Duty exemption for personal belongings for those moving due to marriage
If you are moving to Sweden due to marriage, you may be granted duty exemption for your personal belongings. Your normal residence must have been located outside of the EU for a continuous period of at least one year before moving to Sweden.
It does not matter if your wedding is held in Sweden or another country; however, you will need to present proof of the marriage when applying for duty exemption.
Duty exemption for household goods and wedding attire
You may be granted duty exemption for household goods and you and your partner’s wedding attire. Household goods refers to personal property, such as linen, furniture and equipment intended for you and your partner’s common household or personal use. You may only apply for duty exemption for personal belongings for items that belong to you.
During your first year from the time when duty relief was granted, you are not allowed to transfer the goods to any other party. Should you wish to sell, lend, pawn or rent out any part of the property for which you were granted duty exemption during this period, you are required to first notify Swedish Customs, as you are required to pay customs duty, VAT and any other taxes for the items. Exemptions from this requirement cannot be given.
You can bring your personal belongings in to Sweden no earlier than two months before the wedding and no later than four months after the wedding. If you bring them in before the wedding, you must provide security for the fees until you can prove that the wedding has taken place.
You may also be granted duty exemption for a wedding gift if
- the gift is intended for you
- the person giving the gift resides in a country outside the EU
- the gift’s value does not exceed SEK 11,600
- The gift is of a kind normally given as a wedding gift.
Remember that certain items are subject to special regulations, e.g. food, plants and certain fruits, animals, pharmaceuticals and weapons. It might be useful to know that you cannot get tax exemptions for alcohol or tobacco products.
How to apply for duty exemption for personal belongings when moving due to marriage
You can register your personal belongings with Swedish Customs by submitting
- an import declaration using the Single Administrative Document (SAD) form
- the form “Declaration for obtaining relief from customs duty and tax on personal belongings when moving to Sweden due to marriage”'
- a packing list
- supporting 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 must 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 to retrieve your personal belongings from storage, present your documents to the customs clearance office at the warehouse where your items are located.
The form “Declaration for obtaining relief from customs duty and tax on personal belongings when moving to Sweden due to marriage”
Once you have completed the form “Declaration for obtaining relief from customs duty and tax on personal belongings when moving to Sweden due to marriage”, 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 form to the case.
Packing list
A packing list should contain information about your belongings. Specify capital goods, such as television sets, computers, refrigerators, alcohol, tobacco etc. Other items may be declared using collective terms, such as books, household items, textiles and clothes.
Supporting documents
You are required to present a marriage certificate or a written declaration that you intend to get married, including the intended date therefor.
You may also need to provide documents that establish that you had your place of residence in a third country and are moving to Sweden, such as:
- Proof of emigration from Sweden
- 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)
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.