a_user_has_no_name

Hi all,

I'm moving from London to Lisbon at the end of the month and I still can't figure out when exactly I need to apply for a Baggage Certificate. In case it's relevant, I'm hiring a van service that will take a ferry to the north of Spain and then drive on to Portugal.

According to the information on the website of the Portuguese consulate in London, I have to provide proof that I cancelled utilities, bank accounts, etc in the UK, as well as proof of address in Portugal and a residence permit (if applicable). The process could take up to a month from what I've read.

I called the Portuguese consulate and they told me that if I ship my belongings without that certificate, they could be confiscated or I'd have to pay tax on them. I told them that I can't cancel my UK services yet because I'm still living here and, as the partner of a Portuguese citizen, I can only apply for a family reunification permit *after* I move to Portugal, so it's impossible for us to meet those requirements before we move to Portugal... Not least because my Portuguese lawyer told me that she has clients whose family reunification permit has arrived after 10 months! Even the actual appointment to apply for the permit can take 8 months. Unfortunately, the person on the phone simply restated what would happen if I don't have that certificate.

I also talked to the removal company and they told me they hadn't come across baggage certificates. They have amazing reviews online so I'm guessing they know what they're talking about... Or maybe their clients had the certificates but there was no need to share them with the removal company.

So... Has anyone moved to Portugal recently and applied for a baggage certificate? If so, at what point in the move process did you apply for it and how did that go?

Thanks!

Rambling archer

Have you had a look at the other posts recently on this forum -
Some Commodity Codes and
Moving Household Goods to Portugal
- they may help you? Applying is apparently going on at the moment by others ...
This is the link
Certificado de Bagagem - Consulado Geral de Portugal em Londres
As it has to be posted to the address in the UK, with the proviso that they may want to make further enquiries, you will have to do it in advance of the final move, though the wording is a bit ambiguous!
Good luck on the move.

a_user_has_no_name

Thanks Rambling archer!

I read those threads and that page from the consulate, but I still couldn't find an answer to my question regarding the timing.

The main thing is that this seems like a catch-22 situation: The requirements to apply for the baggage certificate effectively means that I must've moved to Portugal and lived there for a few months, but I can't live in Portugal for months without my belongings.

Alan PT

Perhaps you could bring a small set of belongings (which might be considered as reasonable for a long holiday), now and then the rest in a few months? I lived with the contents of one suitcase for several months when I got here, as my wife was still packing things up in the UK

I begin to understand why a friend who moved from Australia to the UK, lived there for 10 years and then moved to the USA had the approach of "sell or give away anything I can't fit in two suitcases"

a_user_has_no_name

Thanks! We were hoping we didn't have to do that but it does seem like the only way to do things by the book.

Indeed! :/

Eddie5425

Hi
I was in the same boat trying to do everything by the book. Sent off the form for the Baggage Certificate with all the details and a postal order. That was the last I heard of it. The Spanish customs would not have cared if I had it I think. They assessed the van contents with out looking in when I opened it, made a comment about a plant he saw didn't understand what a phytosanitary Certificate was relieved us of 350.00 euros vat and let us go. Best of luck.
Eddie

a_user_has_no_name

Thanks Eddie! May I ask how long ago that was? I hope things haven't changed much.

dickydog

I,m in the same boat, maybe we will be on the same boat even !!
we gave up on the baggage certificate route very early on as an option to transport of stuff from the uk to Coimbra, for exactly the reasons you have deduced.
we have been getting rid of as much stuff as we can and intend to travel light with a van with just the important things only.
Portsmouth to Santander, we did a trial in September with our car reasonably full of stuff and paid attention at the port, yes they stop some vans but they can’t stop them all or the ship would never unload.
Itemise what your taking with a price of what it’s worth and if you get stopped show them it, that’s our plan, going out end of Feb hopefully, will let you know.

sportpix

Just curious, has anyone moved from anywhere other than the UK? If so what did you do about listing your shipped goods?

Eddie5425

Hi,
Sorry for the delay in reply. We came through at the beginning of October 2021. We stopped at the customs check with the police after coming off the ferry. They checked our cats documents and we were just outside of the covered area they use for checks. I could see this guy talking to a policeman across the way and I could almost see him say " There's another victim I'll have to go" He came over had a word with a policeman checking documents and as we got to him he directed us to pull over towards a portacabin. I got talking with a guy pulled up at the portacabin who's wife was Spanish they had no luck with the Spanish embassy regards Baggage Certificate's either,. I let my wife deal with them she said it was a good move to have made a list of the van contents in Spanish. I got the impression they were there just to extract money. The guy who's wife was Spanish got charged VAT as well.

Good Luck

Regards
Eddie

dickydog

Hi Eddie
that just confirms how I see it panning out for our March departure, UK to Spain then Portugal. The list we’ve been building is in English but I like the idea of making it in Spanish now. Thanks for that 😁👍
Do you get the feeling they are after €1000 in import tax ? We are only taking a medium hire van.
Interested on the cat front, we have two we love and feel the best solution is to fly them while I take the ferry with the van, I couldn’t find a cat friendly cabin for less than 6 months in advance.
Hope your settling in Eddie,
kind regards
chris

Eddie5425

Hi Chris,
I just felt like a victim. My partner said they looked at the van and said to her we estimate you have 750.00 euros worth of goods inside. It was an old Luton Transit we used on our nursery for transporting plants. I let her deal with them. The guy with the Spanish wife who seemed to have done it before said he did the same, he said less machismo gets in the way that way.
I had the same with pet friendly cabins ( long story) we ended up changing the ferry from Portsmouth to Plymouth at the last minute and leaving the cat in the front of the van overnight on the ferry you can't do that on the Portsmouth ferry. They allow you check on them before bed and in the morning before arrival. I just gave her all the usual, water food, cat tray she seemed quite happy. Its only a one night crossing and its quiet down there.
The Spanish vat people delayed us quite a while, it does not delay the ferry at all they have plenty of waiting space for any number of vans. The Guardia Civil who check documents were long gone by the time we left. I just sat and watched them while I waited.
We stopped at the Hotel Resort El Montico just off the A62 they take pets for an extra 15.00 euro it was a good size room and a nice overnight stay. easy to travel on from.

Good Luck
Eddie

Score76

In my experience the Spanish are the issue. I brought a van load of stuff from our UK house in Portuguese registered motirhome via channel tunnel in September and wasn't checked apart from to make sure gas was turned off. A friend did the same route in December in a VW Transporter stacked to the roof and also wasn't stop. Aviod Santander and Bilbao unless you want to pay their ransom money.
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Shanorme

In my experience, Brexit is the issue because this did not happen before Brexit.

NSG666

Thanks for posting this I'd been searching the France and Spain forums looking for any posts about people's experiences a when entering via France. Had looked at the UK-Spain ferries but living near Leeds had decided I'd be better of going via the tunnel.