Your car and your household goods to Switzerland: a real customs border, and no BPM refund

To Germany you simply drive across the border. To Switzerland you don't: it isn't an EU country and not a customs union, so your goods are formally cleared through customs. That's perfectly doable, but it takes preparation — and on one point it costs you money that you would get back with an EU destination.

Your household goods: free of duties, provided you meet three things

Removal goods (Übersiedlungsgut) enter Switzerland free of duties if you actually move your place of residence, have used the items yourself for at least six months, and keep using them after import. Furniture, household effects, collections, animals and cars all fall under it.

You need three things: the completed form 18.44, an inventory list, and proof that you're really moving — an employment contract, a tenancy agreement or your deregistration from the Netherlands. The inventory list may simply be on paper and rough: "twelve boxes of books" is enough. Only valuable items and goods with import restrictions must be listed separately and in detail.

Two practical planning points that surprise people. You don't have to give advance notice, but the handling only takes place during office hours of customs posts for commercial goods — weekdays, morning and afternoon. Crossing the border with a full removal van on a Sunday evening therefore doesn't work. And if items follow later: within two years of your move there's no problem.

Your car: clear it, and on Swiss plates within a year

The car falls under the same scheme, with the same six-month requirement. Besides form 18.44 you need form 13.20A for vehicles (CHF 20), and the car must be physically presented at a staffed customs post on first entry. Customs only issues the clearance certificate; for the number plates you then go to the Strassenverkehrsamt of your canton.

There a clock is running: no later than one year after your move your car must be on Swiss plates. You then need the customs certificate, the manufacturer's CoC certificate, an electronic proof of insurance and your Dutch registration papers. The costs differ per canton — count roughly on CHF 58 to 71 for the inspection, CHF 20 to 30 for the vehicle document and CHF 20 to 40 for the plates. On top of that comes the motorway vignette: CHF 40 per year.

If your car does not meet the six-month requirement, it gets expensive: then it's ordinary import, with 4% automobile tax and 8.1% VAT on the value. There is a middle way — with a customs permit you may use such a car uncleared in Switzerland for up to two years, but after that it must still be cleared or leave the country.

The point where money disappears: no BPM refund

This is the sharpest difference from the Germany route, and it costs thousands of euros. Whoever exports their car to Germany gets the non-depreciated BPM back from the Belastingdienst. That scheme applies exclusively if the car is permanently registered in another EU member state or in Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway. Switzerland is on neither list: it is an EFTA member, but not an EU and not an EEA country.

On export to Switzerland you therefore get nothing back. Your export notification at the RDW (€ 12) is still required, and because you're exporting outside the EU there's even an extra step: an export declaration with Customs. So count on zero on the Dutch side, and decide on that basis whether the car comes along or is sold here.

Your driving licence: twelve months, and then exchange

With your Dutch driving licence you may keep driving for twelve months after arrival. After that you may only drive again once you've exchanged it — so apply well before that limit; cantons advise at least a month in advance. Good news: for EU licences there is no practical test, unlike for licences from outside the EU. You need a valid eye test, a passport photo and your original licence. Costs vary per canton, roughly CHF 95 to 120, with a processing time of ten to fourteen working days. Bear in mind that you don't get your Dutch licence back: it goes back to the Netherlands.

Your dog: chip before vaccination, and register within ten days

For dogs, cats and ferrets from the EU the European pet passport with chip and valid rabies vaccination is enough. Mind the order, because it is mandatory: the chip must be in before the vaccination — a vaccination given earlier doesn't count, and you start again with a waiting period of 21 days. Once you're there, a dog must be registered with your municipality within ten days and entered in the national database AMICUS. And count on dog tax: it exists, and the municipality sets the rate.