Customs and Transfer of Residence Relief for Moving to Switzerland
Moving to Switzerland means a customs border, because the country is outside the EU. Swiss customs admits household goods without duty on a change of residence, on conditions.
A few short questions. Nothing is sent until you check and confirm.
Do household goods pay duty when you move to Switzerland?
Not if you qualify for the relief. The Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (BAZG, in French OFDF, in Italian UDSC) calls the goods of someone who moves their home to Switzerland Übersiedlungsgut, and its page on moving to Switzerland (opens in a new window) (undated) names a change of residence as the main condition for bringing household goods in free of duty. Because Switzerland stands outside the EU customs territory, the goods are cleared at a Swiss customs office, whether they come from the UK or from a member state.
Everything here concerns arrival in Switzerland. Our page on Spain to Switzerland has the Spanish car steps, and Switzerland to Germany covers leaving the country.
What conditions must the goods meet?
The BAZG sets two tests in the same breath. Your residence has to move to Switzerland, and you must have used the goods personally for at least six months before import. It adds that you must go on using them afterwards. A sofa bought last month fails the six-month test, however long it then sits in your Swiss living room.
According to the same page, the relief extends to household goods, collections, animals and a car. For arrivals from the EU-27 states and the EFTA states it states that no residence permit assurance is needed. The UK is in neither group, and the page does not describe what applies to other nationalities or origins, so ask the BAZG’s information centre before you pack. Its number, shown on the page, is +41 58 467 15 15.
Students have a separate route: the procedure page says household items, personal effects and school materials can come in duty-free even without a change of residence.
How long after you move can the goods follow, and what if an item fails the six-month test?
Two years, according to the customs authority's FAQ, and anything that fails the six-month test goes on a separate list to be cleared. Later shipments have to be declared at the first import.
The BAZG's FAQ on moving goods (opens in a new window) (undated, read on 3 November 2026) says household goods must be imported in a time connected with the change of residence, and that within a period of two years there is no problem in that respect. The six-month use condition must still be met. For later shipments, the FAQ says the exemption can be granted only under certain conditions, so a lorry that follows after the two years needs a call to the information centre before it is booked.
Items that fail the six-month test, such as the sofa from the paragraph above, are not simply left out. The FAQ says they go at the end of the inventory or on a separate list under the title zu verzollende Waren (goods to be cleared), each with its value, and adds that purchase receipts make clearance easier. The same FAQ asks for the inventory to give global figures, such as a number of boxes of books, and to list furniture, valuables, large appliances and goods under import restrictions, such as alcoholic drinks and weapons, separately and in more detail.
Shipments that travel later must be announced to the customs office at the first import, on a separate list, and the FAQ says this can also concern a car imported on its own. The next steps are settled with the customs office directly. If a later shipment was not announced at the first import, the FAQ points to its question on the two-year period, so ask the information centre on +41 58 467 15 15 before you plan a second trip.
Form 18.44 and the optional pre-check
On the BAZG procedure page (opens in a new window) (undated), the declaration is form 18.44, which you give to the customs office where you enter. The form is shown as dated 1 January 2022, and a directive on further customs exemptions (R-18-03) is dated 1 March 2026. We could not open either PDF, so the page cannot tell you what the form asks for. The page also links a list of removal goods, dated 6 August 2008, which we did not open either.
A pre-check is available in only three places: Mendrisiotto (Stabio-Confine), Vedeggio and Chiasso-Strada. You send the form and supporting papers to that office at least two working days before you cross, then cross at the same office. The page lists no other office for it.
Where an office takes the file in advance, the page gives a separate email address for each of the three. They are on the BAZG page, which saves us copying an address that may change.
When can the lorry actually be cleared?
Clearance happens during the customs offices’ opening hours for commercial goods. The BAZG’s page on opening hours and holidays (opens in a new window) (undated) says declarations are possible Monday to Friday during regular clearance times, and that some offices also open on Saturday mornings. Hours for each office are in the BAZG’s directory of customs offices.
On national holidays the offices are closed for commercial goods: New Year’s Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Ascension Day, Whit Monday, 1 August, Christmas Day and 26 December. Cantonal holidays close the offices in that canton, and the BAZG sends you to ch.ch for those dates. A delivery planned for a Thursday before a long weekend is worth checking against that list.
What about a car in the same move?
The BAZG page on vehicles in a move (opens in a new window) (undated) applies the household-goods rules to road, water and air vehicles. A car is cleared at its first crossing into Switzerland, at a customs office that handles removal goods, and customs issues form 13.20 A for registration at the cantonal road traffic office.
If the car does not meet the relief conditions, permit 15.30 may be available. It allows duty-free use for at most two years after the change of residence, and Swiss plates must be requested within one year. This page goes no further on cars; whether they get a guide of their own has not been decided.
Second homes, weddings and inheritance
The moving-to-Switzerland page names three other situations with their own duty-free routes: buying or renting a home for the long term as a holiday home, goods that come with a marriage or registered partnership, and an inheritance from someone who died abroad. It says an inheritance worth more than 100,000 Swiss francs needs a permit beforehand.
The pages we read do not mention VAT or tobacco, and the FAQ names alcoholic drinks only as goods to list separately on the inventory. Treat those as open questions for the BAZG's information centre rather than assuming the answer.
Who does what at the Swiss border?
We move nothing ourselves; we introduce you to removal companies. A partner removal company reads your enquiry and checks it covers the move. It assesses the load and gives its own quotation.
- You
supply the dates of your change of residence and a record of how long you have used each major item.
- Swiss customs
decides whether the relief applies when the goods reach the entry office.
- Ask your removal company
who presents form 18.44 and whether a pre-check is possible on its route, and get any customs charge in writing.
Looking for the other Swiss guides? Start from our Switzerland removals hub, which points to each one by subject and by city.
Swiss customs questions, answered
Can I bring my furniture into Switzerland without paying duty?
Yes, the BAZG says, if you are changing your residence to Switzerland and have personally used the goods for six months or longer and go on using them.
Which form do I need?
Form 18.44 is handed to the customs office where the goods enter.
We could not open the PDF, so check its contents on the BAZG page.
Can I send my papers to customs before the lorry arrives?
Only at Mendrisiotto (Stabio-Confine), Vedeggio or Chiasso-Strada, at least two working days ahead, and you must then cross at that office.
Can the lorry cross at the weekend?
The BAZG gives Monday to Friday for clearance, with some offices open on Saturday morning.
Offices are closed for commercial goods on national holidays.
How long can I use my car in Switzerland on foreign plates?
Under permit 15.30 the BAZG allows duty-free use for at most two years after the change of residence, with Swiss plates requested within one year.
Moving to Switzerland on a set date?
Give your UK collection address, the Swiss town, the date your residence moves and a rough list of what is going. Say if a car or pet is coming.
About International Removals Companies
International Removals Companies is an enquiry and introduction service run by DATACONTEXT (UK) LTD, in partnership with AGM Group. We don't move goods ourselves: the removal company quotes for your move and carries it out, so check its credentials and terms before you book. Our service is free. Discuss the quotation and booking terms directly with the removal company.
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- In partnership withAGM Group (agm.group)