# Shipping Household from US



## chipol (Feb 1, 2013)

Hello all

We have purchased a villa in Lagos and are now in the process of arranging shipping our household from California. I am open to any and all advice and also have a few specific questions.

*Most importantly*, selecting a shipper: Can anyone provide a positive recommendation or a warning on which to avoid? I have a half dozen bids from names I found on the net, but I never heard of any of these companies.

In general, we are getting rid of everything that runs on 110v, but for convenience we are thinking of bringing computer equipment and running off a step-down transformer. Any thoughts?

Similarly, we have a decent tv that we would take a big hit on selling. Should we just ship it and run off a transformer?

I understand that wine is allowed but will be taxed. Any experience shipping wine, and what kind of tax am I looking at?

Bring the car or don't bring the car?

Any and all input is welcomed and will be passed forward to future forum guests!
Thanks in advance.


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## MrBife (Jul 26, 2009)

Bearing in mind the cost and the hassle I would strongly suggest that unless you have 'antiques' and/or furniture of sentimental value, you sold everything and bought again here. Even if you have to make do with Ikea for a while (IKEA - Móveis e decoração, tudo para a sua casa - IKEA)

TV certainly won't work here for terrestrial broadcasts and unless it's 4K UUHD and latest spec is better left behind. Portuguese wine is part of the package you are signing up for - have a brilliant leaving party and 'finish everything in the drinks cabinet'  

Likewise with the car - see posts here on matriculation and decide if you want that hassle. If you intend on staying here then sell it there and buy a Portuguese one when you arrive.


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## chipol (Feb 1, 2013)

Thanks for the response Mr. Bife. That was certainly one of the options, and a rule of thumb started out as selling everything that doesn't matter. But once we identified things that do matter, it turned into a question of incremental cost to add to the list. Good comment!


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## grammymissy (Jun 21, 2009)

Shipped from the USA 1 year ago, but from East Coast, so can't help with shipper. But can recommend bringing 110v items, with transformers. My crock pots, food processor, husbands surround sound system all running fine here. Did not bring a TV, needed new ones, so bought smart tvs here, Baggagem certificate from Portugal embassy key to stress free receiving of shipment here. When shipment arrived in Portugal, we needed an original baggagem certificate and residency certificate from our local junta to set up delivery of shipment, we did and all went well. We did not ship the cars, both were older and large sized, when compared to width of roads here in Central Portugal, so we sold them and purchased here. Many here have sorted foreign cars, so you should be able to get the needed information to sort them out by asking that specific question on this forum, to matriculate a foreign car here is a quite a bit of paperwork is my understanding. Americans in Portugal facebook page, not the amp one, has some friends from California, so if you ask about shipping there, perhaps they can help . The Americans in Portugal - Expats Group is the page.


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## chipol (Feb 1, 2013)

A bit more detail...

We are definitely not bringing any furniture.

I have read the threads and also spoken with a documentation specialist at docLagos, The car in question has only 4000 miles. Even if I need to pay 1000 euros to register, I am financially ahead of selling cheap and fast and buying another car here.

We have been traveling for the past year and 100% of our tv watching has been streaming, so I didn't consider any other transmission.

You are definitely right about Portuguese wine. We lived in Sonoma Valley and built up a nice collection. But it is totally replaceable.


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## chipol (Feb 1, 2013)

Grammymissy

Thanks for the advice. Definitely helps the thought process. 
I have talked to expats here and been advised to lean toward shippers that use the UK as the port of entry. Several had horror stories going through Lisbon. Maybe they didn't get the bagagem cert in advance?


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## MrBife (Jul 26, 2009)

You may hate it here and after a year or two want to go back. (A big percentage don't stay longer than that). My suggestion is still to leave the antique sideboard with family or trusted friends and aim to travel over with no more than a suitcase or two full of personal effects and a few clothes. 

If you are determined then one of the best shippers in the business is Manuel Moves in London, (manuelmoves.com) they may well choose to clear through the UK (easier than Portugal) and ship overland to Portugal.

I used them recently to ship a whole container full from Perth Australia to Portugal and the service was pure professional genius.


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## grammymissy (Jun 21, 2009)

We were told not to use Lisbon either, to go in anywhere else, but we didn't have a problem. We had the original baggagem certificate and certificate from local junta, and had no issue. But we did have a problem getting residence certificate, we were told that our local junta was hesitant to issue because you can only have if this is your primary home, not a holiday home, if a second home then taxable shipment. In the past foreigners have lied about holiday home being primary home to avoid taxes, is what we were told. We shipped furniture and boxes, approximately 50 pieces. If we did not have those 2 certificates, then shipment could not be cleared thru customs, and daily storage fees are incurred, that is where others have gone wrong is what I understand.


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## chipol (Feb 1, 2013)

Interesting.
My wife is a UK citizen, so she already got her residency. They even had no problem using the holiday apartment address, though we showed the promissory note as evidence of intent to stay.
Same stories that I heard about hefty storage fees while the customs gets sorted. The best and most professional-sounding shipping quote that I received fortunately goes through Felixstowe, UK, so that's where I'm leaning unless I hear otherwise.


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## grammymissy (Jun 21, 2009)

A different situation, you have a EU citizen in the equation, we are both non EU, Americans, so different rules you will find apply here. So did you have to have a VISA to move here, or as the spouse of a EU citizen, you do not have to? We try not to be frustrated here about the different rules here vs EU and non EU rules


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## chipol (Feb 1, 2013)

MrBife said:


> You may hate it here ....


True enough. 
We have been here for three months and have a reasonable idea what we are signing up for. But we haven't experienced summer weather, nor the anticipated horde of tourists. Family back in the states is spread out and we don't see them more than once or twice a year anyway, so that shouldn't be an issue. The only thing I think we'll really miss here is multi-culturism. For example, Asian cooking ingredients are really rough to find, and we had to bring back a big bag from a trip to London. Even with that, I think we'll be safe for several years.


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## chipol (Feb 1, 2013)

grammymissy said:


> A different situation, you have a EU citizen in the equation, ...


My wife being an EU citizen helped a lot. She got her residency at the town hall in about 15 minutes. I will need to go to Portimao for my application. But from what we have been told, being the spouse of an EU citizen AND Portugal resident, makes my application close to automatic, though it could take up to 90 days for the paperwork to go through.

Up to now I have been on a 90 day visa, so I got a new re-entry after a trip to London.


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## grammymissy (Jun 21, 2009)

Yes, the EU connection does help. The other issue we did have with a few things was we had to show the VISA we obtained in the US to get set up with health numbers etc. We also had to have the VISA to apply for Residency permit, they told us without the VISA they could not process the residency application. We do understand rules vary between SEF offices, some offices are more lenient than others. We were told of one office that wanted FBI fingerprint records from the US resubmitted, to process residency application. . Enjoy the sun.


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## SpiggyTopes (Feb 1, 2015)

Santafe Relocations moved our stuff and car from Dubai without a hitch.

We didn't know whether to bring the cooker, fridge, furniture etc. but in the end we did and have used everything in the new house.

I wouldn't bring a car again unless it is very special.


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## MrBife (Jul 26, 2009)

chipol said:


> The only thing I think we'll really miss here is multi-culturism. For example, Asian cooking ingredients are really rough to find, and we had to bring back a big bag from a trip to London.


Portugal pretty much pioneered the spice trade and has most things available if you check the translation ! 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spice_trade

There are a dozen pretty good Indian restaurants near me and probably hundreds in the Algarve, they seem to use Lisbon based wholesalers like these for their bulk ingredients. A fun part of a Lisbon trip to visit a few...

Casa Piripiri - Importador das melhores especiarias e produtos indianos em Lisboa e Portugal
Especiarias inteira - Ayur
Inteira (2) - Popat Store


Main ingredient for curry 'heat' is of course Chilli which you can grow easily in your own back garden. The Algarve climate seems to suit it well.


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