# Has anyone moved to Portugal from Australia?



## D&M (Jun 11, 2015)

We are thinking of retiring to Portugal and dealing with shippers, quotes, regulations etc.

We are UK citizens so we have no visa issues.

However, the ins and outs of shipping our container to Portugal has us bemused.

We are told that Portuguese customs and clearing can be tricky. Has anyone on the forum moved household goods Aus to Portugal and if so, what was your experience with the whole process including the shipping companies in Aus? We would be grateful for any advice you can give us.


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## SpiggyTopes (Feb 1, 2015)

I just relocated from Dubai, car and effects.

I would recommend a shipping agent as the paperwork is voluminous and you cannot make a mistake ..... agent holds your hand and provides checklists.

It costs a bit more but I have had no issues so far.

Certainly, I don't think you want to be on the quayside clearing your stuff on your own!

Let me know if you want their contact details.


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

My wife & I are both UK passport holders and we came from South Africa about 4 years ago and we bought everything from wine glasses to fishing rods to classic car. 

We used an ordinary removals company to pack & ship door to door and we consulted the Portuguese high commission before we did anything else. else. 

There is a number of hoops to jump through with the most important being the (stamped) Certificate of Baggage which comes from said HC and which ensures tax free import of your personal belongings.

Everything worked to plan and there was nothing particularly difficult to get done.


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## Maggy Crawford (Sep 18, 2010)

We moved here just over 8 years ago from UK. We hired a Portuguese moving company at about one third of the cost quoted by a UK national firm. We had to pack small stuff. They arrived, packed everything up and left the next morning. Three days later we arrived at our house where they were waiting for us. So far as I can remember that was it. Very efficient service indeed.


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## D&M (Jun 11, 2015)

Thanks everyone for the replies. Will definitely not try to clear our stuff through customs without an agent.

One thing that we are being told is that the Portuguese customs will not accept things being packed inside furniture eg leaving the table linen inside our sideboard drawers, towels inside chests of drawers. The shipper wants everything in boxes which seams to waste valuable space. Did anyone else have this issue?

Another question: We have to store our goods while we look for somewhere to live. We have only been offered storage in Lisbon but because we want to end up in Central Portugal we would prefer storage in that area. Does anyone know of a company offering storage? We have looked on the web but cannot find anything. Thx.


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## Maggy Crawford (Sep 18, 2010)

We definitely left everything inside drawers i.e. clothing, household items etc. I have no idea what the procedure was on arrival of the lorry in Portugal but I thought that under EU law there is free movement of people and possessions so it must have been easier for us coming from UK than South Africa or Australia like TM and you.


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

I don't see what difference there is in packing belongings in boxes or drawers and no-one told us we couldn't pack things in drawers....... perhaps the removals company that told you that are trying to work a flanker so there's more volume of stuff for them to move/charge you for. 

It might have been luck but we got more hassle from customs with my car than the rest of our stuff combined. They didn't open a single box of our personal belongings but they removed (and failed to properly reinstall) the radiator grill of my car and I could see they (or someone) had a damn good rummage round the engine bay.

Regarding storage: There are several places in the central zone that'll offer you storage........ what area are you going to be looking in?


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## Mattskii (Oct 28, 2009)

D&M said:


> We are thinking of retiring to Portugal and dealing with shippers, quotes, regulations etc.
> 
> We are UK citizens so we have no visa issues.
> 
> ...



We shipped all our stuff back to the UK, as returning residents we didn't have to pay anything to import our possessions back there. We then shipped them to Portugal after a period in storage there. Sounds expensive, but avoided any problems with taxes and import duties. We didn't know we would end up in Portugal when we left Australia, so going via the UK was our best option any way.

Edit: This was entirely hoop free at every stage. Just got a company to pick out stuff up in Melbourne, we gave them packing lists for each box. I forgot about it totally until it arrived in the UK. Didn't have to lift a finger. Same thing getting it to Portugal. Arranged for a Portuguese company to go over and get it all, next thing I know it's here. All I had to do was send a couple of emails and pay. This was our entire household, from beds and sofas to cups and saucers! Entirely pain free!


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## D&M (Jun 11, 2015)

Yes we did wonder if the shipping companies were trying to get us to use more space.

*Mattskii* one of the options we considered was shipping to the UK and then to Portugal. Sounds like this worked out well for you. Your experience is very helpful to know about. How long were the goods in storage before you moved.We have been told that you need to have lived in the UK for a year before you can ship your goods to Portugal. Is that true? Sounds very non EU.

Which shipping company did you use in Australia? The 4 we have dealt with are dead against us packing our own boxes because the customs people don't like it or so they say. We find that hard to believe. 

*Travelling-ma*n we are looking at the central area generally from Tomar to Coimbra and over to the east. If we store in Portugal we just need to have the goods delivered as near to us as possible rather than in Lisbon. 

*SpiggyTopes* Yes please the contact for the agent would be useful. Might be good to talk to them before we decide.

*Maggie/Mattskii* Which companies in Portugal did you use to get your stuff in the the UK. If you have a link or contact details it would be much appreciated.


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

I'd guess the reason they want to do their own packing is because if you do it and there are then breakages, there might be problems with the insurance claim......... we were told the same thing when we left SA and I've got to say their packing standards were very good indeed...... we didn't have a single item broken at all. - Even the wine glasses survived.

The Tomar/Coimbra area is very nice indeed and quite close to me (in Figueiro Dos Vinhos) and a fair number of other expats.

There's a storage facility in Penela and also (if I remember correctly) another in Tomar and I'll bet more than one in Coimbra........ however, you do need to appreciate that if you do move it from the Lisbon storage facility to a third party storage unit you probably won't be able to insure it unless you unpack it and let them see everything is in good order when it arrived in their unit.


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## SpiggyTopes (Feb 1, 2015)

*SpiggyTopes* Yes please the contact for the agent would be useful. Might be good to talk to them before we decide.

Sure, a pleasure.

You need a few more posts before I can pm you the contact details.

If I put it here it may be construed as advertising.


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## Maggy Crawford (Sep 18, 2010)

I have searched everywhere for the shipping company to no avail. They were in Leiria. I have also checked Leiria Yellow pages and not found them. It was 8 years ago.


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## SpiggyTopes (Feb 1, 2015)

OK, if permitted, and I have no affiliation:

João Santos

Santa Fe Relo
CENTRO EMPRESARIAL SINTRA ESTORIL 1
Armazem Q,
Avenida Pedro Álvares Cabral 177 
2710-692 Sintra

Joao Santos <Joao.Santos at SantaFeRelo.com>


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## D&M (Jun 11, 2015)

Thank you everyone for taking the time to reply. It has been a great help and we will contact the agent and get packing. Can't wait to to return to Portugal and meet some of you.


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## SpiggyTopes (Feb 1, 2015)

If you contact Joao Santos, mention my name Peter Roscoe .. might make a tiny difference!


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## D&M (Jun 11, 2015)

Every little bit helps! Thx again.


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