Moving to the EU

[Collie]

Hey all! I have plans to move to Portugal from the US in the future and I was wondering if anybody knows the cheapest option for bringing in my collection of pipe tobacco. I currently have around 18 pounds or 8 kilos of pipe tobacco. From my research I believe it could cost me 1500< euro in duties to bring all of it in. Now I could probably do that but obviously I'd rather not pay so much for tobacco that I already own. One option that I don't particularly like would be to bring it in slowly, as in bringing in 250 grams at a time. I do not have that kind of patience though. I will be shipping my car over there (it's a car that is very meaningful to me) and my first idea, before I knew what it would cost, was to put it all in there and ship it over there with the car. Would customs check that do you think? Could I possibly get it into another country in the EU for cheaper and drive it to Portugal? Any ideas or advice is welcome!

 

[fireground_piper]

I would absolutely contact Portugal.

 

[SBC]

There are more important criteria by which I would select a European country to expatriate to; but, if I were hypothetically to select on the basis of alcohol, I would select Portugal. Yum.

 

[Briarcutter]

Would customs check that do you think?

Yeah, I think they surely would check.

 

[verporchting]

Yes. They will check. Not even a possibility that they would fail to notice pounds of contraband, which is what it becomes as a result of trying to evade paying the taxes / duties. You’d be lucky not to have it confiscated and destroyed on top of paying stiff fines and possibly criminal prosecution. A couple of tins? Probably not a big deal. Couple of pounds? BIG problem!

 

[Collie]

Yes. They will check. Not even a possibility that they would fail to notice pounds of contraband, which is what it becomes as a result of trying to evade paying the taxes / duties. You’d be lucky not to have it confiscated and destroyed on top of paying stiff fines and possibly criminal prosecution. A couple of tins? Probably not a big deal. Couple of pounds? BIG problem!

Yeah, I'll have to just bite the bullet I suppose...

 

[stanwellman]

Things to consider:

-are you a US citizen moving to Portugal to become a Permanent Resident?

-are you a citizen of Portugal returning home?

-other?

In the first case above, you may be entitled to certain Customs exemptions based on the fact that as a new permanent resident you are allowed to move your household goods. You may have to obtain a permit for the tobacco but, since it is for your personal use and not for sale, three should be no issues.



In the second scenario above, depending on your length of absence from Portugal, again, there may be certain Customs exemptions available to Former Residents coming home.



Other types of scenarios that allow you to move permanently to Portugal I will not go into since I do not know what they are.

The best option I would recommend is to contact the Portuguese consulate/embassy in the USA and ask all the questions you my have rather than relay on information available on line. Information from the Portuguese authorities will be current and detailed, reflecting the details of your particular case, including Customs exemptions based on your individual reasons for moving there.

Good luck.

 

[WerewolfOfLondon]

I suspect importing that much tobacco would be a hell of a lot more than the amount you've stated. There is no way customs would deem such a large amout for personal use. You'd get hit way harder than 1,500. Send some over incrementally, bring some with you personally, put some in the car etc.

 

[makhorkasmoker]

I hope to face a similar problem. if /when I ever get to live full time in Spain, I will view tobacco taxes as a small price to pay for all of the advantages of living over there

 

[Collie]

Things to consider:

-are you a US citizen moving to Portugal to become a Permanent Resident?

-are you a citizen of Portugal returning home?

-other?

In the first case above, you may be entitled to certain Customs exemptions based on the fact that as a new permanent resident you are allowed to move your household goods. You may have to obtain a permit for the tobacco but, since it is for your personal use and not for sale, three should be no issues.



In the second scenario above, depending on your length of absence from Portugal, again, there may be certain Customs exemptions available to Former Residents coming home.



Other types of scenarios that allow you to move permanently to Portugal I will not go into since I do not know what they are.

The best option I would recommend is to contact the Portuguese consulate/embassy in the USA and ask all the questions you my have rather than relay on information available on line. Information from the Portuguese authorities will be current and detailed, reflecting the details of your particular case, including Customs exemptions based on your individual reasons for moving there.

Good luck.

Thank you! This is very helpful. I will definitely contact the Portuguese embassy. I am a native born U.S. citizen so hopefully that makes things easier.

 

[Sigmund]

I dont know that the personal exemptsion covers tobacco. Definitely check. I moved here via shipping container. Another issue is that that the moving company specifically said not to include tobacco. I had to leave some nice stuff behind as I was a bit too chicken to push my luck.

 

[Yambo]

I wouldn't risk being accused of contraband. You can have someone mail it to you little by little, but that might take too long and be a little expensive. Plus, random customs searchs are also an issue.

I'm Spanish. If you have any doubts on the tobacco situation in the EU, feel free to DM me or ask here.

 

[JOHN72]

Be well informed. There is an option B, once in Portugal, you can investigate in tobacco forums in Spain, there are many people who sell, exchange, their tobaccos, cigars, pipes. I don't know what the tobacco tobacconists in Portugal are like, inform yourself, the tobacconists in Spain in the north have some decent pipe tobacco. Portugal belongs to the UE, so bringing tobacco I think it will be a costly problem. Good place to live, Portugal is beautiful, and perfect to retire at any age, hahahaha. I wish you a lot of luck.

 

[Hillcrest]

Call the consulate and review their website or others also. Looks like 100% duty over 250kg.

Portuguese Customs: Regulations, Export-Import Procedures by Customs of Portugal

Portugal Customs regulations and procedures for importing and exporting goods at Portuguese border. Duty free items, import-export restrictions.

www.visahq.com

 

[greeneyes]

I would check Portuguese law, but also firsthand accounts of other expatriates relocating to Portugal and possibly Spain. They're out there (and on pipe forums), you're not the first. My reason for stating this is that there is occasionally a difference between the law in print, and how it translates to individual experiences. US law is one such murky example.

Where in Portugal are you relocating to? The beautiful seaside towns, enveloped by a veil of fog, on the line of the Comboios train between Lisboa and Oporto are captivating. Under different circumstances I could easily have stepped off the train and never have been heard from again.

 

[Collie]

I would check Portuguese law, but also firsthand accounts of other expatriates relocating to Portugal and possibly Spain. They're out there (and on pipe forums), you're not the first. My reason for stating this is that there is occasionally a difference between the law in print, and how it translates to individual experiences. US law is one such murky example.

Where in Portugal are you relocating to? The beautiful seaside towns, enveloped by a veil of fog, on the line of the Comboios train between Lisboa and Oporto are captivating. Under different circumstances I could easily have stepped off the train and never have been heard from again.

Not entirely sure where I am going to relocate to in Portugal but I'm thinking somewhere in the Sintra region, Coimbra or Monsanto.

 

[greeneyes]

Not entirely sure where I am going to relocate to in Portugal but I'm thinking somewhere in the Sintra region, Coimbra or Monsanto.

I know Coimbra. It's quite a varied area--anything between a medieval student dormitory or a nearby vineyard ranch. But lovely, central, and full of expats.

 

[lazar]

Portugal does not dick around with legalities. Customs will check, and getting caught will make for a poor welcome to your new home. Likewise, the postal service notoriously checks every piece of mail coming from abroad and makes up duty amounts for you to pay. Grandma knits you a sweater and sends it from the US? They will make up a value and you either pay it or you don't get it. No debate.

It's a country that follows the letter of the law, not the spirit. There is no getting out of a speeding ticket -- no first time warnings. If you accidentally find yourself on a toll road and drive 2km before exiting, if you do not pay the 65 cent toll online you will have a 200 euro bill before you know it. Their love of bureaucracy, and their abiding respect for it, seem to be holdovers from their fascist era.

It's also illegal to purchase tobacco from another EU country, so no buying from Esterval's unless you go to Germany yourself. I'm not sure if that applies to private trades.

 

[Collie]

Portugal does not dick around with legalities. Customs will check, and getting caught will make for a poor welcome to your new home. Likewise, the postal service notoriously checks every piece of mail coming from abroad and makes up duty amounts for you to pay. Grandma knits you a sweater and sends it from the US? They will make up a value and you either pay it or you don't get it. No debate.

It's a country that follows the letter of the law, not the spirit. There is no getting out of a speeding ticket -- no first time warnings. If you accidentally find yourself on a toll road and drive 2km before exiting, if you do not pay the 65 cent toll online you will have a 200 euro bill before you know it. Their love of bureaucracy, and their abiding respect for it, seem to be holdovers from their fascist era.

It's also illegal to purchase tobacco from another EU country, so no buying from Esterval's unless you go to Germany yourself. I'm not sure if that applies to private trades.

Thank you, I most definitely will not try to sneak it in. Hopefully I can work something out with them to get it in for cheaper.