At a glance
The four conditions for relocation goods
German customs calls them relocation goods (Übersiedlungsgut). The relief rests on four conditions timed around your move, and on your new residence being in Germany, even if only temporarily.
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12 months
Lived outside the EU
Your normal place of residence was outside the EU for at least twelve months before the move. Who can claim
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6 months
Owned and used the goods
You possess the goods and, if they are not consumables, used them for at least six months before the move. How ownership is shown
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12 months
Cleared after the move
The goods clear within twelve months of moving your residence to Germany, in one shipment or several. They can also come up to six months before the move, against a security. When the goods are cleared
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12 months
Kept after clearance
Counted from the day customs accepts the declaration: the goods may not be lent, pledged, hired out, sold, given away or transferred. The twelve months after import
What counts as relocation goods
Customs sets no numerical limit on the kind or quantity of goods, but what you declare must not have any commercial character.
Qualifies
- Household effects. Personal effects, household linen, furnishings and equipment for your personal use or your household’s needs.
- Private vehicles of any kind. Bicycles, motorcycles, cars and their trailers, camping caravans, pleasure boats and private aeroplanes.
- Household provisions. In the quantities a family normally keeps, judged by what is normal where you lived before.
- Household pets and saddle animals.
- Portable instruments and equipment. Those you need to pursue your trade or profession.
Does not qualify
- Alcoholic products
- Tobacco and tobacco products
- Commercial means of transport
- Articles for use in a trade or profession, other than the portable instruments above
Goods that need a permit in Germany, or are banned there, keep those restrictions when they come as relocation goods. Customs names weapons and ammunition, and protected species and goods made from them.
Who can claim the relief
Twelve months outside the EU
Your normal place of residence must have been outside the EU customs territory for at least twelve months before the move. Customs may make an exception if you can show, for example with your contract of employment, that you at least intended to live outside the EU for twelve months or more.
A new residence in Germany
The relief depends on your new normal place of residence being established in Germany, even if only temporarily.
Six months’ ownership and use, and how it is shown
- Your own goods. The goods must actually be yours and, if they are not consumables, you must have used them for at least six months before moving your residence to the EU.
- Shown by invoices or contracts of sale. Customs names invoices and contracts of sale as the evidence.
- A vehicle or aeroplane registered in your name. You must show that it was registered in your name in the country you are leaving, for example with a certificate from that country’s authority.
- Used as before. At your new residence the goods may only be used for the same purposes as before.
When the goods are cleared
- Within twelve months of the move. Duty-free clearance is possible only within twelve months after your normal place of residence moves to Germany.
- Declared at import. The customs declaration is, as a rule, made when the goods are imported.
- In separate consignments if you wish. The goods may come in more than one shipment, as long as all of them clear within the twelve months.
- Before you move, against a security. Goods can be imported in advance if you undertake to establish your residence in the EU within six months. Customs requires a security for this.
Customs form 0350
The relief is always claimed in writing, on form 0350. It is the German customs declaration for relocation goods.
- Customs’ English name
- Customs declaration for the release of personal property entered for free circulation with a specified end-use
- German name
- Zollanmeldung für die Überführung von Übersiedlungsgut in den zollrechtlich freien Verkehr zur besonderen Verwendung
- Short name on the forms portal
- 0350 Zollanmeldung für Übersiedlungsgut
Open form 0350 on the federal forms portal
The portal asks you to acknowledge a data-protection notice before it opens the form.
What the form asks
The form’s first sheet (version 0350/1 (2021)) asks for the following, in this order. Most of the goods fields accept “siehe Anlage” (see annex), so you can attach a list instead of writing everything into the boxes.
- Who is declaring
- Your name, current address and telephone number, and a representative, if you use one.
- The move
- The date of the move, your residence in Germany, and the place and country where you lived before.
- Your time outside the EU
- The period you lived outside the EU, from and to, and the part of it you lived there with your family. A box states that the stay was planned for at least a year, with your evidence attached.
- Goods sent before you move
- An undertaking to move your residence to Germany within six months of import, and the goods’ approximate total value in euros.
- The packages and the goods
- Marks, numbers and kind of each package; household effects such as furniture, linen and appliances; household provisions, itemised where they go beyond a normal stock; other goods, such as animals; and, listed separately, goods used only for a business, alcohol and tobacco, and weapons and ammunition.
- Vehicles
- Each vehicle or trailer with its vehicle identification number, and a box for the clearance certificate (Unbedenklichkeitsbescheinigung) you need to register it in Germany.
- Your declaration
- That you or your family used the goods at your former residence for at least six months and will use them for the same purpose.
A note on the form asks for the individual value of any item worth 5,000 euros or more. It is a valuation instruction, not a limit on what you may bring.
What to have ready
- The dates of your stay outside the EU and of the move, and your address in Germany.
- If you lived outside the EU for less than twelve months, evidence that you planned to stay at least a year, such as your contract of employment.
- Invoices or contracts of sale showing you have owned and used the goods for six months.
- For a vehicle, its identification number and the foreign authority’s certificate that it was registered in your name.
- A list of the goods to attach, with an individual value for anything worth 5,000 euros or more.
Customs accepts supporting documents, such as proof that you have moved your residence, sent to the customs office as a scan by e-mail or De-Mail.
Import VAT and excise duty
Goods released as relocation goods are also exempt from import VAT (import turnover tax). They are not exempt from any excise duty that applies.
The legal basis
Article 3 and the following articles of Regulation (EC) No 1186/2009, the EU’s customs duty relief regulation.
The twelve months after import
Relocation goods are released for a specified end-use. For twelve months from the date customs accepts the declaration, they may not be lent, pledged, hired out, sold, given away or otherwise transferred to anyone, whether for payment or free of charge.
- Moving house in that year. The goods stay under customs supervision for the twelve months, so if you move house before they are up, tell the supervising customs office in good time beforehand, with your new address. You will find this rule on customs’ German page, not its English one.
- If a condition is broken. The relief is cancelled and the duties are charged after all.
Frequently asked questions
What is German customs form 0350?
The customs declaration for relocation goods, in customs’ English the “Customs declaration for the release of personal property entered for free circulation with a specified end-use”. The duty-free relief for goods moved with a change of residence is always claimed in writing on it.
Do I pay duty on my household goods when I move from the US to Germany?
Not on goods that qualify as relocation goods, if you meet the conditions: twelve months’ residence outside the EU, six months’ ownership and use, and clearance within twelve months of the move. Qualifying goods are exempt from import VAT as well, but not from excise duty.
I lived in the US for less than twelve months. Can I still claim the relief?
Customs may make an exception if you can show, for example with your contract of employment, that you at least intended to live outside the EU for twelve months or more.
Can I bring my car?
Private vehicles of any kind can be relocation goods. You must show that the vehicle was registered in your name, for example with a certificate from the foreign authority, and that you used it for at least six months before the move. Commercial vehicles do not qualify.
Can my goods arrive in more than one shipment?
Yes. Relocation goods may come in separate consignments, as long as all of them clear within the twelve months after your move.
Can I ship my goods before I move?
Yes, if you undertake to establish your residence in the EU within six months. Customs requires a security for an import in advance.
Is there a limit on how much I can bring?
Customs sets no numerical limit, but the kind and quantity of goods must not suggest any commercial character. Household provisions are limited to the quantities a family normally keeps.
Can I bring wine, spirits or cigarettes as relocation goods?
No. Alcoholic products and tobacco products are not relocation goods.
Can I sell furniture I no longer need after I arrive?
Not within twelve months of customs accepting the declaration. Until then the goods may not be sold, given away, lent, pledged or hired out, and if you move house in that year you tell the supervising customs office beforehand.
Sources and review date
Everything this page says about the rules comes from these official pages. Last checked: .
- Transferring residenceGerman Customs (Zoll)Customs' own English statement of the relief: which goods qualify, the conditions and evidence, the time limits, separate consignments, early import against security, the 12-month purpose limit, form 0350 and its English name, import VAT and excise. The page carries no date.Accessed .
- Übersiedlungsgut: VoraussetzungenGerman Customs (Zoll)The conditions in German, which the English page matches: residence, ownership and use, clearance within 12 months, early import, the purpose limit, the written declaration on form 0350, and evidence that may be sent by e-mail.Accessed .
- Übersiedlungsgut: WarenkreisGerman Customs (Zoll)Which goods count as relocation goods and which do not, and that weapons and protected species keep their own restrictions.Accessed .
- Form 0350: Zollanmeldung für ÜbersiedlungsgutForms portal of the German federal finance administration (formulare-bfinv.de)The form itself, which the portal shows after its data-protection notice: its first sheet (version 0350/1, 2021), which asks who declares and any representative, the move, the stay abroad, the packages, the goods by kind, vehicle identification numbers, and an individual value for items worth 5,000 euros or more.Accessed .
Rules and fees change. Before acting, confirm with the official source. This page explains the procedures; it is not legal or customs advice. Customs decides how your goods are treated.
Where Ruby International fits
We move households door to door from the United States, by full container, shared container or air freight.
- When your goods ship
- Customs gives you twelve months after the move to clear the goods, in one shipment or several, or an earlier import against a security. Tell us your moving date and what you are taking, and we will build the quote around that window.
- What you prepare
- The claim is yours, in writing on form 0350: invoices or contracts of sale for the goods, a vehicle’s registration in your name, and a list of the goods with a value for anything worth 5,000 euros or more.
We do not give legal, tax or customs advice. Whether your goods qualify is decided by German customs.
Planning a move to Germany?
Tell us where you are moving from, where in Germany you are going, and when you plan to move. We will follow up with a brief call, then send a quote for your shipment.