How to Ship When You're Moving Overseas
Shipping your personal belongings overseas is all about choice. The shipping method you choose will depend on the quantity and value of your belongings, the overseas port you want to ship your belongings to, your budget, and whether you want to hire a company to do the hard work for you. Save yourself a headache with a little forethought; consider your individual situation, and choose a shipping option that best suits your needs.
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Instructions
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Shop around for shipping companies. Look into the shipping options and rates of different shipping companies before choosing a company that suits your shipping needs.
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Choose air shipping, sea shipping, or both. Sending your belongings by air is typically more expensive than sending items by sea, but shipping by sea can take weeks, and you may have valuable items that you need immediately upon arriving at your new overseas home.
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Understand the custom procedures for exporting and importing your belongings. Prepare all the documents and custom forms to clear customs. Calculate the exporting and importing fees and taxes.
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Pack your belongings, or hire a company to pack for you. Shipping companies can pack your belongings and transport them to the shipping yard for you, or you can do this yourself. Packing and transporting your personal effects is less expensive than paying a company to do this work for you.
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Create a full inventory list of the items you pack and label each box and container. List each packed item, the value of each item, the total number of items, the total weight and the total cubic feet or meters.
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Load your packed items into a shipping container. A shipping company can do this work for you, or you can have a shipping container delivered to your house to pack yourself.
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Deliver the shipping container to the shipping yard with all relevant documents, forms, inventory list and payment. Alternatively, have a shipping company organize container delivery and processing on your behalf.
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Collect your belongings at the overseas port, or have them delivered to your new overseas home. Have shipping documents ready and be prepared to pay importing fees and taxes. Alternatively, pay a shipping company to take care of the importing and unpacking process.
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Tips & Warnings
Examine the shipping company's insurance policy. Find out if the policy changes if you pack items yourself.
Make temporary living arrangements while your belongings are in transit. You may need to rent furniture in your new overseas home while you wait for your belongings to arrive.
Sell large items that may be expensive to ship overseas. Save money by selling large belongings, such as furniture, and buying new belongings overseas.
Some items, such as flammables, cannot be shipped. Check with the shipping company and customs department to find out what items cannot be shipped.
Be prepared to pay import duty if you ship new, boxed items.
References
Resources
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