Thailand is a straightforward place to live and a more particular place to import a household. Relief from duty depends on your visa, your timing and the condition of what you ship, and Thai Customs looks closely at anything that seems new. Get those three right and the rest of the move is calm.
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Foreign residents moving to Thailand on a long-stay visa can usually bring used household goods and personal effects in without paying import duty or VAT. The condition is that the shipment matches the person: the right visa in your passport, goods that have plainly been lived with, and an arrival within the window Thai Customs allows after you land. We check all three before anything is packed.
What changes the bill is the exception. Goods that look new, several of the same appliance, alcohol and anything that reads as stock for sale can be assessed for duty and VAT. That is why the inventory matters more on this route than on most, and why we will tell you at survey which items are worth leaving behind.
The temples · The river · The port
Volume decides it first, urgency second. We recommend one after your survey and show you the alternative price rather than quietly choosing the bigger box.
Under roughly 300 cu ft · groupage or LCL
You pay for the space you occupy in a container shared with other shipments bound for Thailand. A good fit for a single posting or a retirement move into a furnished condominium, though consolidations can take a few weeks to fill.
Roughly 1,000 cu ft · one to two bedrooms
Yours alone, sealed at your door and opened at your new one. A sensible size for most condominium moves, and it avoids waiting on a consolidation.
Roughly 2,200 cu ft · three to five bedrooms
Chosen by families moving into a house on a gated estate, or by people settling permanently. Check the access: a 40ft trailer cannot reach every soi.
Priced by weight · 4–7 days
Useful for the first weeks before the container arrives. Bear in mind that air shipments are cleared by the same rules, so the same visa and paperwork apply.
Most movers make you fill in a form before they will discuss money. Here is the shape of it up front — and, unlike most published prices in this trade, an honest account of what these figures do and do not cover.
| Size of move | Shipping, port to port | Packing and UK collection |
|---|---|---|
| Small move, shared containerA flat, a student move, part of a house | Price on request — ask for a quote | Quoted per move |
| 20ft containerTypically a three-bedroom house | Price on request — ask for a quote | Price on request — ask for a quote |
| 40ft containerFour bedrooms and upwards | Price on request — ask for a quote | Price on request — ask for a quote |
The middle column is the shipping, and only the shipping. It is the cost of moving the container from a UK port to the destination port. The third column adds packing to export standard and collection from your home. Still to come on top of both: customs clearance at each end, quarantine or biosecurity inspection where the destination requires it, insurance, destination charges and delivery into your new home. Those are quoted per shipment, and every one of them is explained with published figures on what your quote doesn’t include.
We split it out this way because a shipping figure presented as the price of a move is how an advertised number ends up a couple of thousand pounds below what anybody actually pays. Ranges are indicative, move with sailing rates and the season, and depend on your actual packed volume — which is why we survey before we quote. The same figures for every destination, with a worked example, are on what an international move costs.
Door to door, from UK collection to delivery at your Thai address. Planning figures rather than guarantees.
| Destination | Shared container | Sole-use container |
|---|---|---|
| BangkokSukhumvit, Sathorn, Silom, Bangna | 9–12 weeks | 8–10 weeks |
| Eastern SeaboardPattaya, Si Racha, Rayong | 9–12 weeks | 8–10 weeks |
| Phuket and the Andaman coastPhuket, Krabi, Khao Lak | 10–13 weeks | 9–11 weeks |
| Koh Samui and Hua HinSamui by car ferry, Hua Hin by road | 10–13 weeks | 9–11 weeks |
| Chiang Mai and the northChiang Mai, Chiang Rai | 10–13 weeks | 9–11 weeks |
| Air freightInto Suvarnabhumi, Bangkok | 4–7 days, plus clearance | |
Most sailings tranship through Singapore or Port Klang before Laem Chabang, which accounts for much of the spread. Everything outside Bangkok travels on by road from the port, and Koh Samui adds a car ferry from the mainland. Clearance itself usually takes a few working days once you are in the country with the right documents.
Quoted as one price, delivered as one service. Anything not on this list is named in your quotation rather than discovered later.
The prohibited list is not long, but some of it surprises people who are used to British rules. The rest of the risk is in what looks new.
None of this is unusual to own in Britain, which is exactly why it ends up in boxes. Tell us at survey and it simply stays behind.
Thai import rules are published and do change. We confirm the current position at survey and give you a written list before packing.
Most of our Thai moves go to Bangkok, but a good share go to the coast and the north. What changes with each is the distance from the port and the access at the door.
Sukhumvit, Sathorn, Silom, Riverside
High-rise living close to work and the BTS. The building’s juristic person office approves every move, and expects a booked service lift, protection for common areas and often a deposit. We arrange it with them.
Bangna, Nichada Thani, Ramintra
Gated estates, or moo baan, favoured by families for the space and the international schools nearby. Larger volumes and easier carries, but estate security will want vehicle details in advance.
Phuket, Krabi, Samui
Trucked from the port on the mainland, and to Samui by car ferry. Hillside villas often have steep or narrow drives, which can mean a smaller shuttle vehicle for the last stretch.
Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai
Around 700 km by road from Laem Chabang. Houses outside the old city are often on lanes a container lorry cannot use, so we transfer to smaller vehicles locally.
The Eastern Seaboard and the Gulf coast
Popular with retirees from the UK. Pattaya is close to Laem Chabang, which keeps onward costs down; Hua Hin is a day’s drive south of Bangkok.
Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia, Vietnam
We move households across Southeast Asia, and onward shipments from Thailand are routine. Rules differ sharply by country — tell us where and we will confirm.
Working backwards from your flight.
Book the survey and confirm the quotation. Check your visa route and when you will be in Thailand to receive the goods.
Confirm your Thai address and building office. Unbox and use any new purchases, and set aside anything on the prohibited list.
We complete your inventory and the clearance documents. Separate air freight, medicines and documents.
We pack, inventory and load over one to two days, with humidity-sensitive items protected accordingly.
You bring your passport for clearance, and we deliver, unpack and take the packing away.
Volume first, then distance from the port. A condominium in Bangkok and a villa on Koh Samui can take the same container and cost quite different amounts to deliver. Use the volume estimator on our home page for a sense of scale, then let us survey and quote in writing.
Usually not, if you hold a qualifying long-stay visa, your goods are used and they arrive within the permitted period after you do. New items, duplicate appliances, alcohol and tobacco can be assessed for duty and VAT. We check your position before shipping, not after.
In almost every case, yes. Clearance normally needs your passport with the right visa and entry stamp, so plan to be in the country when the container lands. If you are not, the goods wait in the port and the storage charges start.
Realistically, no. Private imports of used cars need permission that is very rarely given, and the combined duties can run to several times the car’s value. We would rather tell you that now than quote for a shipment you will regret.
The one that catches British movers is vaping equipment, which is illegal to import or possess. Some prescription medicines are controlled, drones must be registered, and pornographic material is prohibited. We give you a written list before packing.
Most small ones will. Thailand runs at 220 volts, so kettles, lamps and laptops work with a plug adaptor. Large white goods are usually cheaper to buy locally than to ship, and some may not suit the voltage or the climate.
Yes. Returning to Britain after twelve consecutive months abroad may qualify you for Transfer of Residence relief, which must be applied for before your goods arrive. Note that Buddha images and antiques bought in Thailand need Fine Arts Department permission to leave the country, so tell us early.
Tell us where you're heading and roughly when. A consultant will come back within one working day to arrange a survey.