Moving to Denmark
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Used Household Goods and Personal Effects
Documents Required
- Passport
- Bill of lading (OBL) / air waybill (AWB)
- Packing list in English
- Declaration from diplomatic organization (diplomats)
- Detailed inventory (if alcohol is included in the shipment)
Specific Information
- All household goods shipments arriving by sea, air, rail, or road must be cleared through Customs at the port of entry (POE).
- Those coming from non-European Union countries, household goods which have been owned and used for a minimum of 6 months and intended for owner of the goods’ use, may be imported duty free by any person taking up residence in Denmark.
- Returning citizens must have lived outside the EU for minimum 12 months to qualify for the duty-free importation of household goods; verification from an employer or authorities abroad may be required.
- The owner of the goods must be registered as a resident with the Danish authorities (Folkeregister) prior to Customs clearance and the goods must be imported within 12 months of the owner of the goods’ arrival.
- Goods may be imported 6 months ahead of the owner of the goods’ arrival.
- This is subject to the owner of the goods providing a security deposit to the authorities for the applicable duty, tax and value added tax (VAT) payments.
- Assessing the duties and taxes on used personal effects is tedious and will require considerable handling costs.
- Please note that all consignments entering the European Union (EU) must comply with the International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures No. 15 (ISPM15) that sets the guidelines for the use of wooden packaging material in international trade.
- Visitors and Danish citizens who do not reside in Denmark cannot import household goods free of duty.
- Diplomats employed with a foreign organization in Denmark may import personal effects free of duty and without Customs inspection, provided the local organization has issued a declaration.
- Returning Danish diplomats do not receive Customs exemptions or privileges, and shipments of household goods and personal effects will be subject to normal Customs regulations, including the payment of duties and taxes for restricted items.
- The duty-free import of household goods and personal effects to a secondary residence in the European Union is no longer permitted (as of December 1, 2008).
- The content of any packed by owner (PBO) cartons must be declared on the inventory to facilitate Customs clearance.
Motor Vehicles
Documents Required
- Original registration
- Insurance card
- Original bill of lading
Specific Information
- Cars, motorcycles, airplanes, caravans, pleasure crafts, and motor trailers may be imported duty free if it is in the owner of the goods’ possession and registered abroad for a minimum of 6 months.
- The original foreign registration papers and insurance card must be available and submitted to Customs.
- The owner of the goods must personally present the vehicle to authorities for registration within 30 days following Customs clearance.
- Danish vehicle registration tax is extremely high and is required.
Pets
Documents Required
- Rabies vaccination record
- Veterinary health certificate
Specific Information
- The entry of pets is permitted from most countries with valid documentation.
- The veterinary health certificate must not be more than 1 month old and must be issued by a European Union approved veterinarian
- The veterinary health certificate must be issued at least 3 weeks but not more than 12 months prior to departure from the origin country.
- Identification of the animal (tattoo or microchip) will be verified against documents prior to entry.
- All original documents must accompany the pet and be available to authorities at each point of transshipment and border crossings.
- Pets from certain countries may be required to undergo a rabies serological test prior to importation.
- Quarantine will not be required for healthy animals.
Restricted/Dutiable Items
- Narcotics and medicines (authorization is required)
- Firearms and ammunition (a license from the Danish Ministry of Justice is required)
- Live plants (a license from the Danish Governmental Plant Protection Service is required)
- Live, dead, and pre-manufactured animal parts (authorization and a license from the Danish Nature Conservancy Board is required)
- Wine / spirits / tobacco:If alcoholic beverages are included in the shipment, a detailed inventory listing brand, alcohol percentage, numbers, and bottle size must be included with the shipping documents.
- Except for identical bottles, it is a requirement that the inventory provides a separate listing for each bottle.
- Any quantities of wine / spirits included in any household goods shipments must be declared to be for personal consumption.
- Duty and tax will be assessed on what is declared.
- The amount of duties and taxes will be assessed on the kind, value, and quantity of imported tobacco products.
- Estimates prior to import are not available.
- The contents of cartons marked ‘packed by owner (PBO)’ must be declared on the inventory.
- Inheritances:
- Inheritances, except wine, spirits, and tobacco may be imported duty free within 2 years following the finalization of the estate.
- The owner of the goods must produce documentation in the form of a will or a declaration issued and legalized by the lawyers handling the estate.
Prohibited Items
- Weapons and ammunitions
- Explosives
- Live, dead, and pre-manufactured animal parts outline in the Washington Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)
Cultural and Other Information
Why Use TrunkMoves for Small Move Shipping
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Ship Personal Effects Safely with TrunkMoves
TrunkMoves is built for moves that are too large for airline baggage but too small for container freight. The goal is not only convenience. The goal is to keep the shipment in a more controlled environment from pack-out through delivery.
Parcel networks expose shipments to repeated vibration, drop events, orientation changes, and stacking pressure. That is why professional packaging teams rely on distribution-test logic such as ISTA sequences to judge whether packaging still protects the contents after the first hazard has already occurred. In practice, ISTA-style methods are employed by packing a representative shipment, then subjecting it to vibration, compression, and drops on faces, edges, and corners to confirm that the container, closures, and internal protection retain performance throughout transit.
Loose paper filler or crumpled paper is not recommended here for heavier or longer-lane shipments. Under sustained load and vibration, paper compresses, settles, and does not meaningfully rebound. That means the protective gap around the contents can disappear during transit. Better results come from resilient cushioning, structural fitments, and container systems that maintain geometry under load.
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