Your household goods to Estonia: no customs, but the ten-medicine rule

No, you do not have to declare anything for your household goods when moving from the Netherlands to Estonia. The Estonian Tax and Customs Board EMTA only mentions customs formalities for people moving to Estonia from outside the EU, or from Estonia to a country outside the EU. Within the EU your belongings simply come along. The finding at EMTA is in the medicines: without a permit from the Estonian medicines agency you bring at most ten different products, of at most five packages each, and everything in the original packaging. Whoever wants to bring a large supply applies for a permit in advance.

What counts as removal goods?

EMTA describes it in the rules for people coming from outside the EU, and the description is useful for everyone: personal belongings you already used and will use again in your new home. That includes household effects, linen, furniture, bicycles and motorcycles, your car and trailer, a caravan, a pleasure boat, pets and saddle animals, and portable instruments for the arts and applied arts. Their nature and quantity must not suggest trade. Alcohol and tobacco, commercial vehicles and work tools are explicitly excluded.

That the car is on that list only means that customs is not involved. The Estonian registration and tax of your car are a separate matter; see the car to Estonia.

Which rules apply from outside the EU?

The difference shows how simple the EU route is. Whoever comes from outside the EU only gets relief if they lived outside the EU for at least twelve months, had the goods for at least six months, import them within twelve months of settling, and do not sell, lend or pledge them for twelve months without notifying customs. For a move from the Netherlands none of that applies.

How much alcohol and tobacco may come along?

Within the EU you pay no excise duty in the country of arrival as long as it is for personal use and not resold. To judge that, every EU country may use guide levels, but according to Your Europe not lower than these:

Product	EU guide level, minimum
Cigarettes	800
Cigars	200
Tobacco	1 kg
Spirits	10 litres
Intermediate products, such as sherry or port	20 litres
Wine	90 litres, of which at most 60 litres sparkling
Beer	110 litres

More is allowed, but then customs looks at who you are, how it is packed and how you transport it. A removal van full of boxes of wine is something else than a few bottles in the boot.

May my medicines come along?

Yes, for your own medical use, within the limits EMTA names. Without a permit from the Estonian medicines agency Ravimiamet you may bring:

What	At most
Different products for yourself	10, of 5 packages each
Different products for an accompanying pet	5, of 3 packages each
Tablets or capsules per package	200
Oral solution or infusion per package	500 ml
Products for external use per package	200 ml or 200 g
Narcotic or psychotropic products	1 package of at most 30 units or 25 ml, with a doctor's note or a copy of the prescription

If you want to bring more, you apply to Ravimiamet for a permit for all products together. For narcotic products that permit covers at most thirty days of treatment.

A year's supply does not fit here. Whoever has a generous supply prescribed in the Netherlands runs into the limit of five packages per product in Estonia. So apply for the permit before leaving, or arrange an Estonian GP to write the follow-up prescription; how that works is in healthcare in Estonia.

What do I still need to report after arrival?

To customs, nothing. To the municipality, yes: you report your new address within fourteen days, and in Estonia your right of residence hangs on it. How that works is in staying in Estonia. What the move itself costs is in the cost estimate for Estonia; the order of the preparation in the step-by-step plan.

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 3 of 5 of the journey, step 3.1: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Estonia or go straight to step 3.1 in the open plan.