Relocating to Belgium
If you're thinking about moving to Belgium, you need to plan ahead. Professional movers can be beneficial in your move.
Moving to Belgium with all your belongings can be hard. You need to think and organize before you even get started.
To get some relief, you can hire professional movers. They take care of formalities for you, plus load and unload your belongings, as well as pack and unpack them. These people can even safely move your pets. You can find professionals online in the Yellow Pages or in the Useful Link section of this article and get a quote. You can also search for reviews to help decide which one to hire.
In your request for a quote, you might need to give your old address, the new address, the volume of belongings, means of transportation (container, truck, boat, etc.), and benefits included in the final price.
Procedure
It's possible to send most of your belongings to your new home in Belgium. However, some movers drop your belongings at a storage unit. This option has additional fees, but you can have either the original mover or a second one move your items out for you when you're ready.
Inventory before moving out
Some movers make you sign an inventory, while others don't. Whatever they require, we highly recommend you list your personal belongings in order to produce a value statement. It'll help set a price for any compensation you can receive they're broken or stolen. Don't forget to read each clause of the contract.
Insurance for damages
Once you get a statement of value for your belongings, the movers will offer you insurance for any damage, which covers unpredictable damages. The amount of this insurance varies: the more valuable your belongings are, the more you have to pay for the insurance.
The movers have to give you an insurance certificate. If it's not in the initial file, ask for it.
The car letter: The ultimate step before moving to Belgium
The last step consists of signing a car letter. This letter is basically the green light that lets the mover take your belongings to Belgium. It has to indicate the terms on which you agreed to sign the contract (terms and conditions, transportation mean, volume, contacts for you and the mover, etc.)
Some companies let their customers pay in two installments: when loading the belongings and when delivering them. You can choose to pay once or even negotiate to stagger the amount. For example, you can pay 20% when the movers arrive to pack and remove your belongings, then the rest later on.
Choose the movers
There's an International Federation for International Movers; you can choose one there. There's also the Belgian Chamber for Movers. Both these institutions have their own websites. You can find them in the Useful Link section of this article.
Formalities for customs
No formalities apply when importing belongings from the EU or the EEA. There are no costs either. However, some merchandise is subject to VAT (alcohol and tobacco).
If you import belongings from a third country, formalities and taxes apply at customs. These products have to be for your own consumption.
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