Shipping Belongings to Portugal: Customs and Pets for Newcomers

Shipping belongings to Portugal from the US or the UK is duty free if you are moving your normal residence and the goods meet the conditions in the EU customs regulation: you owned and used them for at least six months before leaving, you had lived outside the EU for at least 12 months, and you bring them in within 12 months of settling. A dog or cat is treated differently: it must be microchipped, vaccinated against rabies, carry an official health certificate and enter through an approved airport or port.

This guide goes through both, in the order you will meet them. It is a summary of what the pages say, read on 18 October 2026, not legal advice. The most recent change among the pages we read is the USDA APHIS page on pet travel from the United States to Portugal, marked “Last Modified: September 02, 2026”, so that is the date of this guide’s information. The new EU pet rules it refers to started on 22 April 2026. Shipping is one task among many in the move, so keep it next to your first year in Portugal and your first month of paperwork.

Can I bring my household goods into Portugal without paying customs duty?

Yes, if you are transferring your normal residence. Council Regulation (EC) No 1186/2009, as published in the Official Journal on 10 December 2009, says that “personal property imported by natural persons transferring their normal place of residence from a third country to the customs territory of the Community shall be admitted free of import duties.” The United States and the United Kingdom are third countries for this purpose. We read the regulation as originally published and did not check later amendments.

The regulation defines personal property as property for your own use or your household needs. It names household effects, bicycles and motorcycles, private cars and their trailers, caravans, pleasure craft and private aeroplanes, household provisions appropriate to normal family requirements, household pets and saddle animals, and portable instruments needed for your trade or profession. It adds that the goods “must not be such as might indicate, by its nature or quantity, that it is being imported for commercial reasons”.

The Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the consular pages that describe the luggage certificate, lists the same kinds of goods: the contents of the home, vehicles of private use, pets and portable professional instruments.

What conditions do my belongings and I have to meet?

The regulation also allows relief before you have settled: goods may be entered if you undertake to establish your residence in the EU within six months, accompanied by a security set by the authorities (Article 9). The Portuguese consular pages repeat this, saying the import is then subject to a guarantee.

The consular pages add a condition that the regulation text leaves to Member States: the goods “must not have benefited, on purchase, from any customs and/or tax exemption” and must have been in your personal use for at least 6 months. A bottle or a carton can still travel as part of the ordinary traveler allowances in the AT guide below.

What is the luggage certificate and who issues it?

The Portuguese consular pages call it the “certificado de bagagem”. The Ministry’s page says it “pode ser emitido a favor de qualquer pessoa, independentemente da sua nacionalidade”, so Americans and Britons can have one. The Consulate General in Toronto adds that it may be issued in the 90-day period before the intended transfer of residence, and that foreign citizens can use it only after obtaining a residence visa in Portugal. The London pack asks for a copy of the residence authorization in Portugal and gives no time window. That visa step is covered in our guides to applying for the national visa from the US and from the UK.

The documents the Ministry’s page asks for are:

1. Proof of the dates your residence in the country began and ended.
2. Proof that the goods were used for at least 6 months before the residence ended.
3. A list of the goods to be imported.

The Consulate General of Portugal in London publishes its own application pack for people leaving the UK. It asks for:

Payment is by Postal Order from the Post Office, plus 5 pounds for postage, and the consulate reserves the right to ask for more evidence. For people leaving the United States, the pages we read do not include a US consulate’s own checklist, so ask the Portuguese consulate that serves your state. Toronto’s pack, for people leaving Canada, shows the same shape: a signed application, an ID copy, a list of goods in triplicate and proof of the last year of residence.

The London form names, as its legal basis, Articles 3 to 11 of Regulation 1186/2009, Decree-Law 176/85 and Decree-Law 31/89 on VAT. We did not read the two Portuguese decree-laws themselves.

What about the car, and what if I just bring suitcases?

A car has its own regime. The tax authority (AT) customs page is titled “Isenção do ISV por ocasião da transferência de residência” and says it summarizes the vehicle tax code, Law 22-A/2007. The details sit in collapsed answers that did not load for us, so the AT answers were not read. The Embassy of Portugal in Jakarta, on a consular services page of the Ministry, says the exemption applies to a person over 18 who has lived abroad for at least 6 months, that the request must be made within twelve months of transferring residence (the Toronto consulate’s page counts the twelve months from the cancellation of residence in Canada; neither page is dated), that it is made only on the Portal das Finanças by electronic customs vehicle declaration (DAV), and that it can be used once in every ten years. Our guide to buying and registering a car covers the steps.

If you carry things in your baggage instead of shipping them, the AT’s Guia para Viajantes (February 2026) applies. For travelers arriving from third countries it gives a duty and tax free allowance on other goods without a commercial character: 430 euros by air or sea, 300 euros by road or rail, and 150 euros for travelers under 15. It says cash of 10,000 euros or more must be declared to Customs, and that medicines should be in a quantity for personal needs and come with the prescription. Food, animal products, plants, seeds and non-commercial pets are among the goods whose import is prohibited or restricted. The guide advises the red channel when in doubt. A move is not a trip: use the residence-transfer route above for the household, and the traveler allowance for what you carry.

What do I have to do before the container leaves?

The pages do not give one checklist, so this order follows the dependencies they state:

1. Confirm you meet the 12 months abroad and 6 months of ownership conditions with paper: payslips, bills, receipts.
2. Make the list of goods. Leave out alcohol, tobacco and anything that looks commercial.
3. Ask your consulate for the luggage certificate. Toronto says foreigners can use it only after obtaining a residence visa and that it may be issued in the 90 days before the move; London asks for a copy of the residence authorization and gives no window.
4. Keep the proof of when you cancel your old residence. The consulates ask for it.
5. After you arrive, note the date you establish your residence in Portugal. The 12 months for entering the goods run from it. The tax number you will need for the rest of your paperwork is in the NIF guide.
6. Do not sell or rent out the goods for 12 months after customs accepts the entry. The regulation says a loan, hire, security or transfer inside that period means paying the import duties, and the table above says prior notice is required.

Your Portuguese address is part of the picture too: the guide to renting a home in Portugal explains the lease behind it.

Can I bring my dog or cat to Portugal?

Yes, as a non-commercial pet. The DGAV, Portugal’s food and veterinary authority, defines companion dogs and cats as animals “até um número de 5” that are not for sale or transfer of ownership and that travel with the owner, or with a person the owner authorizes in writing, in the 5 days before or after the owner’s own journey. Beyond that, the commercial rules apply, and a pet traveling alone more than 5 days apart is covered by them too.

New EU rules apply from 22 April 2026. The DGAV says Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/131 replaced the earlier rules, and that it keeps receiving requests from owners who do not meet the health conditions. It warns that a pet that does not comply is sent back to its origin at the owner’s expense, and as a last resort euthanasia may be considered.

The notice is a form that you, not the airline, send to the entry point; the DGAV offers it in Portuguese and English. Documents sent elsewhere cannot be reviewed in time. The AT guide lists the approved entry points as the airports of Lisbon, Porto, Beja, Faro, Funchal, Ponta Delgada and Terceira, and the ports of Lisbon and Funchal. The DGAV says the Lisbon entry point is closed from 00:00 to 06:00 and the Porto one from 23:00 to 07:00, and that the veterinary check happens outside those hours. Pets may not enter at marinas that are not entry points.

The veterinary check at the entry point costs 43.17 euros for one animal and 86.34 euros for two or more, according to the DGAV, which adds that the amount is subject to update and that assistance dogs are exempt.

Do Americans and Britons follow different pet steps?

The Portuguese rules are the same for both. The European Commission lists the United States and the United Kingdom among the countries from which dogs, cats and ferrets need no rabies antibody titration test (the list says references to the United Kingdom do not include Northern Ireland). What differs is how you obtain the certificate at home.

From Great Britain. GOV.UK says you need an animal health certificate for your dog, cat or ferret to travel to an EU country, signed by an official veterinarian. The certificate “is valid for travel any time within 10 days after it’s issued by your vet”, with 10 days for entry, 6 months for onward travel in the EU and 6 months for re-entry to Great Britain. You must wait at least 21 full days after the first rabies vaccination, and the microchip must come before or at the same time as the vaccination. A GOV.UK notice of 21 April 2026 says GB residents should no longer use EU pet passports to enter the EU, and the pet passport page says that if you live in England, Scotland or Wales you cannot use one to enter the EU even if it was issued in the EU. The DGAV says the same from the EU side: a passport is issued only to owners whose main residence is in the EU.

From the United States. The USDA APHIS page “Pet Travel From the United States to Portugal”, marked “Last Modified: September 02, 2026”, says Portugal requires pet owners to contact the authorities at least 48 hours before arrival and give written notice. It says new EU health certificates are required from October 2026 because of EU legislation issued earlier in the year: the non-commercial certificate is effective October 1, 2026 and the commercial one October 17, 2026. For a dog, cat or ferret, APHIS lists three steps.

1. Microchip and rabies vaccination. The pet needs a working microchip, scanned by the veterinarian before the rabies shot. After a primary vaccination the pet must wait at least 21 days, or the manufacturer’s recommended immunity period. APHIS says a primary rabies vaccination given in the United States is valid for 1 year even if it was a 3-year vaccine, and that a lapse of even one day makes the next shot a primary one again.
2. An accredited veterinarian issues the certificate. The non-commercial certificate is for an owner traveling with the pet on the same flight, or a designated person traveling no later than 5 days after the owner, with five or fewer pets. APHIS says it is valid for 30 days after the veterinarian issues it. The commercial certificate is for a pet traveling without the owner or a designated person, for 6 or more pets, or when the pet changes owner on arrival; the pet must be examined within 48 hours of leaving the United States.
3. USDA endorsement. The veterinarian submits the certificate through VEHCS. For the non-commercial certificate APHIS says endorsement must happen within 10 days of the pet’s arrival in the EU, and for the commercial one within 48 hours after the veterinarian issues it. A printed, endorsed copy travels with the pet.

APHIS adds that airlines have their own pet rules and that the page can change without notice. We read the page on October 18, 2026.

For other animals, the DGAV has separate pages for birds, other species and dogs of breeds considered potentially dangerous, which we did not read. It also says live birds and reptiles can require a CITES licence from the ICNF.

More guides on this site: apostilles, translations and certified documents.

What to check before you ship

• Whether your goods meet the six months of ownership and use, and whether you can show it.
• The 90-day window for the luggage certificate and the 12-month window for entering the goods.
• That nothing on the list is alcohol, tobacco or a commercial item.
• The pet steps in order: microchip, rabies vaccination, 21 days, official certificate, notice to the entry point 48 hours before.
• Whether the price and date of any fee has changed; we give the figures as printed on the day we read them.

Once your goods arrive and you have an address, setting up electricity, gas and water is the next task.

This guide rests on these official pages, read on 18 October 2026: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs luggage certificate page and the consular pages of Toronto, London and Jakarta; Council Regulation (EC) No 1186/2009 on EUR-Lex; the AT customs vehicle tax page and traveler guide of February 2026; three DGAV pages on dogs and cats; the European Commission list of non-EU countries; and three GOV.UK pages on taking a pet to the EU. The USDA APHIS page on pet travel to Portugal was read in a browser on 18 October 2026.