Expat Community > Brazil

pensadenos
Joined 2013
Posts: 65

Moving Personal Belongings to Brazil

9 years ago

I'm posting this information for those who, in the future, plan to move to Brazil with their belongings. After going through the experience......I would highly recommend that you don't ship anything. Here is a cost breakdown for packing up my house in Dallas, TX USA and moving it to Brazil. I'll try and keep my personal feelings of contempt out of this posting:
1) International moving company to pack up and ship my goods to Suape, Brazil: $15,000.00 USD
2) You must and will have a DESPACHANTE who will facilitate all required paperwork: $422.00 USD
3) Cartario (Notarization fees): $105.00 USD
4) You have already paid your moving fees but you must pay the Port charges to unload your container (a bribe or facilitation fee): $1,847.00 USD
5) Once your container arrives it may or may not get inspected. Ours was shipped on a retirement visa so it is rare that they will inspect it. But ours sat on the dock for 30 days (the dock company stated that the Brazilian Customs did not make a decision to inspect it for 30 days after it arrived). Storage charges are $30.00 USD per day for a total of: $900.00 USD.
Total cost for a container that was only 2/3 full: $18,274.00!

This is an actual cost as we have just completed the entire process. It was painful, it was highly bureaucratic, and you pay the fees in Brazil knowing you are bribing people. The process began in the 3rd week of July 2015 and our container is scheduled to arrive on November 18, 2015 at our home near Natal, Brazil. So you must be prepared, know the full cost, including the hidden cost such as storage in Brazil, the "facilitation" fees to unload you container. Brazil calls this fee an "Administration fee." This total expense break-out does not include what taxes you will pay on your belongings if you are not moving here on a retirement visa. If you have a company that you are working for move you here to Brazil then you are lucky as your company will make all of these payments for you. Other wise your belongings will be taxes at what ever rate the Brazilian government thinks that the items should be valued at.

Bottom Line: Save the shipping and buy new here in Brazil. With $18,000 USD you can buy a lot of stuff and skip the dirty work of working with crooked Brazilian businesses and officials.....Welcome to Brazil!

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Moving Personal Belongings to Brazil

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