This is how you declare removal goods

Declaring removal goods in the Import Declaration Service for private persons

If a transport company brings in your removal goods, you can declare them in the Import Declaration Service for private persons.

Note that it is not possible to log in to the Import Declaration Service for private persons with the Finnish Authenticator ID service meant for foreign citizens.

Note that in the Import Declaration Service for private persons you can only declare removal goods that the transport company brings from outside the EU.

In the Import Declaration Service for private persons, you cannot declare removal goods that

Declaring removal goods in other ways

If a transport company brings in your removal goods, you can declare them alternatively in one of the following ways:

If you bring in your removal goods yourself, you should declare them

Read about how you can declare removal goods that are imported prior to moving.

Enclosures to a declaration on removal goods

For declaring removal goods, you need the following enclosures:

  • A general list of the removal goods (for example one bed, a television set, 3 kg of clothes, dishes, books etc.).
  • A copy or photo of your passport.
  • A certificate of employment or other documentation of residing abroad.
  • A completed form 45. Note that you will not need form 45 if you declare your goods in the Import Declaration Service for private persons or with form 1161.

When declaring removal goods, you may also need the following enclosures or additional information:

Other things to note

Note that some goods cannot be declared as removal goods exempt from import duty. This means that such goods are always subject to import duties when you move. 

Goods that cannot be declared as removal goods exempt from import duty

  • alcohol
  • tobacco products
  • removal goods subject to an exceptional permit if you do not have such a permit
  • utility means of transport, meaning for example vehicles used for other than personal purposes, such as a bus, taxi or lorry.
  • goods meant for professional use, except for portable tools used in technical and liberal professions.

Note the following if you declare these goods in the Import Declaration Service for private persons:

  • If a part of your removal goods is in this category, you cannot declare removal goods in the Import Declaration Service for private persons.
  • If all of your goods are in this category, instead of “removal goods” you should indicate that your wish to declare “purchased goods”. 

You can declare goods that cannot be declared as removal goods exempt from import duty for example in one of the following ways:

Read more about how to declare goods.

In certain situations, Customs can grant you an exception, even if the conditions for a duty-free and tax-free import of removal goods are not met. If you are granted an exception, you can import your removal goods to Finland free of customs duty and value added tax.

Customs can grant you an exception only in exceptional circumstances, which you could not anticipate and you could not influence yourself. Economic reasons are not such exceptional circumstances.

In which situations can you be granted an exception?

  • The goods have been in your possession for less than six months and you are moving to Finland for a compelling reason
  • You have lived outside the EU for less than 12 months, and you are moving to Finland for a compelling reason
  • If you moved to Finland more than 12 months ago. The reasons for the delay in the importation of the goods have been unforeseeable, independent of you and beyond your control.

Customs cannot accept these reasons as grounds for an exception:

  • The goods have been in your possession for less than six months and you are moving to Finland without a compelling reason.
  • You have lived outside the EU for less than 12 months, and you are moving to Finland without a compelling reason
  • You bring in your removal goods to Finland 12 months after you moved without a compelling reason.
  • You have not been able to bring in your removal goods to Finland within 12 months for economic reasons.
  • You do not have a residence permit issued for at least one year (other than for study purposes or on the basis of a family member's studies) if you need a residence permit.

Examples of situations where Customs does not grant an exception:

Example 1: You worked outside the EU, and you knew in advance that you would live there for less than 12 months. You bought things abroad that you wish to bring to Finland as removal goods.

Example 2: You moved to Finland in 2021. You wanted to leave furniture and other goods in an apartment outside the EU, or you did not have the economic opportunities to bring them to Finland at an earlier time. You are selling an apartment abroad in 2024, and you wish to bring the furniture and other household items to Finland as removal goods.

Example 3: You lived outside the EU and bought a vehicle abroad that broke down. You bought a new vehicle in its place, which you used for less than 6 months before moving to Finland. You wish to bring this new vehicle as removal goods to Finland.

This is how you apply for an exception for your own removal goods

Exception is applied for in the Authorisations and Decisions Service. You log in to the service with your Finnish online banking ID codes, your mobile certificate or your certificate card.

The Service is only available in Finnish and Swedish. The instructions for filling in the application have been published in Finnish and Swedish.

This is how you apply for an exception for your own removal goods if you cannot use the e-service

If you cannot use our Authorisations and Decisions Service, e.g. because you don’t have Finnish online banking ID codes, a certificate card or a mobile certificate, apply for an exception with the form “Application for exceptional permit” (1163).

The Service is only available in Finnish and Swedish. The instructions for filling in the application have been published in Finnish and Swedish:
Instructions on how to apply for an exception in Finnish
Instructions on how to apply for an exception in Swedish

If you are granted an exception

If you are granted an exception, you can import your removal goods to Finland free of customs duty and value added tax. However, you must still declare your removal goods.

If you declare removal goods yourself, read the instructions on how to declare removal goods in the Customs Clearance Service (pdf). Enter the exceptional permit in the customs declaration under “Goods item” with additional document code “9TAP” and as identifier of the code, the permit number (has the form FITAPL12345).

If you are not granted an exception

If you are not granted an exception, you cannot import your removal goods to Finland free of customs duty and value added tax. When the removal goods arrive in Finland, you must declare them and pay the import taxes.

If you don’t wish to declare the removal goods, you can e.g. store them in a customs warehouse.

Technical professions are trades such as those of engineer, surgeon and silversmith (for example, work equipment comprise a surgeon’s knife or a silversmith’s hammer). Liberal professions are professions such as author and visual artist (work equipment e.g. artist’s paintbrush).