How do you import household goods to Portugal when you move in 2026?

EU rules on relief for transferring your normal residence into the EU (Council Regulation 1186/2009) and Portuguese implementing rules let qualifying movers introduce used personal goods free of customs duty and with VAT relief when the move is real. Consular practice for the Certificado de Bagagem (baggage certificate) usually expects that you lived outside the EU for at least 12 consecutive months, owned and used the goods for at least six months before ending that residence, and introduce them for free circulation within 12 months of establishing habitual residence in Portugal. Goods should be kept for the same household use afterward; selling them quickly can reopen the tax you avoided.

Portuguese consulates often issue the baggage certificate in the weeks before departure when your inventory, identity papers, proof of prior foreign residence and its end, and evidence of settling in Portugal line up. Non-Portuguese nationals may need a residence visa or clear residence plan before the certificate is issued; EU free-movement citizens are treated differently on that visa point. Clearance at Lisbon, Leixões, Sines, or an airport still needs an AT customs declaration, usually filed by a despachante (customs broker) or your mover.

Temporary Admission (admissão / importação temporária) is for non-Union goods that enter the EU customs territory for a limited use and then leave again. It may involve a guarantee or an ATA carnet and online authorisation through AT systems such as STADA-IMP. That path fits tools, exhibition gear, or a short professional stay. It is the wrong label for a container of sofas you intend to keep in a Lisbon or Braga flat.

If your lease or residence plan is permanent, prepare the transfer-of-residence pack instead of improvising Temporary Admission. Keep your NIF, lease proof from how to rent a home, and stay documents from apply for a residence permit aligned with the customs address. The wider first-month stack sits in paperwork after moving.

Cars, vans, and many motorcycles are not cleared as ordinary household effects. Importing a foreign-registered vehicle triggers ISV (vehicle tax), a DAV (vehicle customs declaration), and IMT (Instituto da Mobilidade e dos Transportes) registration for Portuguese plates. Plan that file separately from soft furnishings, even on the same boat. Driving after arrival also depends on convert a driving licence.