Customs clearance in Ireland for shipped personal effects
When I shipped my personal belongings to Ireland last year via an international removal service, I was unaware of what documentation I would need to produce in Ireland, to allow my things to clear customs. Out of the blue one day, I received an email informing me that I had to call a logistics company here in Ireland to have my goods cleared (they were not yet in Ireland, but almost). I didn't have a great international shipping experience (you can read my step-by-step guide to choosing an international shipping company here), so I wasn't too surprised to find out that the logistics people weren't expecting my call, and that they had no knowledge of my shipment. I won't bore you with the details, but after a couple of emails and phone calls back and forth they realized that they were responsible for helping getting my belongings through customs here in Ireland.
I supplied my email address to my contact at the logistics firm, and soon after was sent a list of things that I needed to furnish before my goods would clear customs. This list was a combination of information, declarations, payment and more. I'll itemize everything I was asked for below. I hope my experience will help simplify your own customs experience. Keep in mind that I moved from the US to Ireland. Those of you moving from within the EU will have a slightly different process to follow. I'll touch on that below.
1. Transfer of Residence form
The most detailed document you'll need to fill in for customs clearance here in Ireland is the Transfer of Residence form 1076 (full name: Form C&E 1076 - Transfer of Residence from outside the EU - Application and Declaration for Exemption from Import Charges and Vehicle Registration Tax). In it, you'll need to provide:
- Personal details
- Property information (i.e.about your shipment)
- Details about any vehicle you're importing (see below for more info)
- A signed declaration of transfer of residence, including a statement that your property was in your possession and was used by you at your place of previous normal residence outside Ireland for a minimum period of at least six months prior to taking up residence in Ireland.
- A detailed description of the goods you are importing, and their value. Talk with the logistics agent about the level of detail required here. I kept the description at a very high level, and that worked for me, but this may change on a case-by-case basis.
You will most likely need to post the original Transfer of Residence form to the logistics company you are working with, so that it can be presented to the customs agents. I was required to do this, and did so via registered post to be sure it was received.
Your logistics or shipping company should be able to provide you with a PDF copy of form 1076, but if not you should be able to locate it at this link.
2. Evidence of taking up residence
I was asked to provide evidence that I have taken up residence in Ireland, and proof of my previous residence in the States. To satisfy this I produced 2 "final bills" and an insurance cancellation receipt from the USA.
As evidence of moving back to Ireland, I included a doctors letter to state I had registered with them, an electric bill, and a letter of employment. Other documents that may also satisfy this request include bank statements, lease agreements, mortgage information, etc.
You may not need all of this, but the more evidence you can produce, the better chance you have of having your shipment released in a timely manner.
3. Fees
The logistics company quoted me 3 fees which they described as follows (these are unrelated to shipping costs I paid):
- Agency fee: €65.00
- Customs clearance fee: €65.00
- Handling at Bond charges = €167.37
I have no idea how these are calculated, or if yours will be in any way similar, but it gives you a starting point, and something to query with the agent. Or, maybe your shipping company will build in all these costs ahead of time. When you receive shipping quotes, be sure to ask the representative exactly what is, and what's not, covered.
The person I corresponded with indicated that VAT may also be assessed on my goods, and that I'd be informed once that was calculated. As it turns out, in my case, no VAT was charged.
4. PPS Number
I was asked to provide my Irish PPS number (this is like a US social security number), which was fine, as I had grown up here and had one from before. However if you are new to Ireland, you may not have one of these yet. My guess is that they can't force you to provide a PPS number, but I'm not sure what the implications are for those of you that don't yet have one. Please get in touch if you know more details on this.
Special circumstances
5. Importing a motor vehicle to Ireland
When you import a car to Ireland from abroad (from within or outside the EU), there are some very unique requirements related to your residency abroad, and related to the motor vehicle itself, that have to be met before you are entitled to relief from VAT and vehicle registration tax (VRT). I did not import a car to Ireland, so I am not going to go in to any detail about this topic here. Revenue.ie is the official source of information, and that is where you can figure out if you will qualify for relief for any fees.
The place to start is the Transfer of Residence Leaflet. From there you can download the various application forms, and review the requirements. It covers transfers from outside and within the EU.
6. Importing alcohol or cigarettes to Ireland
If your shipment of "personal effects" include any amount of alcohol or cigarettes, you will need to declare it. The bad news on this is that there is no VAT/customs relief available for these items other than what you would normally be allowed when travelling from a non-EU country.
You should also be aware of other situations whereby no relief from Customs Duty or VAT is available e.g. work related items. Review leaflet PN 1875 for details
Additionally, there are a number of restricted items, which you cannot bring with you or you might need a license for (e.g. guns, explosives). Again, leaflet PN 1875 will provide the official details.
In summary
I recommend being thorough in your research, so that there are no surprises on arrival in Ireland. The linked resources below should help you understand what you need to minimize your customs bill.
Keep in mind, that the experience described above is my own. Yours, depending on any number of circumstances or conditions, may be quite different. Ask questions of your shipping company, and visit Revenue.ie for official info.
Important Resources
image credit: Customs House Dublin - Flickr/jad99
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I’m pretty sure that I read somewhere in this wonderful site, how much it cost per week to store a 20 ft or 40 ft shipping container in Ireland. We would need a secure storage facility before finding our home to purchase. Now I can’t find that information. Maybe I’ve lost the plot and read it somewhere else. I think it said it was 60 Eu per week for a 20 ft container? Does anyone know please? This is very expensive! And have I seen this information here? Thank you.
Hi Oonagh
These are the rates I found for one company in Dublin for container self storage. I have sent a couple of emails to other companies asking for their rates too for comparison.
20ft container 1 month €30 per week
20ft container 3 month €28.57 per week
20ft container 6 month €28.57 per week
40ft container 1 month €55 per week
40ft container 3 month €52 per week
40ft container 6 month €52 per week
Hi Liam,
Thank you very much for going to the trouble of sourcing these rates for us. It’s very good of you. It gives us an idea of what we might be up for. But this brings up another issue! Rates quoted for shipping door to door, including insurance,may not include storage charges while we find our new door to deliver to! I realize that these are questions for the removal company to answer, but at least it’s another question/item for your check list.
By the way, when I moved from San Francisco to Sydney many years ago, including a container with all my furniture, it was all much simpler. The removal company included everything in their quote and unpacked it when it arrived. Maybe those were the days!
I’m happy to, Oonagh. I’m sure like any related to international moving services, it’s probably best to shop around for quotes. Although you might be limited in choices, depending on what port/town you want the container stored at.
Thanks for writing this customs clearance article Liam.
Do you have any customs information on the process of sending personal belongings to Ireland (from US) simply via a courier or the USPS? We’d like to send a few boxes of our books now, in advance of our move (this summer).
Hi Mairead,
You will need to fill out customs info on your shipment before it leaves. You need to do this for even the smallest of packages. Depending on its value, it could get flagged in Ireland by Customs. I’ve had that happen on a shipment coming into the US from Ireland, but not the other way around.
I’m guessing for books, you should be fine. Their value shouldn’t exceed the allowed limit.
Does this help?
What are the limits? Textbooks and reference books can be priced pretty high, and usually don’t depreciate the same as other items.
David – it’s not very high. Hundreds rather than thousands. So yes, something like properly valued text books could exceed it. Check out leaflet CDPN36 at http://www.revenue.ie/en/customs/leaflets/ for info.
Yes Liam this information helped and we successfully sent 7 boxes of books and photos (from Atlanta, Georgia) last week. The post office does not offer first-class for large-ish boxes, so we had to send with priority mail. However, the boxes arrived within a week, in top condition and evidently no delays in Customs. We are relieved that some of our precious belongings are safe and sound again!
Glad to hear, Mairead. When is the big day? Or have you not settled on a date to move yet?
We’ll fly out of Boston to Dublin on 12th June 🙂 …and live happily ever after!
Congratulations!
Thanks David!
Hello, We are organizing moving from Canada to Ireland where we bought a property last year, the shipping company initially said that the shipment would have to clear customs in UK. Has anyone heard of this before? We’re unsure why the shipment wouldnt go directly to Ireland. Any advice would be much appreciated.
Hi Christine,
Most likely this is because the shipping company doesn’t ship directly to Ireland from Canada. Strange isn’t it that they go past Ireland to the UK, but that’s how it goes. In fact my things ended up being sent even further (from the US). I think they ended up in Holland first.
It’s kind of like taking a multi-stop flight, with the UK being used as a layover. You’re things will be paired up with other shipments bound for Ireland and placed on to a different ship from the UK. It’s mostly transparent to us, the customer, however you may incur some fees in the UK e.g. customs fees, etc.
I hope this helps.
Liam
A full container load the container would be loaded on a truck, and then moved to a container port. It might be transferred from the truck to a train before it reaches the port in North America. There they will load one of the large container ships going to another container port. There are a few in the EU for the largest ships. I think Northern Europe it is Amsterdam, SouthHampton, and one of the Germany ports. Liverpool will be able to handle them within a year or so. For shipments into the EU it may have to pass EU customs when it comes into the EU.
There the container is transferred to either a truck or a smaller container ship. If a smaller container ship it goes to a closer port and then is transferred to a truck.
Partial container loads are similar, except your stuff is moved between containers as needed to consolidate so that they are moving full containers and ass full as possible ships.
Essentially smaller loads are consolidated onto as large of a shared transportation.
Thanks I’m going to question them a bit more.
Dear Liam (& group),
Have just found this site and finding it incredibly useful – many thanks! We’re planning on moving to Ireland next summer and doing our research now.
I was concerned coming across this line in the post above: (“A signed declaration of transfer of residence, including a statement that your property was in your possession and was used by you at your place of previous normal residence outside Ireland for a minimum period of at least six months prior to taking up residence in Ireland.”) as our situation is that we are moving to Ireland from Switzerland (have been here on an expat contract) but are permanently moving to Ireland and will want our storage in the US shipped here. We won’t have been with our stuff for the required time requested. Any sense of how to handle this? A signed letter from the storage facility that the goods have been securely stored, etc? Perhaps I will need to contact Customs directly.
Many thanks for any light you can shed…
Kate
Hi Kate, and welcome 🙂
The phrase “place of previous normal residence” may be what you could focus in on. You could probably argue that Switzerland has not been that, as you were on a short term, finite contract there. That in addition to the fact your things have been in storage should help.
As you mentioned you’d probably be best off contacting the Irish Customs people directly. Your situation is unique, but I’m sure they have handled something similar before. We’d love to hear how it goes, so please update us with additional info if you can.
Best wishes,
Liam