Bringing my removal goods to Finland before the move
Your removal goods may arrive in Finalnd or you can bring them to Finland before you move.
You don’t have to pay VAT or customs duty for removal goods arriving from inside the EU territory. If certain conditions are met, removal goods can also be brought from outside the EU or from within the EU but outside the EU fiscal territory without paying any VAT or customs duty.
If your removal goods arrive before you move, the following conditions must also be met, so that you don’t have to pay VAT or customs duty:
- You transfer your permanent place of residence to Finland within six months of the customs clearance of your removal goods.
- A guarantee is lodged for your removal goods.
A guarantee is a payment that Customs needs in connection with customs clearance. Customs returns the guarantee to you or to a transport company or forwarding agency once you have moved to Finland. Please note that if you do not inform Customs about your move within 6 months from declaring the goods, you will have to pay import duties for your removal goods.
The guarantee for the removal goods is 500 euros. In addition, a 10 percent guarantee must be paid for each vehicle brought as removal goods.
You can buy the customs clearance from a transport company or a forwarding agency that will lodge a guarantee on your behalf. A forwarding agency is a company that can declare the goods on your behalf. After you have moved to Finland, make arrangements with a transport company or a forwarding agency about sending the documents proving your move. Attach a certificate showing that your permanent place of residence is in Finland, e.g. a residence certificate (Digital and Population Data Services Agency).
Please note the following if you are a representative of a transport company or a forwarding agency bringing the removal goods:
- If you company has a payment deferment authorisation, you can reserve a guarantee from the general guarantee of your company.
- If you company does not have a payment deferment authorisation, you can declare the removal goods and lodge and reserve a guarantee at a customs office.
You can declare your removal goods and lodge a guarantee in the Customs Clearance Service in conjunction with the customs clearance. Read about how to declare removal goods in the Customs Clearance Service. Please note that you can’t declare removal goods arriving in advance on behalf of another person in the Customs Clearance Service.
When declaring your removal goods in the Customs Clearance Service, please note the following:
- When you declare, choose the code “C42” in the field Additional procedure.
- After submitting the declaration, log in to the Customs Clearance Service again within 24 hours and check if you have received a message from Customs.
- After receiving a message in the service, you can lodge the guarantee. Please note that for lodging the guarantee you will need your account number and the BIC of your bank. Read more on how to lodge and pay the guarantee in the section “Lodging and payment of an individual guarantee”.
After you have moved to Finland, notify Customs of your move, primarily in the Customs Clearance Service as follows:
- In the declaration, choose the “Messages” tab and then click on “Contact request”.
- Choose “006 Other reason” as the reason for contact and in the text field, type a free-form statement of your move to Finland.
- Attach a certificate showing that your permanent place of residence is in Finland, such as a residence certificate (Digital and Population Data Services Agency.
- Select Send.
After this, Customs will return the guarantee to the bank account you have provided. Please note that if you don’t inform Customs about your move within 6 months of declaring your removal goods, you must pay the import duties for your removal goods.
You can clear your removal goods and lodge a guarantee at a customs office in conjunction with customs clearance. For lodging the guarantee, you will need your bank account number and the BIC of your bank. Please note that the guarantee cannot be lodged at a customs office that offers services by appointment only. When necessary, you can authorise another person in writing to declare and lodge the guarantee on your behalf at a customs office.
At a customs office, you can pay the guarantee in cash or with a payment card. Please note that if the guarantee is paid by bank transfer, it may take a few days before your payment appears on the Customs bank account. Make sure to keep the customs clearance decision you received.
When you have moved to Finland, notify Customs with a message to the email address indicated in the customs clearance decision. The message can be free-form but it must contain the following:
- Proof showing that your permanent place of residence is in Finland, e.g. a residence certificate (Digital and Population Data Services Agency).
- The customs clearance decision number. If you declared the removal goods in 2025, the number of the customs clearance decision begins with 25FIU.
After this, Customs will return the guarantee to the bank account you have provided. Please note that if you don’t inform Customs about your move within 6 months of declaring your removal goods, you are responsible for paying the import duties for them.