Shipping to Thailand - What to expect at customs

[Captbonio]

Word of advice ... DO NOT GIVE YOUR PASSPORT TO THE AGENT.

Get a certified copy from your embassy.

My case - I was over charged 15,000 baht for services not requested or performed. I refused to pay. They refused to give me my passport. And this was a "reputable" Thai company.

I reported this to my embassy and got a new passport. After several threats and my refusal to pay they agreed to "give me a break" and forget about the charges.

Thanks for that.. horrible experience...appreciate the insight.

[Captbonio]

I will give information which does not directly relate to your Thai Wife returning goods question.

I employed Crown Relocaters company to pick up my household belongings in Florida and transport them by sea in a container to Bangkok and then deliver all the stuff to my Bangkok suburban house.

Crown had all my information and contents of numbered boxes. Crown did ALL my paperwork including Thailand customs. I paid a small customs fee for those guys to touch my paperwork, but I had NO duty to pay due to the rule in Thailand in 2005 that a foreign American can bring in one sea freight load of pure household items at no customs duty charge and one air freight same.

Crown was super great along the whole encounter and eliminated all my problems.

Today, I am dealing with FedEx to ship out a repair and get it back in and FedEx has caused me many problems and never solved my needs. UPS knew even less about this and DHL never answered their telephone.

It is 1930 in many parts of Thailand yet.

thanks vm.

[Captbonio]

Use a clearing agent. Give him a fairly detailed packing list and he'll need your passport. Describe everything as "used personal and household goods." The clearing agent can also arrange delivery to your home.

It really is a fairly painless and hassle-free experience, although I'm sure some people manage to turn it into something far worse. If you've read many threads on Thai Visa, you'll realize that many people manage to turn quite simple things into nightmares.

Originally, I was planning to bring my car, but thanks to this forum and have canned that idea as it is so open to corruption and unpredictability.

Why would your car be so open to corruption and unpredictability?

You haven't even arrived in Thailand and already you've joined the TV fraternity of Thai bashers I see. The pseudo-colonial mentality is alive and well.

Thank for the information.

Being here in the UK, gives me limited information what goes on on the ground in Thailand and so have delved into a few forums for assistance. By and large they have been incredibly helpful and are clearly populated by some smart, intelligent and helpful people. To them all I am eternally grateful. As far as the shipping car aspect was concerned I backed off doing this as my car is 14 years old and probably worth £2k but to pay 300% on it seems pointless, and that is the probably best case scenario. I have been advised umpteen times that this number can be higher, so I decided to let it go here prior to my departure. This forums made it very clear as to the value of making this shipment.

As for bashing Thais, then you have go me very wrong. I am married to one, love the country, people and culture. I have visited many times and own a house there and hence my decision to move there permanently. It is a known fact that there is corruption in the country and especially so in various Govt agencies. The Thais know it, and we know it. Its hopefully going to improve with the new , and hopefully , proactive Govt, but time will tell. One thing i am though is open minded. If 100 people tell me something is corrupt and dangerous , i will not ignore them. This forum has a mixed bag of participants and I have seen that some are clearly wishing they never moved to Thailand and only have negative comments to make. This is life and to be expected. I am not one of them. I hope this satisfies your negative assumptions about me.

[khunPer]

To OP:

I had 20 feet container shipped in a few years ago.

I have earlier posted about how I prepared and my experience with customs. If that may help up, here are the links:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/679878-shipping-a-container-to-los-from-uk/?p=7012430

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/679878-shipping-a-container-to-los-from-uk/?p=7012795

Wish you good luck.

[Captbonio]

Hi Mate-I have done exactley the same thing last year and it was not a pleasant experience.First off as you say one would expect to not have to pay duty-after all the website says so that if one is married and you have been out of the country then duties are excused.

So off my goods went from Canada in a 40 ft.container so when I arrived in Thailand I went to see my old buddy at the clearing agencey and he wouldnt touch it.Hesaid you WILL HAVE TO PAY_no other way-no matter what the Govt.website says and he advised me to go to the Govt.customs aoffice myself which is what I did,and yes,they just keep coming up with another arguement and moving the goalposts-do you have a work permit etc.etc.so much non-sense so finally I realized the situation,as my friend at the agency said and I just asked them nicely to do the best they could for me under the circumstances.They took 1100 Dollars US for their services(???)and numerous other nickel and dime charges which had me running up and down for three hours.Finally the time came to go down to see the container clearing-they x-rayed the container and demanded it be opened because I had two old bicycles which my thai friend wanted and bicycles are not allowed.Then the demands for money to open the seal from the local mafia-I watched many Thais paying 20 Baht but of course they demanded I pay 200 Baht ,which I refused-eventualkly I gave then forty and they didnt cause much of a commotion.Fortunately I met one creepy guy at the customs documents and he led me through everything all the while trying to scam me out of more money for this and that.

So all told -if you can get it done door to door good on ya but I really have doubts about that,being a farang and all you are open game for all the scammers in Thailand-including the Government.Actually I regretted doing it but alas-hindsight is 20/20.

I had my forty ft.container delivered to Chiang mai and that was another $800 and they didnt have a yard so we had to offload on the main highway.What an ordeal,as are most things one tries to achieve in THailand.I have just recieved the license for my private tuk tuk-THREE YEARS after first applying and still they have no shame.

Thanks for that. What a nightmare. That is pretty much EXACTLY what i want to avoid. I know I have to budget for some extra "expenses" in making this shipment, as they say forewarned is forearmed. i have heard some very sobering stories, as well as many where it all goes through just fine. From what I have gleaned from the wonderful chaps on these forums it boils down to finding the right shipper, doing the paperwork 100% correctly, and a whole lot of luck in finding the right agent. I guess I had not ship anything especially valuable to me as if I need to walk away from the worst case scenario then I will.

[Captbonio]

To OP:

I had 20 feet container shipped in a few years ago.

I have earlier posted about how I prepared and my experience with customs. If that may help up, here are the links:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/679878-shipping-a-container-to-los-from-uk/?p=7012430

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/679878-shipping-a-container-to-los-from-uk/?p=7012795

Wish you good luck.

many thanks

[Mudcrab]

Use a clearing agent. Give him a fairly detailed packing list and he'll need your passport. Describe everything as "used personal and household goods." The clearing agent can also arrange delivery to your home.

It really is a fairly painless and hassle-free experience, although I'm sure some people manage to turn it into something far worse. If you've read many threads on Thai Visa, you'll realize that many people manage to turn quite simple things into nightmares.

Originally, I was planning to bring my car, but thanks to this forum and have canned that idea as it is so open to corruption and unpredictability.

Why would your car be so open to corruption and unpredictability?

You haven't even arrived in Thailand and already you've joined the TV fraternity of Thai bashers I see. The pseudo-colonial mentality is alive and well.

Thank for the information.

Being here in the UK, gives me limited information what goes on on the ground in Thailand and so have delved into a few forums for assistance. By and large they have been incredibly helpful and are clearly populated by some smart, intelligent and helpful people. To them all I am eternally grateful. As far as the shipping car aspect was concerned I backed off doing this as my car is 14 years old and probably worth £2k but to pay 300% on it seems pointless, and that is the probably best case scenario. I have been advised umpteen times that this number can be higher, so I decided to let it go here prior to my departure. This forums made it very clear as to the value of making this shipment.

As for bashing Thais, then you have go me very wrong. I am married to one, love the country, people and culture. I have visited many times and own a house there and hence my decision to move there permanently. It is a known fact that there is corruption in the country and especially so in various Govt agencies. The Thais know it, and we know it. Its hopefully going to improve with the new , and hopefully , proactive Govt, but time will tell. One thing i am though is open minded. If 100 people tell me something is corrupt and dangerous , i will not ignore them. This forum has a mixed bag of participants and I have seen that some are clearly wishing they never moved to Thailand and only have negative comments to make. This is life and to be expected. I am not one of them. I hope this satisfies your negative assumption

Importing second hand vehicles is allowed again??

[NCFC]

Yes it's a crap shoot. Customs official wanted 10k baht bribe or he would dump our stuff dockside for anyone to nick.

[bimmerbob]

Thanks Gents... I know its going to be a crap shoot. The reason I asked was to find the potential parameters that i might expect. With the car importing stories, i guess the worst case is you walk away from you car, only to see it go to auction....best case it you pay silly money for it, but it being worth it as compared with what you can get locally. With my stuff, I dont know if I could actually walk away from it, and if thats the case, I'm guessing that the more corrupt officials will be aware of that and have me over a barrel so to speak.

Thanks for your input and link.

Are there not special concessions for returning Thais and their cars?

[Captbonio]

There are but we don't fit the criteria sadly.

Edited September 26, 2014 by Captbonio

[onthemoon]

What a huge amount of misinformation in this thread.

Yes, Thai customs has to follow rules, regulations, and laws. If you have stuff in your shipment that is not allowed, or attracts import duties, then it is your fault to not have checked in advance. Why would you ship something out from the origin and only later check what the regulations in Thailand are?

And yes, a new work permit is required, that's not crap but the law. Let me ask you whether anybody in your country is exempted from following the law, just because he feels that it should be different? Please get real.

And if you did not check in advance (or better: use the same company from your home abroad to your new home, as they are professionals and check in advance and will advise you accordingly) and then you have to pay THB 15,000 in service fees, the people who provided the service have all the right to keep your passport until you pay up. Of course, they should inform you of the cost before they provide the service, so that you can decline and pay even more when trying it by yourself.

This must be the worst thread in terms of reliable information I have ever seen on ThaiVisa. Did anybody ever read the link to the customs webpage I sent earlier, rather than listening to these horror-stories caused by not being informed, and lots of rumours, I wonder.

Edited September 26, 2014 by onthemoon

[nithisa78]

Congratulations. Bon Voyage.

[Captbonio]

What a huge amount of misinformation in this thread.

Yes, Thai customs has to follow rules, regulations, and laws. If you have stuff in your shipment that is not allowed, or attracts import duties, then it is your fault to not have checked in advance. Why would you ship something out from the origin and only later check what the regulations in Thailand are?

And yes, a new work permit is required, that's not crap but the law. Let me ask you whether anybody in your country exempted from following the law, just because he feels that it should be different? Please get real.

And if you did not check in advance (or better: use the same company from your home abroad to your new home, as they are professionals and check in advance and will advise you accordingly) and then you have to pay THB 15,000 in service fees, the people who provided the service have all the right to keep your passport until you pay up. Of course, they should inform you of the cost before they provide the service, so that you can decline and pay even more when trying it by yourself.

This must be the worst thread in terms of reliable information I have ever seen on ThaiVisa. Did anybody ever read the link to the customs webpage I sent earlier, rather than listening to these horror-stories caused by not being informed, and lots of rumours, I wonder.

Many thanks

Glad some one said it

[onthemoon]

Hi Mate-I have done exactley the same thing last year and it was not a pleasant experience.First off as you say one would expect to not have to pay duty-after all the website says so that if one is married and you have been out of the country then duties are excused.

So off my goods went from Canada in a 40 ft.container so when I arrived in Thailand I went to see my old buddy at the clearing agencey and he wouldnt touch it.Hesaid you WILL HAVE TO PAY_no other way-no matter what the Govt.website says and he advised me to go to the Govt.customs aoffice myself which is what I did,and yes,they just keep coming up with another arguement and moving the goalposts-do you have a work permit etc.etc.so much non-sense so finally I realized the situation,as my friend at the agency said and I just asked them nicely to do the best they could for me under the circumstances.They took 1100 Dollars US for their services(???)and numerous other nickel and dime charges which had me running up and down for three hours.Finally the time came to go down to see the container clearing-they x-rayed the container and demanded it be opened because I had two old bicycles which my thai friend wanted and bicycles are not allowed.Then the demands for money to open the seal from the local mafia-I watched many Thais paying 20 Baht but of course they demanded I pay 200 Baht ,which I refused-eventualkly I gave then forty and they didnt cause much of a commotion.Fortunately I met one creepy guy at the customs documents and he led me through everything all the while trying to scam me out of more money for this and that.

So all told -if you can get it done door to door good on ya but I really have doubts about that,being a farang and all you are open game for all the scammers in Thailand-including the Government.Actually I regretted doing it but alas-hindsight is 20/20.

I had my forty ft.container delivered to Chiang mai and that was another $800 and they didnt have a yard so we had to offload on the main highway.What an ordeal,as are most things one tries to achieve in THailand.I have just recieved the license for my private tuk tuk-THREE YEARS after first applying and still they have no shame.

Thanks for that. What a nightmare. That is pretty much EXACTLY what i want to avoid. I know I have to budget for some extra "expenses" in making this shipment, as they say forewarned is forearmed. i have heard some very sobering stories, as well as many where it all goes through just fine. From what I have gleaned from the wonderful chaps on these forums it boils down to finding the right shipper, doing the paperwork 100% correctly, and a whole lot of luck in finding the right agent. I guess I had not ship anything especially valuable to me as if I need to walk away from the worst case scenario then I will.

Don't worry, gopis caused the nightmare by not checking the regulations in advance. Normal in any country, even Canada wouldn't change the laws if he'd asked them politely. Calling it a scam is far-fetched. Even his friend wouldn't touch that shipment! A professional would have arranged for an unloading place, maybe a warehouse, not have it unloaded on the street because nothing was prepared.

It is never a pleasant experience to avoid the professionals and try to do it by yourself, especially if you think that is cheaper. It never is. Yes, you have to find the right forwarder (not "shipper"), and he will have the right agent. Professional household removal companies or relocation companies know of the problem that might arise and will give their advice - but you'll have to use them door-to-door. Don't try to cut corners, it's never worth it.

[Captbonio]

Hi Mate-I have done exactley the same thing last year and it was not a pleasant experience.First off as you say one would expect to not have to pay duty-after all the website says so that if one is married and you have been out of the country then duties are excused.

So off my goods went from Canada in a 40 ft.container so when I arrived in Thailand I went to see my old buddy at the clearing agencey and he wouldnt touch it.Hesaid you WILL HAVE TO PAY_no other way-no matter what the Govt.website says and he advised me to go to the Govt.customs aoffice myself which is what I did,and yes,they just keep coming up with another arguement and moving the goalposts-do you have a work permit etc.etc.so much non-sense so finally I realized the situation,as my friend at the agency said and I just asked them nicely to do the best they could for me under the circumstances.They took 1100 Dollars US for their services(???)and numerous other nickel and dime charges which had me running up and down for three hours.Finally the time came to go down to see the container clearing-they x-rayed the container and demanded it be opened because I had two old bicycles which my thai friend wanted and bicycles are not allowed.Then the demands for money to open the seal from the local mafia-I watched many Thais paying 20 Baht but of course they demanded I pay 200 Baht ,which I refused-eventualkly I gave then forty and they didnt cause much of a commotion.Fortunately I met one creepy guy at the customs documents and he led me through everything all the while trying to scam me out of more money for this and that.

So all told -if you can get it done door to door good on ya but I really have doubts about that,being a farang and all you are open game for all the scammers in Thailand-including the Government.Actually I regretted doing it but alas-hindsight is 20/20.

I had my forty ft.container delivered to Chiang mai and that was another $800 and they didnt have a yard so we had to offload on the main highway.What an ordeal,as are most things one tries to achieve in THailand.I have just recieved the license for my private tuk tuk-THREE YEARS after first applying and still they have no shame.

Thanks for that. What a nightmare. That is pretty much EXACTLY what i want to avoid. I know I have to budget for some extra "expenses" in making this shipment, as they say forewarned is forearmed. i have heard some very sobering stories, as well as many where it all goes through just fine. From what I have gleaned from the wonderful chaps on these forums it boils down to finding the right shipper, doing the paperwork 100% correctly, and a whole lot of luck in finding the right agent. I guess I had not ship anything especially valuable to me as if I need to walk away from the worst case scenario then I will.

Don't worry, gopis caused the nightmare by not checking the regulations in advance. Normal in any country, even Canada wouldn't change the laws if he'd asked them politely. Calling it a scam is far-fetched. Even his friend wouldn't touch that shipment! A professional would have arranged for an unloading place, maybe a warehouse, not have it unloaded on the street because nothing was prepared.

It is never a pleasant experience to avoid the professionals and try to do it by yourself, especially if you think that is cheaper. It never is. Yes, you have to find the right forwarder (not "shipper"), and he will have the right agent. Professional household removal companies or relocation companies know of the problem that might arise and will give their advice - but you'll have to use them door-to-door. Don't try to cut corners, it's never worth it.

Many thanks mate

I've got the jist of it now.....Just like my dad used to say...do it right or don't do it at all.....

[rgs2001uk]

What a huge amount of misinformation in this thread.

Yes, Thai customs has to follow rules, regulations, and laws. If you have stuff in your shipment that is not allowed, or attracts import duties, then it is your fault to not have checked in advance. Why would you ship something out from the origin and only later check what the regulations in Thailand are?

And yes, a new work permit is required, that's not crap but the law. Let me ask you whether anybody in your country is exempted from following the law, just because he feels that it should be different? Please get real.

And if you did not check in advance (or better: use the same company from your home abroad to your new home, as they are professionals and check in advance and will advise you accordingly) and then you have to pay THB 15,000 in service fees, the people who provided the service have all the right to keep your passport until you pay up. Of course, they should inform you of the cost before they provide the service, so that you can decline and pay even more when trying it by yourself.

This must be the worst thread in terms of reliable information I have ever seen on ThaiVisa. Did anybody ever read the link to the customs webpage I sent earlier, rather than listening to these horror-stories caused by not being informed, and lots of rumours, I wonder.

And yes, a new work permit is required, that's not crap but the law.

Can you please tell me when the law changed?

Why would my mrs as a Thai need a WP to import her goods and worldy chattels?

My best advice to the OP, sell everything and buy new here.

Went through this crap shoot 10 years ago, dvd player, that will cost x baht, heres the receipt bought in Thailand, no excuse, pay tax.

Mrs threw the dvd player on the floor and said no need for tax, not importing, so it went on.

Cost me more in breakages than the tax would have cost, still thats a moot point, the mrs wouldnt be imtimidated, as inspector Somchai soon found out.

The dumb <deleted> was trying to tax her on computer parts, I had already removed, the hard disc, ram and chip before it was shipped, brought them with me in hand baggage.

Mrs told him to keep it.

[onthemoon]

The law hasn't changed for a long time. A foreigner needs a new work permit, somebody mentioned this as "crap" in a post and that's why I mentioned it. A returning Thai citizen obviously does not.

Sorry to hear that your wife destroyed the DVD player 10 years ago. Nothing I can do about that now.

Read the link to Thai customs that I sent earlier. Anything else is rumour.

[Captbonio]

What a huge amount of misinformation in this thread.

Yes, Thai customs has to follow rules, regulations, and laws. If you have stuff in your shipment that is not allowed, or attracts import duties, then it is your fault to not have checked in advance. Why would you ship something out from the origin and only later check what the regulations in Thailand are?

And yes, a new work permit is required, that's not crap but the law. Let me ask you whether anybody in your country is exempted from following the law, just because he feels that it should be different? Please get real.

And if you did not check in advance (or better: use the same company from your home abroad to your new home, as they are professionals and check in advance and will advise you accordingly) and then you have to pay THB 15,000 in service fees, the people who provided the service have all the right to keep your passport until you pay up. Of course, they should inform you of the cost before they provide the service, so that you can decline and pay even more when trying it by yourself.

This must be the worst thread in terms of reliable information I have ever seen on ThaiVisa. Did anybody ever read the link to the customs webpage I sent earlier, rather than listening to these horror-stories caused by not being informed, and lots of rumours, I wonder.

And yes, a new work permit is required, that's not crap but the law.

Can you please tell me when the law changed?

Why would my mrs as a Thai need a WP to import her goods and worldy chattels?

My best advice to the OP, sell everything and buy new here.

Went through this crap shoot 10 years ago, dvd player, that will cost x baht, heres the receipt bought in Thailand, no excuse, pay tax.

Mrs threw the dvd player on the floor and said no need for tax, not importing, so it went on.

Cost me more in breakages than the tax would have cost, still thats a moot point, the mrs wouldnt be imtimidated, as inspector Somchai soon found out.

The dumb was trying to tax her on computer parts, I had already removed, the hard disc, ram and chip before it was shipped, brought them with me in hand baggage.

Mrs told him to keep it.

Haha..

Okokok....I got the picture...

I will tell you all the outcome one day...and guaranteed there will be some happy " I told you so,s" as a result .....

I think I have enough now to make an informed decision ...Thanks all

[55Jay]

What a huge amount of misinformation in this thread.

Yes, Thai customs has to follow rules, regulations, and laws. If you have stuff in your shipment that is not allowed, or attracts import duties, then it is your fault to not have checked in advance. Why would you ship something out from the origin and only later check what the regulations in Thailand are?

And yes, a new work permit is required, that's not crap but the law. Let me ask you whether anybody in your country is exempted from following the law, just because he feels that it should be different? Please get real.

And if you did not check in advance (or better: use the same company from your home abroad to your new home, as they are professionals and check in advance and will advise you accordingly) and then you have to pay THB 15,000 in service fees, the people who provided the service have all the right to keep your passport until you pay up. Of course, they should inform you of the cost before they provide the service, so that you can decline and pay even more when trying it by yourself.

This must be the worst thread in terms of reliable information I have ever seen on ThaiVisa. Did anybody ever read the link to the customs webpage I sent earlier, rather than listening to these horror-stories caused by not being informed, and lots of rumours, I wonder.

And yes, a new work permit is required, that's not crap but the law.

Can you please tell me when the law changed?

Why would my mrs as a Thai need a WP to import her goods and worldy chattels?

My best advice to the OP, sell everything and buy new here.

Went through this crap shoot 10 years ago, dvd player, that will cost x baht, heres the receipt bought in Thailand, no excuse, pay tax.

Mrs threw the dvd player on the floor and said no need for tax, not importing, so it went on.

Cost me more in breakages than the tax would have cost, still thats a moot point, the mrs wouldnt be imtimidated, as inspector Somchai soon found out.

The dumb was trying to tax her on computer parts, I had already removed, the hard disc, ram and chip before it was shipped, brought them with me in hand baggage.

Mrs told him to keep it.

Haha..

Okokok....I got the picture...

I will tell you all the outcome one day...and guaranteed there will be some happy " I told you so,s" as a result .....

I think I have enough now to make an informed decision ...Thanks all

There's a very good chance this thread will carry on for another 3 weeks. LOL. Good luck on the relocation.

[rgs2001uk]

The law hasn't changed for a long time. A foreigner needs a new work permit, somebody mentioned this as "crap" in a post and that's why I mentioned it. A returning Thai citizen obviously does not.

Sorry to hear that your wife destroyed the DVD player 10 years ago. Nothing I can do about that now.

Read the link to Thai customs that I sent earlier. Anything else is rumour.

No worries, what made the mrs laugh was, the tax was more than the cost of a new super duper all singing all dancing new Pioneer player.

The mrs was on the mobile to me at the time, asking me what to do, I told her, just drop it from a great height and make sure its buggard beyond repair.

The cost to me was irrelevant, its all about face.

[Captbonio]

What a huge amount of misinformation in this thread.

Yes, Thai customs has to follow rules, regulations, and laws. If you have stuff in your shipment that is not allowed, or attracts import duties, then it is your fault to not have checked in advance. Why would you ship something out from the origin and only later check what the regulations in Thailand are?

And yes, a new work permit is required, that's not crap but the law. Let me ask you whether anybody in your country is exempted from following the law, just because he feels that it should be different? Please get real.

And if you did not check in advance (or better: use the same company from your home abroad to your new home, as they are professionals and check in advance and will advise you accordingly) and then you have to pay THB 15,000 in service fees, the people who provided the service have all the right to keep your passport until you pay up. Of course, they should inform you of the cost before they provide the service, so that you can decline and pay even more when trying it by yourself.

This must be the worst thread in terms of reliable information I have ever seen on ThaiVisa. Did anybody ever read the link to the customs webpage I sent earlier, rather than listening to these horror-stories caused by not being informed, and lots of rumours, I wonder.

And yes, a new work permit is required, that's not crap but the law.

Can you please tell me when the law changed?

Why would my mrs as a Thai need a WP to import her goods and worldy chattels?

My best advice to the OP, sell everything and buy new here.

Went through this crap shoot 10 years ago, dvd player, that will cost x baht, heres the receipt bought in Thailand, no excuse, pay tax.

Mrs threw the dvd player on the floor and said no need for tax, not importing, so it went on.

Cost me more in breakages than the tax would have cost, still thats a moot point, the mrs wouldnt be imtimidated, as inspector Somchai soon found out.

The dumb was trying to tax her on computer parts, I had already removed, the hard disc, ram and chip before it was shipped, brought them with me in hand baggage.

Mrs told him to keep it.

Haha..

Okokok....I got the picture...

I will tell you all the outcome one day...and guaranteed there will be some happy " I told you so,s" as a result .....

I think I have enough now to make an informed decision ...Thanks all

There's a very good chance this thread will carry on for another 3 weeks. LOL. Good luck on the relocation. [/quote

Many thanks ...

Will buy all a beer on my arrival...( if I have any dough left)

[Captbonio]

The law hasn't changed for a long time. A foreigner needs a new work permit, somebody mentioned this as "crap" in a post and that's why I mentioned it. A returning Thai citizen obviously does not.

Sorry to hear that your wife destroyed the DVD player 10 years ago. Nothing I can do about that now.

Read the link to Thai customs that I sent earlier. Anything else is rumour.

No worries, what made the mrs laugh was, the tax was more than the cost of a new super duper all singing all dancing new Pioneer player.

The mrs was on the mobile to me at the time, asking me what to do, I told her, just drop it from a great height and make sure its buggard beyond repair.

The cost to me was irrelevant, its all about face.

Love it

If I get to the same I will probably do the same to be honest...

[SoiBiker]

Different voltage from the UK? No.

In any case, most stuff seems to be dual voltage these days.

[jschorr]

My Thai wife and I just moved back to Thailand from Florida, USA. Our shipment of personal goods, 3.5 Cubic Meters, 550 Kgs, arrived earlier this week vis a US shipping company. We had to pay destination charges of 5,000 Baht to the local company our shipper used, and 7,000 Baht customs because we did not have certification that my wife had lived abroad for 10 years and was returning; we were told an old passport was not sufficient proof. Customs charges could have been much higher, but we used a local agent and we used a list that did not have actual values of our goods. Of, course, if customs had been much higher we would have gotten certification from immigration that we had lived abroad for many years. We spent about 5 hours at the container docks and customs, very confusing until we found our agent, in the end nothing was opened and all goods were released to our Thai trucker. We tipped the local agent for his work, which really cut through the bureaucracy. He did not set a fee. Now waiting for our stuff to arrive in Chiang Mai tomorrow. Overall, pretty complicated, but doable, if you have a Thai spouse or friend who speaks Thai.

Good luck!

[roath]

Just make sure that your wifes pp gets stamped at arrival airport. It cost me 5000bath for her to fly to bkk to get the stamp

Since customs cannot access immigration data. TIT

otherwise - no imortdjties on household goods if she has bee abroad more than 1 year.

Make sure she can proove with (old) pp

I shipped a house worth of stuff over without any duty (in Thai partner's name). She had lived in the UK for 12 years though which made a difference to how much stuff was being shipped. If away only a year, they don't expect so much stuff so that is something to be aware of.

[meatboy]

What a huge amount of misinformation in this thread.

Yes, Thai customs has to follow rules, regulations, and laws. If you have stuff in your shipment that is not allowed, or attracts import duties, then it is your fault to not have checked in advance. Why would you ship something out from the origin and only later check what the regulations in Thailand are?

And yes, a new work permit is required, that's not crap but the law. Let me ask you whether anybody in your country is exempted from following the law, just because he feels that it should be different? Please get real.

And if you did not check in advance (or better: use the same company from your home abroad to your new home, as they are professionals and check in advance and will advise you accordingly) and then you have to pay THB 15,000 in service fees, the people who provided the service have all the right to keep your passport until you pay up. Of course, they should inform you of the cost before they provide the service, so that you can decline and pay even more when trying it by yourself.

This must be the worst thread in terms of reliable information I have ever seen on ThaiVisa. Did anybody ever read the link to the customs webpage I sent earlier, rather than listening to these horror-stories caused by not being informed, and lots of rumours, I wonder.

onthemoon,how long have you lived there.

[onthemoon]

What a huge amount of misinformation in this thread.

Yes, Thai customs has to follow rules, regulations, and laws. If you have stuff in your shipment that is not allowed, or attracts import duties, then it is your fault to not have checked in advance. Why would you ship something out from the origin and only later check what the regulations in Thailand are?

And yes, a new work permit is required, that's not crap but the law. Let me ask you whether anybody in your country is exempted from following the law, just because he feels that it should be different? Please get real.

And if you did not check in advance (or better: use the same company from your home abroad to your new home, as they are professionals and check in advance and will advise you accordingly) and then you have to pay THB 15,000 in service fees, the people who provided the service have all the right to keep your passport until you pay up. Of course, they should inform you of the cost before they provide the service, so that you can decline and pay even more when trying it by yourself.

This must be the worst thread in terms of reliable information I have ever seen on ThaiVisa. Did anybody ever read the link to the customs webpage I sent earlier, rather than listening to these horror-stories caused by not being informed, and lots of rumours, I wonder.

onthemoon,how long have you lived there.

"There"? I live "here"! scnr

I've lived in Thailand for over 20 years. And I deal with customs on a daily basis. Mostly for commercial cargo though.

And yes, you are right: I should expect this kind of exchange. Many farangs want to do something contrary to the local law (some don't even bother to check it) and then complain when it doesn't happen or they have to pay money. Would they do the same in their own country, I always wonder.

[55Jay]

What a huge amount of misinformation in this thread.

Yes, Thai customs has to follow rules, regulations, and laws. If you have stuff in your shipment that is not allowed, or attracts import duties, then it is your fault to not have checked in advance. Why would you ship something out from the origin and only later check what the regulations in Thailand are?

And yes, a new work permit is required, that's not crap but the law. Let me ask you whether anybody in your country is exempted from following the law, just because he feels that it should be different? Please get real.

And if you did not check in advance (or better: use the same company from your home abroad to your new home, as they are professionals and check in advance and will advise you accordingly) and then you have to pay THB 15,000 in service fees, the people who provided the service have all the right to keep your passport until you pay up. Of course, they should inform you of the cost before they provide the service, so that you can decline and pay even more when trying it by yourself.

This must be the worst thread in terms of reliable information I have ever seen on ThaiVisa. Did anybody ever read the link to the customs webpage I sent earlier, rather than listening to these horror-stories caused by not being informed, and lots of rumours, I wonder.

onthemoon,how long have you lived there.

"There"? I live "here"! scnr

I've lived in Thailand for over 20 years. And I deal with customs on a daily basis. Mostly for commercial cargo though.

And yes, you are right: I should expect this kind of exchange. Many farangs want to do something contrary to the local law (some don't even bother to check it) and then complain when it doesn't happen or they have to pay money. Would they do the same in their own country, I always wonder.

Great answer, but aren't you lording over it a bit?

Application of The Law, as you well know, isn't as straight forward as you suggest. To do so detracts from your credibility.

I got the impression the OP already knew the benchmarks but clearly, he isn't a cherry boy, is married to a Thai, and thus had enough sense to seek out anecdotal examples from others. I did the very same thing before I started the HHG shipment process. Read the government regs, talked to expats in LOS who had been there done that, separated the wheat from the chaff, then devised my own strategy.

Otherwise, think you gave great advice earlier. Don't be a DIY cheap charlie, door to door, and make sure you get a solid company.

[onthemoon]

Application of the law is happening much more than many posters might want us to believe. Yes, I might have exaggerated, but that was only to make a point. We actually sometimes receive instructions from farang customers who know that their goods need import licences they don't have, and boldly instruct us to "just pay the guy". I jsut tell them to find somebody else, very much like the customs broker friend another poster here mentioned. Total disregard for the law is what I don't like.

And yes, the OP did have enough sense to ask, so I am not blaming him, to the contrary. He just has to filter through the answers. My comments were meant with regards to some of the answers.

Thanks for your last paragraph. I see we agree.

[jschorr]

I agree with 55Jay. Door to Door with a reputable company is the way to go. It will cost more, but there will be a lot less aggravation. Also if your spouse is Thai and you are moving household goods back to Thailand, be sure you get that person's stay abroad verified by the Thai consulate nearest you in your country, a passport with entry and exit stamps, we were told is not sufficient. We shipped via IVL in Miami and used Vanguard Logistics Services in Bangkok, not particularly impressed with either company. We did Door to Port to save money and hired our own trucker at the port, worked well, saved money, but cost a lot of time (6 hours) dealing with customs declarations and release of cargo. My wife is Thai and we found an agent at customs, as I stated in an earlier post, otherwise it would have taken a lot longer. Our stuff arrived in Chiang Mai today, so all's well that ends well. Good luck to all who in the process of moving to Amazing Thailand.