Customs duty and tax exemption for students

Examples of items which may be subject to customs duty and tax exemption are

• furniture, to the extent needed to furnish a student residence
• personal effects and items needed for your studies, such as computers
• towels, bed linen
• clothes.

The goods may be imported in several separate consignments during the period the studies are in progress, for example during the autumn or spring semester or during the school year (the period before or after the summer vacation).

Duty relief cannot be given to goods that you, for example, buy online from a country outside the EU during your study period here. The rules for low-value consignments can be found on the page:

Low-value consignments

Supporting documents

When applying for duty and tax exemption, you must submit written information establishing your circumstances and that they meet the requirements for exemption. There is no form for providing this written information. Instead, you will have to provide information about your studies and the items for which you wish to apply for duty and tax exemption on a separate sheet.

You may also need to submit a letter from your academic institution to prove that you are registered for full-time studies at a school or a university. We may also request a certificate showing that the items are required for your education.

How to apply for duty and VAT relief

You apply for duty relief in one of the following ways:

• Make a declaration by going to a customs office and getting help to register the details in our import system. To speed up the process, there is a form you can fill in in advance and take to the customs office (see below).
• Contact a customs representative who will apply for duty relief on the import declaration.

Making your customs declaration