Frequently asked questions on duty exemption for personal belongings

You are considered to move or return on the day you arrive to Sweden for the purpose of living here. In order to be exempt from duty, you must have the intention to live in Sweden for at least one year.

If you and your family have been living and worked permanently in a non-EU country, such as the USA, for at least 12 months, your partner and your children are considered immigrants, as will you and the rest of the family if you move back later on.

In that case, the agent is handling the clearance, on condition that you have provided your agent with a declaration for customs exemption along with the necessary supporting documents.

When your belongings arrive in Sweden, they are placed in a warehouse. The warehouse owner or the transporter will contact you.

You are not required to pay customs duty, VAT or other taxes for items intended for personal use during your studies. Items referred to here include furniture (for a student room), computer, clothes, towels and bed linen.

When you arrive at the border, you need to apply for customs exemption in your import declaration. You must provide a written statement regarding your studies and a list of the items for which you are applying for customs exemption. You may also need to prove that you are registered for full-time studies at a school or a university.

Studies do not automatically exempt you from paying duty. You must prove that you have had your normal residence (“centre of interest”) in the country for at least 12 months. You need to verify this, for example using a residence permit from the country, proof of registration with a local authority (municipality) or similar.

As a returnee, you may only interrupt it for up to 72 days in a year. If you interrupt your residence abroad by visiting other countries for longer than 72 days in total, you may not count this time towards the total length of your residence in a non-EU country.

As an immigrant, there is no time restriction for short interruptions; however, you are required to be able to demonstrate that you have had your place of residence in a third country for an continuous 1-year period.

No. The time of transport cannot be counted as part of the period of use.

There is no limit on the number of cars you are allowed to bring for private use. If you are applying for customs exemption for personal belongings for more than one car, Swedish Customs will make an assessment to ensure that you will not be using the cars commercially.

Yes, under certain circumstances. You must have entered the contract in your own name; we will not grant customs exemption for a car that is leased by your employer or anyone else, even if it is intended for your private use. The contract must specify that you are using the car privately for a longer period of time.

As an immigrant, you need to demonstrate this with a contract that is valid for at least the period in which the car belonged to and was used by you or a member of your household in the third country where you resided, i.e., for six months.

As a returnee, you need to demonstrate this with a contract that is valid for at least the period in which the car belonged to and was used by you or a member of your household in the third country where you resided for reasons of your employment, .i.e. for six months.

If the car arrives before your belongings, we consider it as your belongings arriving in separate shipments. You declare the shipments separately, meaning that you fill out an import declaration, an application for customs exemption and produce the supporting documents for each shipment separately.

Yes, provided that you meet the requirements for customs exemption.

If you are immigrating, the car must have belonged to you, i.e. the car must have been disposed of and used by you, or a member of your household at your place of residence in a third country where you have lived for at least six months.

If you are a returnee, the car must have belonged to you, i.e. the car must have been disposed of and used by you, or a member of your household at the place in a third country where you resided due to your employment for at least six months.

Yes, you may be exempt from duty in advance if you are in the immigrant category. In order to qualify for customs exemption for your personal belongings, you need to:

• certify that you intend to move permanently within six months (immigration)
• certify that you intend to return to reside permanently in Sweden within six months (returnee)
• provide a guarantee for customs duty, VAT and other taxes
• provide a customs declaration and the declaration for customs exemption.

You can also be exempt from paying customs duty for personal belongings sent ahead if you are forced by professional commitments to leave your normal residence outside of the EU without moving directly to Sweden or another EU country. In that case, you undertake to move to Sweden within a certain period, which is specified considering the circumstances. Swedish Customs makes an assessment on whether you need to provide a guarantee. The same applies to returnees.

Yes, you may be exempt from duty after your move, if you import your belongings within one year from the day you relocated to Sweden.

No. You can only be exempt from customs duty for personal belongings if you move to Sweden and intend to use the items here.

If you move to another EU country via Sweden, you must therefore transit your belongings to that country and apply for customs exemption there instead.

The general rule is to not grant a dispensation, but you can submit a written application for us to examine on a case by case basis. Generally speaking, you must be in a situation where the circumstances have been out of your control.

In the first year of being granted duty/tax exemption for the goods, you must not in any way transfer any part of the belongings to anyone else. If, during this time, you wish to sell, lend, pledge, rent out or give away any part of the property, you must first notify Swedish Customs. This is because you will then have to pay customs duty, VAT and other taxes on the goods. There are no exemptions from this time limit.

You may use the vehicle for one week after clearing customs, i.e. from the day you enter Sweden with it. You must then apply for a temporary registration or have the vehicle approved in a registration inspection.

Read more about vehicle registration with the Swedish Transport Agency.

Then you need to do it directly at the border.

Unless we promptly receive a filled out and signed form, you will need to pay full customs duty, VAT and other taxes on the goods.