroy removals? We have had one quote from them for door to door and am sure they also mentioned Asian Tigers too.

We have looked at Australian Vanlines and Conroy as well as hiring our own container and also some discussion with a Thai guy here in Sydney who imports and exports container loads but we really want a door to door service. Luckily we aren't bringing much with us and will repurchase most of what we need in Thailand so it's only one 20' container and so far with insurance for loss only looks like Conroys is in the lead. I never had a quote back from Australian Vanlines

Sorry, Conroy Removals. A few years ago I paid A$6,500 door to door for a 20 foot container, including packing and unpacking, Obviously would vary a bit depending on your locations. Whole experience was pain free and zero duty paid.

Edited June 9, 2013 by simple1

[avander]

Me again!

We are about to leave next week and have just been informed by the Agent handling the Shipment receiving into Thailand of our personal effects that they require my wife (Shipment in her name as she is Thai National) to leave Original copies of her current and most recent Passport along with her Original Thai Identity card?

They indicated they would need us to leave these documents with them for a day or 2 to process the shipment through Thai Customs?

It seems crazy to me to leave originals of these documents for the obvious reasons.

I would have expected they need to sight them and we could turn up at Customs or wherever and let them see my wife's original documents but not have to leave them with anyone?

Has anyone else heard of this before?

[lopburi3]

You wrote original copies so would read that as copies that have been personally signed by the person (this is a normal requirement for copies in Thailand which does not have a formal notary system).

[merijn]

When i moved to Thailand about (about 20 years ago) i imported one 40" container with household goods.

I did this via a well known moving company with offices in my home country and in Thailand.

After the container was in Bangkok i received a phone call with the question if i needed a receipt for my import duty.

After i mentioned no i had to pay 500 Baht import duty for the whole container. ( container was never opened )

Those where the good old days.

[Langsuan Man]

They indicated they would need us to leave these documents with them for a day or 2 to process the shipment through Thai Customs?

It seems crazy to me to leave originals of these documents for the obvious reasons. ..............Has anyone else heard of this before?

Not at all unusual. Had to leave my US passport with the shipper who handled my shipment. His workers returned it when they delivered the shipment to my condo in Pattaya

[avander]

You wrote original copies so would read that as copies that have been personally signed by the person (this is a normal requirement for copies in Thailand which does not have a formal notary system).

They actually want us to leave the originals for both my wife's Thai Passport and her Thai National ID card. That is what we're paranoid about.

Sent from my GT-I9305T using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[avander]

 

They indicated they would need us to leave these documents with them for a day or 2 to process the shipment through Thai Customs?  

It seems crazy to me to leave originals of these documents for the obvious reasons. ..............Has anyone else heard of this before?

 

Not at all unusual.  Had to leave my US passport with the shipper who handled my shipment.  His workers returned it when they delivered the shipment to my condo in Pattaya

Yes, I believe it's not such an issue for a Passport but it an issue if they want my wife's original Thai national ID card?

Sent from my GT-I9305T using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Mario2008]

Passport is normal, as they make an annotation i there about receiving a fre shipment. But also the ID card seems strange to me. Should be either one, not both in my opinion.

[ubonjoe]

They probably want ID card so they can swipe it and pull up bio data on it.

Passport to check that info for being out of country is correct.

Edited August 30, 2013 by ubonjoe

[avander]

They probably want ID card so they can swipe it and pull up bio data on it.Passport to check that info for being out of country is correct.

Yes, we're happy for them to sight it and swipe but we were told that we needed to hand it over to the freight agent and leave with them for 2 days! Sounds very suspect to us.

Sent from my GT-I9305T using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[ubonjoe]

It would be for customs to swipe it when paperwork is submitted to them.

[avander]

Just to close this topic thought I would add the outcomes.

Our goods arrived in Thailand and were handled by VanPac locally. Our concerns with Thai Customs ad possible duty payments never bore fruit but we did need a little help.

We took my wife's Thai id and went with the freight agent (VanPac) to the Customs office in Klongtoey so they could sight her original id card.

After that we needed to leave my wife's last 2 passports (showing her trips to Australia and back) with VanPac for further processing with Customs.

We ended up agreeing to pay a 2000B 'service fee' and another 1200B port storage fee.

Customs randomly opened 2 boxes and that was it. We had multiple TVs (one was a 55" LED tv) and 4 sets of new hifi speakers along with various relatively new hifi gear. While it was all listed on the manifest no duty was asked for. Maybe it was the 'service fee'?

Conroys in Sydney did a professional, efficient job and I woud recommend them however, there was one breakage due to inadquate packing.

At our destination the shipping companys office services left a little to be desired. They had to be pushed for all the arrangements and even tried to get out of the contracted arrangements of delivering up to the 3rd floor!

A little legalese and some help I was told from a senior policeman friend of my wife may have smoothed out the whole process for us (and reduced the costs).

The delivery services and unloading (we didn't get them to unpack) were excellent and the team of 5 guys quickly and efficiently unloaded the 20' container with most of it going to the 3rd level. The bulk of the rest went to the 2nd level and a little to the 1st. They even partly disassembled a bar unit and bar, too, it the the 5th level, and walked it up multiple staircases and then reassembled it! A fantastic effort for which we repayed with drinks, lunch and a tip for each of them for the whole job. It was done in about 2 hours.

[yankee99]

if married to a thai (living out of country) ship item in her name( we used 2 60 foot containers) make a list of things in the containers,

shipping company will tell you when the box's get here,take the list of stuff in each box( 3 copy of each) wife's passport(3 copy's + copy's of visa pages)

you unload them at the shipping company(custom's will inspect the items) which is a big pain(tea money for customs,and unloaders/loaders) have to rent trucks+ drivers

or you can pay a deposit of 50,000B on each container,you will get your deposit back when the containers are returnrd to the shipping co.

they will bring the containers right to your house for unloading

customs will not inspect the containers,still had the seals that were put on it the states

took 3 weeks for the containers to get here from the states

each container will hold 90,000 lbs max or less same price

oh yea no duty was paid

60' containers i didnt know such a thing was used on a cargo ship. I would be surprised that it would be legal on the roads of most countries. Same goes for 90,000lbs.

the standard would be 40' and closer to 50,000 lbs