# moving my stuff to thailand



## Monte

hi all, I am in the process (hopefully) of moving to Thailand with my girlfriend of several years. We have a house in Srakeow and i have spent much of the last two years there. I have a Non immigrant 0 visa for one year, and I understand that I can apply for a retirement visa after three months (sadly i turned 50 this year).

I want to bring lots of my personal effects and household stuff to Thailand but i am confused as to whether i can do this on either of these visas. Can anyone give any advice?

Thanks

Monte


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## SteinKR

Monte said:


> hi all, I am in the process (hopefully) of moving to Thailand with my girlfriend of several years. We have a house in Srakeow and i have spent much of the last two years there. I have a Non immigrant 0 visa for one year, and I understand that I can apply for a retirement visa after three months (sadly i turned 50 this year).
> 
> I want to bring lots of my personal effects and household stuff to Thailand but i am confused as to whether i can do this on either of these visas. Can anyone give any advice?
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Monte



Hi there Monte;

First of all, regarding your visa you are right about the retirement option after you pass 50 years. It is actually an advantage as it makes things easier than just having a tourist visa etc., so don't be so hash with yourself even though it is called "retirement".....

Secondly, regarding the shipping issue. There is no problems in bringing in your personal effects and household goods on either type of VISA. As a holder of a retirement visa, you are entiteled to bring in used personal effects (limited to clothes, books and computer) tax/duty free. Other items are tax/dutyable, but the good thing with Thailand is that it can still be cleared out relatively cheaply paying off the customs officers (I know it might sound a bit dodgy, but this is just how things are here.... and after two year I am sure you know how it works here).

I am also forwarding you a PM which you should have a look at.


SteinKR


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## Monte

thanks Stein. 

I appreciate your response. Does that mean that other house hold stuff - furniture or grandfather clock with sentimental value, are excluded? Also thank you for the pm, which i assume you sent but I do not know where to find 

Monte


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## Serendipity2

Monte said:


> hi all, I am in the process (hopefully) of moving to Thailand with my girlfriend of several years. We have a house in Srakeow and i have spent much of the last two years there. I have a Non immigrant 0 visa for one year, and I understand that I can apply for a retirement visa after three months (sadly i turned 50 this year).
> 
> I want to bring lots of my personal effects and household stuff to Thailand but i am confused as to whether i can do this on either of these visas. Can anyone give any advice?
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Monte



monte,

I looked into shipping my personal effects to Thailand as well. What I found out is that it's pretty expensive and certainly NOT worth shipping mundane items such as dishes, crockery, books [unless rare and valuable] most furniture unless heirloom etc. The freight costs will eat you alive and when it arrives in Thailand you'll have to play "lets make a deal" with Customs. 

My advice is to NOT ship anything. Try to either sell all of your things [not easy to do] or put with a friend you can trust or store [expensive] Thailand does not make it easy for an expat and with all of the uncertainty is it really worth it? I WILL miss my bed and a handful of items and i WILL have to sell them cheaply but the alternative is pay more for freight than what they're worth and hope Customs isn't too expensive OR sell them cheaply here OR store them here which is expensive. Get a good, solid price on moving just those irreplaceable items. Be sure to have them include replacement value insurance, any crating necessary, carting to the ocean shipping terminal, ocean freight charges, Customs duty and cartage to Chiang Mai or your home in Thailand and finally unpacking your goods [praying they're all there and undamaged. If damaged your only recourse is to negotiate the biggest check you can and you won't be in the driver's seat. :/

Serendipity2


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## Monte

I have been on the Thai customs website and it appears that you can take household goods ok, but there is a caveat about Non Immigrant Type 'O' and retirement visas, that appears to exclude these. Do you know anything about that?


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## SteinKR

Serendipity2 said:


> monte,
> 
> I looked into shipping my personal effects to Thailand as well. What I found out is that it's pretty expensive and certainly NOT worth shipping mundane items such as dishes, crockery, books [unless rare and valuable] most furniture unless heirloom etc. The freight costs will eat you alive and when it arrives in Thailand you'll have to play "lets make a deal" with Customs.
> 
> My advice is to NOT ship anything. Try to either sell all of your things [not easy to do] or put with a friend you can trust or store [expensive] Thailand does not make it easy for an expat and with all of the uncertainty is it really worth it? I WILL miss my bed and a handful of items and i WILL have to sell them cheaply but the alternative is pay more for freight than what they're worth and hope Customs isn't too expensive OR sell them cheaply here OR store them here which is expensive. Get a good, solid price on moving just those irreplaceable items. Be sure to have them include replacement value insurance, any crating necessary, carting to the ocean shipping terminal, ocean freight charges, Customs duty and cartage to Chiang Mai or your home in Thailand and finally unpacking your goods [praying they're all there and undamaged. If damaged your only recourse is to negotiate the biggest check you can and you won't be in the driver's seat. :/
> 
> Serendipity2



Hi there Serendipity2

I am not surprised to learn you did not find it worth to ship your personal belongings to Thailand. I doubt you had anything much valuable anyway, and then especially not anything with sentimental value.

It is also clear to see that you do not have much knowledge regarding cost of shipping and customs clearance rules and regulations. First of all, you have much more options coming to shipping stuff if you do it from England compared to USA. There is a regular Group Container service between England and Thailand – and containers are departing every month with Personal Effects of mainly British people coming to Thailand for retirement or work. There is no minimum volume, and ther service can be tailored to your needs (packing by yourself or by professionals, delivery to w/h or pick up etc.).

In most cases (unlike yourself), people actually want to bring their personal items along when moving to i.e. Thailand. You can try to sell used crockery or pots/pans and see how much you get for them - bet your will have to throw them away. And then you have to buy everything over again in Thailand... I doubt all pepole are as squared eyed as yourself comparing everything to find out where to save a penny or two. Different people have different values - its not always about the money.

And just to have that said, you will never find any proper insurance company who will provide a replacement insurance on a shipment packed by the owner. If so, the premium would be extremely high and you would have big troubble getting through with any claims.

SteinKR


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## SteinKR

Monte said:


> I have been on the Thai customs website and it appears that you can take household goods ok, but there is a caveat about Non Immigrant Type 'O' and retirement visas, that appears to exclude these. Do you know anything about that?



Hi there Monte;

The Thai customs website is giving a very gerneral idea of which documents is needed etc. and what you can bring or not to bring. It is seldom/slowly updated and rules in Thailand changes regularly. However, most information should be correct.

It does, however, mainly cover either expats coming here holding 1 year work permits or returning Thais. Not much regarding people coming to Thailand on a retirement VISA.

Like I think I mentioned earlier, everyone can bring household goods to Thailand - with or without VISA/Work Permit. If you should not be able to provide needed documents (1 year WP for foreigners), you are applicable to pay import tax/duty. As this is Thailand, this fee can be negotiated to a more reasonable amount (+/-THB 1500/CBM) in order to have the shipment released.

The general rule for people with Retirement Visa is they can bring Clothes, Books and 1 computer set tax/duty free.

I tried to send you a PM, but it is not possible until you have sent at least 5 postings on the forum. Maybe you can check your profile and see if there is any visitor messages.


SteinKR


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## Monte

Thanks Stein. I tried ringing the customs office but my thai isn't good enough not their english. Everthing I have read seems to limit the cuty free stuff to those with work permits


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## SteinKR

Monte said:


> Thanks Stein. I tried ringing the customs office but my thai isn't good enough not their english. Everthing I have read seems to limit the cuty free stuff to those with work permits


I would say in general the Thai government is not really putting a lot of money into IT or websites etc. in order to inform people. 

Most websites are very simple and the information (especially the one in English) is very limited.


SteinKR


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## Serendipity2

SteinKR said:


> Hi there Serendipity2
> 
> I am not surprised to learn you did not find it worth to ship your personal belongings to Thailand. I doubt you had anything much valuable anyway, and then especially not anything with sentimental value.
> 
> It is also clear to see that you do not have much knowledge regarding cost of shipping and customs clearance rules and regulations. First of all, you have much more options coming to shipping stuff if you do it from England compared to USA. There is a regular Group Container service between England and Thailand – and containers are departing every month with Personal Effects of mainly British people coming to Thailand for retirement or work. There is no minimum volume, and ther service can be tailored to your needs (packing by yourself or by professionals, delivery to w/h or pick up etc.).
> 
> In most cases (unlike yourself), people actually want to bring their personal items along when moving to i.e. Thailand. You can try to sell used crockery or pots/pans and see how much you get for them - bet your will have to throw them away. And then you have to buy everything over again in Thailand... I doubt all pepole are as squared eyed as yourself comparing everything to find out where to save a penny or two. Different people have different values - its not always about the money.
> 
> And just to have that said, you will never find any proper insurance company who will provide a replacement insurance on a shipment packed by the owner. If so, the premium would be extremely high and you would have big troubble getting through with any claims.
> 
> SteinKR



Hi SteinKR,

Thanks for your comments. In fact I have contacted several shippers and am having one come to my home to give me an estimate. Most want to do it over the telephone or have me figure out the cubic feet of goods. Although I can easily calculate the cubes, I'm not an expert on padding or crating of items, carting, storing at this end until placed into a container, receiving the goods once they arrive in Thailand, clearing Customs, hauling my things to Chiang Mai, insurance costs and a dozen other things. I'm glad you are experiences. It sounds like you're in the business and that I may be opening other people's eyes to the myriad factors involved. Many are having their personal effects shipped by their employer. Those of us retiring are not. There is a huge difference. 

Actually I do have a few items I would love to get to ship to Thailand. Many can not be replaced and some do have sentimental value. I guess we don't have the options at ship from the USA that you do shipping from Old Blighty. I envy you and your options. That said, I'm faced with shipping just a few things of value and irreplaceable or nothing. 

It doesn't make sense shipping dishes, flatware or pots and pans even though I am very attached to them. I will have to 'make due' with replacements. Same with shipping a car - I would love to have it in Thailand but the shipping and duty on it would be more than it's worth. The items I would like to keep are my bed, bedding and mattress set. Its a very nice king-sized four poster of solid cherry but it's also a LOT of cubic feet. It's not the weight that kills me but those pesky cubic feet. I guess I could ship the head board, foot board and frame and dump my mattress and box springs - hoping they have the same or similar size in Thailand which is a pretty good idea. I also have a very nice set of American Leather [brand] sofa, chair and ottoman. They're heavy, very well made but the cubic displacement is once again the killer. Other than that I've got my art collection which I would love to ship so I guess I do have items of 'sentimental' value but shipping from the USA is expensive and getting it professionally crated or padded and shipped is a bit of a hassle - especially when I'm not certain Thailand is where I'll retire. I've been to Thailand many times since 1978 but I've not actually lived there. Finally, getting one's shipment through Customs is a bit daunting. You will be offered [as I understand] two methods of choices - one above the table [more expensive] and the second under the table [less so] but if you feel you're being held up [ripped off] what then are your options? Even with a resident or retirement Visa the only "duty free" are books, clothing etc. Heck, I can bring those in anyway - without a retirement Visa. Bottom line, we are playing a game where we don't know the rules which are made up by people who don't want us there and will extract their pound of flesh if we insist. That does not give this guy a lot of confidence. 

Serendipity2


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## Serendipity2

SteinKR said:


> I would say in general the Thai government is not really putting a lot of money into IT or websites etc. in order to inform people.
> 
> Most websites are very simple and the information (especially the one in English) is very limited.
> 
> 
> SteinKR




SteinKR,

This is from your earlier post....

"Like I think I mentioned earlier, everyone can bring household goods to Thailand - with or without VISA/Work Permit. If you should not be able to provide needed documents (1 year WP for foreigners), you are applicable to pay import tax/duty. As this is Thailand, this fee can be negotiated to a more reasonable amount (+/-THB 1500/CBM) in order to have the shipment released."


The above from one of your earlier posts which I find VERY misleading as the "household goods" we're allowed to bring in we don't even need a visa to bring in. :/

Clothing, a personal computer and books are NOT household goods. At least to this expat. They are brought in every day on every flight into Thailand and we don't need a visa to bring them in. In short the Thai government isn't giving expats anything they don't already have. I'm not impressed! 

Furniture, electronics such as a TV, Stereo system, art, anatiques etc ARE household goods but they require one to run the gauntlet of the Thai Customs personnel who can affix the duty on those goods at their discretion. That is where I have the problem - if you do not accept the Customs valuation then what do you do? You surely do not get it cleared for delivery. They may be confiscated or shipped back to your point of origination. In short we're at the mercy and kindness of strangers. Don't take this unkindly but you're in the business of making money arranging for the shipment of personal effects from primarily Great Britain but also other points. I'm a potential shipper who needs to know a bottom line as to what I will have to pay to get my goods from here to there. Only then can I - or anyone else - make an informed decision whether to ship or not. As for "sentimental" value - that's where the government has you by the shorts. If you value your things you want to keep them but can you afford to ship them? Each of us has to make that decision and we also need to decide what risk we are willing to take vis a vis Customs duties. It ain't that easy a question but each of us needs as much info as possible before making that decision. If the employer is paying, who the heck cares. But in the case of retirees - WE pay.


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## Monte

The Thai government seems to make everything so damned complicated. As you say it would be good to be able to make an informed decision


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## Serendipity2

Monte said:


> The Thai government seems to make everything so damned complicated. As you say it would be good to be able to make an informed decision




Monte,

I regretfully agree. We are wanted for our money only. We can live in Thailand but cannot work which unfortunately means working illegally [not advised] or vegetating. Sad as expats have a wealth of talent and experiences that could benefit Thailand but, yes, they DO make everything difficult. 

Shipping one's household effects to Thailand is fraught with pitfalls and I'm not sure there IS any answer. First off, it's expensive to ship one's goods from the USA including all of the pickup, crating or packing, carting to a warehouse where, after being inspected, is put into a contksiner, the container is then delivered to a ship which loads it. Several weeks later your goods arrive and you have to pay [probably] extra shipping charges, then get your shipment cleared by Customs which is a no-mans land with little recourse should you be hit with a very high fee. As I understand there are usually two fees. One for clearing it officially and a lower fee for clearing it unofficially. Then loading and carting to your final destination and finally the unloading, unpacking, uncrating of your things - hoping they all arrived in good nick. If they didn't what's your recourse? 

If your company is moving you, no worries BUT if you're shelling out your money you want to know how much [within reason] and there is no guarantee it won't exceed that figure or your stuff will be stolen or damaged. With all due respect to SteinKR I like to have better control of my life rather than relying on the kindness or strangers. Thanks for your post!

Paranoid Serendipity2 :/


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