Household goods to South Korea: duty-free if you live there for at least a year, and in within six months
If you will live in South Korea for at least a year, you bring your used household goods free of import duties. You have used the items for more than three months, and what you ship separately arrives within six months of your own arrival. Furniture and appliances are limited in number. A car and expensive jewellery are always taxed.
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If you will live in South Korea for at least a year, you bring your used household goods free of import duties. That is what the Korean customs, the Korea Customs Service (KCS), says. Two conditions matter: you have used the items for more than three months, and what you ship separately arrives within six months of your own arrival in Korea. Furniture and appliances are limited in number. A car and expensive jewellery are always taxed.
Who counts as someone moving to Korea?
| Your situation | What is duty-free |
|---|---|
| You live in Korea for at least 1 year | your used household goods, within the numbers below |
| Your family comes along and you stay at least 6 months | the same |
| You stay 3 to 6 months | only ordinary personal belongings you have used for more than 3 months; no car |
Customs judges how long you stay by your residence card (ARC). If you do not have it yet, your visa counts, or an employment contract in Korea.
What is duty-free, and what is not?
| Subject | What applies |
|---|---|
| Used items | duty-free if you have used them abroad for more than 3 months |
| Deadline for a separate shipment | arrival in Korea within 6 months of your own arrival |
| Jewellery, pearls, coral, ivory and the like | taxed from ₩ 5 million per item (about € 3,400) |
| Items used for less than 3 months | taxed |
| A car | always taxed, unless it was previously exported from Korea |
| Furniture and appliances above the recognised number | taxed |
The six-month deadline runs from your own arrival to the arrival of the ship or plane with your goods. So do not plan the shipment too late.
How much furniture and how many appliances may come along?
For furniture and household appliances customs recognises a fixed number. It depends on the size of your family. Clothes and small personal belongings do not count.
| Family members | Recognised number |
|---|---|
| 1 or 2 | 1 |
| 3 or 4 | 2 |
| 5 to 8 | 3 |
| 9 or more | 4 |
The customs page does not say literally whether that number applies per type, so one fridge and one sofa, or otherwise. Whatever exceeds the number is taxed. Ask the KCS before you pack, especially if the two of you want to bring two large wardrobes or two televisions.
Which papers do you need?
The declaration is in the name of the person moving. Customs lists:
- a list of the contents, and the packing list;
- the bill of lading (B/L);
- your residence card (ARC) and your visa;
- proof of work in Korea, if you work there;
- your passport;
- the car's papers, if it comes along.
There is a form, the Moving-Goods Declaration, and a power of attorney in English if the removal company makes the declaration for you. Questions go to the KCS customer service, +82-2-3438-5199, or to the moving-goods department of the Seoul customs, 02-510-1189.
You apply for your residence card in Korea, within 90 days of arrival. If your shipment arrives earlier, show customs your visa or employment contract. Ask your removal company which proof it needs and when.
What is better left behind?
A car is always taxed. Count on about 19 to 24% of the value, plus an inspection. Selling in the Netherlands is almost always cheaper. Read car and driving licence in South Korea.
Be careful with medicines. NederlandWereldwijd warns: CBD and cannabis are banned in Korea, even on prescription. For methylphenidate, an ADHD drug, you need prior permission from MFDS, the Korean medicines agency. Also read taking medicines across the border.
Are you bringing cash?
If you bring more than US$ 10,000, in foreign currency, won and cheques together, you declare it on arrival in Korea, on the customs declaration. Do so before you go through customs, because afterwards it is no longer possible. When leaving the Netherlands you declare € 10,000 or more to Dutch customs. For your deposit and large sums a transfer is usually easier. How that works, you read in banking and payments in South Korea.
And your pet?
A dog or cat does not travel as household goods. It needs a chip, a rabies vaccination and a titre test. Read pet to South Korea.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 4 of 5 of the journey, step 4.2: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to South Korea or go straight to step 4.2 in the open plan.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- Korea Customs Service — Moving to Korea, with the exemption, the deadlines, the number of furniture items and appliances and the papers — customs.go.kr
- Korea Customs Service — cash and the declaration above US$ 10,000 on arrival — customs.go.kr
- European Commission — declaring cash when leaving the EU from € 10,000 — taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu
- NederlandWereldwijd — travel advice for South Korea, with the rules on medicines, CBD and cannabis — nederlandwereldwijd.nl
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