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Algeria allows used household goods in free of duty, but through two separate arrangements with different qualifying tests. Algerian nationals returning permanently use the Certificate of Change of Residence, known as the CCR. Foreign nationals authorised to settle in the country use a different route tied to their installation authorisation. Applying under the wrong one, or assuming the conditions are the same, is where most of the trouble on this corridor starts.
This page sets out both, along with the deadline that governs the CCR, what the consulate has to stamp before customs will accept your inventory, and the currency rules that catch people at the airport rather than the port. It is a reference guide rather than legal advice, and Algerian requirements change, so treat it as your briefing before you speak to the Consulate General of Algeria in London.
Algerian national returning for good? The CCR route. Three years abroad, consular registration, one use only.
Foreign national moving to Algeria? The installation route. Authorised to settle for three years or more, and goods expected to leave with you.
Algerian consular posts publish consistent conditions for the CCR. You need to be registered with your consulate as a principal, be over nineteen, prove three uninterrupted years of residence outside Algeria, be returning permanently, and never have benefited from a CCR before. Spouses and minor children are covered under the principal's certificate rather than applying separately.
The entitlement covers your personal belongings and household furniture for your own use and that of your spouse and minor children living with you abroad, free of customs duties and taxes. There is a legal ceiling on the total value admitted, which includes any vehicle, and a lower ceiling applies to students and trainees. Because the ceiling is set in Algerian dinars and your inventory is valued at the rate of the day, the valuation you put on that inventory matters in two directions at once.
One consequence people miss: a CCR removes you from the consular register. If you settle abroad again later, you register from scratch, and there is no second certificate.
The step that separates Algeria from most destinations is consular legalisation. Your inventory is not a packing list you hand to the driver. It is drawn up, valued, signed and stamped by the consulate, and that stamp is what makes it acceptable to Algerian customs. A shipment turning up against an unlegalised list is the most common reason a clearance stalls.
There is a fee for the certificate itself, a smaller fee for each document legalised, and a further charge that rises in steps with the declared value on the inventory. Reduced rates apply to students and trainees at some posts.
The practical effect is that an inflated inventory valuation costs you twice: more to legalise, and more of your exemption ceiling consumed. An undervalued one risks the entry itself. Value honestly. Confirm the current schedule with the Consulate General of Algeria in London, since posts publish their own figures.
Foreigners authorised to settle in Algeria for a period of three years or more can clear the objects and effects making up their household furniture, intended for their own use or that of a spouse and minor children living with them, with exemption from duties and taxes and from foreign trade formalities.
The supporting documents are endorsed by the Algerian diplomatic or consular authorities covering your area, and the file includes the authorisation to install in Algeria issued by the competent Algerian authority. Without that authorisation there is no exemption, so it is the document to secure before anything is packed.
The condition at the far end matters as much. Goods brought in under this arrangement are expected to be re-exported when you leave the country. If your plan was to furnish a home and sell it on at the end of a posting, that assumption needs checking before you decide what to ship.
The Algerian dinar cannot be bought outside Algeria, and moving dinar notes across the border is restricted, with only residents permitted a small allowance either way. Most people therefore arrive holding euros or sterling.
Bank of Algeria rules require a declaration above a set threshold on entry and on exit. Algerian nationals, resident or not, declare from a lower threshold than foreign non-residents. Taking larger sums back out requires your endorsed inbound declaration, and above a higher figure, Bank of Algeria authorisation.
Declaring costs nothing and the stamped form is your proof the money entered legally. Thresholds have been revised more than once, so check the current figures with the Direction Générale des Douanes before you fly.
Tell us which route applies to you, your certificate or authorisation date if you have one, and the Algerian delivery address. We come back with one certified company that has cleared households at Algerian ports before. No charge, and no obligation to book.
The 2026 Finance Law changed a long standing rule. A CCR holder could previously import only a brand new vehicle. From 1 January 2026 the vehicle may be new or less than five years old on the date it enters Algerian customs territory.
The Consulate General of Algeria in London has published the detail for its jurisdiction. The entitlement covers one vehicle: a passenger car that is electric, petrol or petrol hybrid with a cylinder capacity at or below 1,800 cm³, or a light commercial vehicle at or below 5,950 kg gross weight on those same fuel types, or a two wheeler subject to registration. Diesel vehicles are excluded, new or used.
For a UK household that exclusion is the important line, because diesel is common in the British fleet. Check your vehicle against the consulate's current notice, and do not buy a car for the move until the CCR file has been approved. Vehicles also count against the overall value ceiling for the exemption.
The duty free entitlement is time limited, and an extension has to be applied for through Algerian Customs rather than assumed. Do not plan on getting one. If your dates are slipping, raise it with the consulate and your mover early, while there is still room to move the sailing rather than the deadline.
No. The application includes a sworn declaration that you have never benefited from one, and the certificate removes you from the consular register when it is issued. If you return abroad afterwards you register again from the beginning, but the entitlement itself is a once in a lifetime one.
They prepare the packing list and can produce it to the standard the consulate expects, which is worth asking about when you choose a firm. The legalisation itself is yours to arrange with the consulate. Keep the legalised inventory and the UK export packing list consistent, since a mismatch surfaces at clearance.
Yes, and beyond the household exemption Algeria applies the usual prohibitions and restrictions on controlled goods. Firearms, certain plant and animal products, and anything requiring a licence need checking individually. If you are unsure about an item, flag it before it is packed rather than after it is in a container.
This guide is maintained by Darren Benjamin, who founded International Removals Companies in 2010 and has over 20 years in the logistics industry. Since 2013 he has also been Secretary and Manager of a UK removal company, a role verifiable on Companies House.
Checked in August 2026 against the Consulate General of Algeria in London, Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs consular guidance, the Direction Générale des Douanes and the 2026 Finance Law. Next review August 2027. This is general information, not legal or customs advice. Algerian requirements, fees and thresholds are set by the Algerian authorities and change without notice, so confirm your own position with the consulate before you commit to dates or ship anything. Read our Google reviews.
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This page is general guidance, not customs advice. Algerian customs and consular requirements are set by the Algerian authorities and can change without notice.