Bringing car, pets &
belongings
Working out what you can bring with you, and what it will cost, is one of the trickier parts of an international move. When you are moving your main home to Belgium, there are exemptions that often let you bring your belongings without paying import duties.
This page covers bringing your household goods, your car, and your pets.
Overview
What you can bring, and whether you pay import duties on it, depends mainly on where you are moving from and whether Belgium is becoming your main place of residence. Moving your household goods and a personal car is often exempt from duties under customs rules for people relocating, provided you meet the conditions. Pets follow a separate set of rules focused on health and vaccination rather than customs.
Your household belongings
If you are moving your normal place of residence to Belgium, you can usually bring your personal belongings and furniture without paying import duties, under a customs exemption for people relocating. To qualify, you generally need to meet a few conditions:
- Ownership and use - you must usually have owned and used the goods for a set period before your move
- Proof of prior residence - evidence that you were genuinely living abroad before relocating
- An inventory - a list of the goods you are bringing with you
- Timing - the goods usually need to be brought in within a set period around your move date
To qualify, you generally need to meet a few conditions: you must have lived outside the EU for at least 12 months, have owned and used the goods for at least 6 months before the move, import them within 12 months of settling in Belgium, and not sell or lend them out for 12 months after import. The exact application of these rules and what proof is accepted are set by Belgian customs (FPS Finance), check their pages before you ship anything.
If you are moving from within the EU, goods generally move freely and these customs formalities do not apply in the same way.
Your car
Bringing your own car falls under the same broad customs logic - it may be exempt from import duties if it is part of your household move and you meet the conditions - but it comes with its own paperwork and proof requirements. If you are importing from outside the EU, you will need to clear customs before the car can be registered in Belgium.
This page covers the import side. Once the customs steps are complete, registering the car, arranging insurance and passing the technical inspection are covered separately in Registering your car.
Your pets
Bringing a pet follows health and safety rules rather than customs ones. For cats, dogs and ferrets travelling from another EU country, you generally need:
- A microchip - for identification
- An EU pet passport - documenting your pet's identity and vaccinations
- An up-to-date rabies vaccination - given at least 21 days before travel
Coming from outside the EU, the requirements are usually stricter and may include additional health certificates or checks. For some non-EU countries, a rabies antibody blood test is required, followed by a three-month waiting period before travel - so for pets, start the paperwork months ahead, not weeks.
Good to know: start on this early. Customs exemptions often come with deadlines tied to your move date, and pet vaccinations sometimes need to be given a set number of days before travel - both are easy to miss if you leave them to the last minute.
Sources
- Customs and Excise - FPS Finance (English)
- Customs and Excise - structure and services
- Douane en Accijnzen - FOD Financiën
- Douane - ondernemingen
to Belgium
