Duty exemption for immigrants

As an immigrant, you may be granted duty exemption for your movables if your normal residence has been continuously located outside the EU for at least one year.

Duty exemption for personal property (belongings)

You can obtain duty and tax exemption on personal property that has belonged to you for at least six months prior to leaving for Sweden. Additionally, at the place where you had your normal residence outside the EU, these belongings must have been used by you or members of your household for at least six months. You must also intend to use your belongings for the same purpose in your new, normal residence in Sweden.

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.

To be able to apply for exemption from customs duty and tax on personal property, you have a year to get your belongings to your new home.

Duty exemption for vehicles

To be granted duty/ tax exemption for a vehicle, the vehicle must have belonged to you for at least six months prior to leaving for Sweden. Additionally, at the place where you had your normal residence outside the EU, the vehicle must have been used by you or members of your household for at least six months.

You must also intend to use the vehicle for the same purpose in your new, normal residence in Sweden.

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

How to request exemption from duty as an immigrant

You can register your personal belongings with Swedish Customs by completing a number of forms. Learn more about the respective documents:

You can submit the documents in the following ways:

When you arrive with your personal belongings, you can present the documents to a Customs Officer at the border.
If your belongings are being delivered by a removal firm, you provide the firm with the documents along with a power of attorney for the driver to present them to a Customs Officer at the border.
If you are retrieving your personal belongings from storage, present your documents to the customs clearance office at the warehouse where your items are located.

Where to find our customs clearance offices

Power of Attorney For private individuals / sole proprietorships Pdf, 160.8 kB.

The form “Declaration for obtaining relief from customs duty and tax on personal belongings when migrating to Sweden”

Once you have completed the form “Declaration for obtaining relief from customs duty and tax on personal belongings when migrating to Sweden”, you need to print and sign the original form.

You can either hand in the completed and signed form directly to the customs office or scan it and attach it to your electronic customs declaration. If you use a representative to lodge a customs declaration, the representative can also help you attach the transit declaration to the case.

Download the form “Declaration for obtaining relief from customs duty and tax on personal belongings when migrating to Sweden”. Pdf, 207.7 kB.

Packing inventory

A packing inventory should contain information regarding your personal belongings. Specify capital goods, such as vehicles, televisions, computers, refrigerators and similar items. Other items can be reported under collective terms, such as books, household goods, linen and clothing.

Supporting documents

If you belong to the immigrant category, you may need to provide supporting documents, such as:

Proof of emigration from Sweden
Documents proving that you have had your normal place of residence outside the EU
- Registration in the municipality where - your residence has been located
- Residence permit and, where applicable, work permit
- Certificate from your employer
- Lease agreement or contract of sale for your residence
Proof that you are moving to Sweden (e.g. proof of residence permit or proof of right of residence, or decision from the Swedish Tax Authority concerning registration in the Population Register)

You may also be asked to present documents proving that the goods have belonged to you, and been used by you or a member of your household for at least six months at your place of residence in a third country, such as:

Purchase documents (i.e. receipts, invoices or hire-purchase agreements)
Foreign insurance documents
Registration and traffic insurance documents for vehicles
Shipping documents

Making your customs declaration

If you choose to handle your customs declaration yourself, you can provide the information on a simplified form and lodge it at a customs office where you will be assisted by a customs officer to enter the declaration into our import system.

Forms

Download the Import manual customs declaration form. If you have several different types of goods, you may also need an supplement sheet to the form.

Forms for making your customs declaration:

Data for manual customs declarations for imports Pdf, 162.1 kB.

Data for manual customs declarations for imports - Supplement sheet Pdf, 135.6 kB.