Shipping personal effects into Bali

If you are using a reputable company such as Allied Pickfords then they should be able to tell you exactly what you need to provide.

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Yeah it would be just clothes and some used electrical equipment like a stereo etc. Plus kitchenware. The main questions i have are around the work permit side of things and the required paperwork.

I currently live in Vietnam and when I was looking online about what you need in order to ship your personal effects into the country it said I need a work permit (which I couldn't get), some document from the consulate stating what I'm doing there and for how long, and all sorts of other stuff.

In the end I didn't need any of that, not even a work permit, just a valid visa and an immigration form signed at the airport.

I need someone really who has done this into Indonesia who can rest their hand on my shoulder and say "don't worry Ben, you don't need any of that stuff."

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No I can get a work permit through my uncle's company with whom I will be working. I say *can*, but with not having a degree even that is questionable. Either way this was something I was planning on sorting out in country as it is generally much easier.

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As is Fred, I’m confused as well.

Benjoj, you’re an English citizen, currently living in Vietnam and planning to move to Bali in January to work at your uncle’s business, but unsure if you’ll get a work permit or not…but you still want to ship your personal goods to Bali…before knowing if you are accepted for a work permit?

Do you have a “plan B” in mind in the event that you aren’t issued a work permit for employment in Bali? 

In any event, if you decide to proceed with shipping your personal goods from Vietnam you might want to check in with CAS Cargo/Moving based here in Denpasar.  They can act as your import agent and coordinate with your shipper in Vietnam. 

http://www.cargobali.com/about-us

I will be arriving on a perfectly legal tourist visa and then sorting out work permits then. I have 15 years experience in my line of work so it should not be a problem, but I never say never. If it doesn't work out then I will stay on a tourist visa for as long as possible then move on. Thanks for your concern but that's not really in question here.

Ben

I can tell you with certainty that if you have your personal property brought into Indonesia while on a tourist visa, then those items will be subject to full import duty.

Ubudian wrote:

I can tell you with certainty that if you have your personal property brought into Indonesia while on a tourist visa, then those items will be subject to full import duty.

OK that may change things. Can you say why you are so certain (ie what is the source of this information)? I was told the same about Vietnam but in the end had to pay nothing, even though I was again on a tourist visa.

Sorry for the delay in responding...a decent thunder storm is in progress and internet is on again, off again. 

I just went through all of this for a Swiss friend who moved from Beijing to take over a restaurant here in Ubud.

He kept his stuff safely stored with his old employer, and then had it shipped after his KITAS and IMTA was issued here.

Ubudian wrote:

Sorry for the delay in responding...a decent thunder storm is in progress and internet is on again, off again.

I never understand why that happens, but it does!

Ubudian wrote:

I just went through all of this for a Swiss friend who moved from Beijing to take over a restaurant here in Ubud.

He kept his stuff safely stored with his old employer, and then had it shipped after his KITAS and IMTA was issued here.

This may be our only option. I have some insiders seeing what they can find out too.

Thanks for your advice.

OK, and good luck!

Hey Benjol, I'd check with the Indonesian Embassy there and ask them how Indonesians normally send back their stuff to Indonesia. That's because many countries in Southeast Asia use small companies where you can inexpensively ship back cartons provided by them filled with your personal stuff. Perhaps you could ship it using an Indonesian of someone you know in Indonesia, and use that persons name as the receiver. Not sure if that is going to work in Bali, but for Jakarta it works.

“Not sure if that is going to work in Bali, but for Jakarta it works.”

Sure, for an Indonesian citizen who has been working out of country, repatriating their personal belonging is going to be tax free…but, are you suggesting that benjoj ship his items to a private Indonesian citizen under the guise that the citizen is bringing back their own personal goods? 

Sorry, but I’m not clear about what you suggest to benjoj.

Of course not, even if that method works, that would be illegal and I must insist that Benjol follows the law.

OK, that's good to hear. 

Your suggested approach might well be cheaper...shipping charge wise, but he would still be paying duty on the value of those goods.

Yeah I'm definitely going to be doing everything above board, but thanks for the suggestion!

Ubudian wrote:

OK, that's good to hear. 

Your suggested approach might well be cheaper...shipping charge wise, but he would still be paying duty on the value of those goods.

Yes it is much better to do things above board and I would not recommend using the name of an Indonesian as the sender, unless of course she was your wife and had  lived overseas with you.

By the way, for me there wasn't any duty to pay on the value of the goods but in Bali it might be different. I shipped a house full of personal stuff to Jakarta, about 46 cartons in three separate shipments including newly bought stuff such as home theatre, Ikea lamps, a couple of hifi's, a 60" UHD TV and loads of other things that I bought before sending the stuff. I was told by the cargo company that maybe I would be asked to pay some duty and to be ready for that, and that it depended on customs. Being a small cargo company that specializes in repatriating Indonesian's that work overseas I guess that customs were less strict with them. Anyway, I just kept my fingers crossed and was lucky for all three shipments.

Having said that, I strongly advise everyone to do things above board in Indonesia.

We all have our lucky days with customs...our own company imports on a weekly basis, but it sounds like you hit the jack pot!   

So, what's the name of that "small cargo company that specializes in repatriating Indonesian's that work overseas?"

Most Indonesians who have worked overseas and repatriated back to Indonesia know of companies like this. Indonesian Embassies overseas will usually provide the name of a company that does this to help it's citizens repatriate, if not, then Indonesians will usually know who to contact from word of mouth.

Companies like this are not usually known by expats because most expats tend to use big international relocation companies such as Crown Pacific, Allied Pickfords, Asian tigers etc who charge a minimum of 4 cbm and add on all sorts of costs so that the final charge is very high, often in excess of US$2500. Even if your personal effects are well below 4 cbm, they will often quote you for more such as 5 or 6 cbm so unless you know what you are doing you will pay more than you should. Imagine, if they quote each client for LCL and overcharge by 20 - 30% then they make a lot of extra money. A 20ft container can load about 29 - 30 cbm and a 40ft container twice that. So if the freight forwarders overcharge each client then they can paid for 40 or 50 cbm for a 20ft container. Not bad for them. And why are their quotes so high? They will tell you that the reason the price is high is because the trucking costs within Indonesia are extremely high.

However, these smaller companies provide you with cartons of different sizes and will even help with packing them. The cost of sending the boxes is based on the carton size, S, M, L & XL or the volume of individual items that you send and you can go to their websites and see a chart showing the cost against carton size. As you can imagine, people use these companies for repatriating and also for shipping stuff back home, such as clothes, food, electronics etc back home or to their families.

May I know the reason for your asking for the company's name?

JCollins wrote:

..you can go to their websites and see a chart showing the cost against carton size

I too would like to know the company name for the reason above.

"May I know the reason for your asking for the company's name?"

Only because it could be useful to anyone following this thread.    Is it such an odd request?

I just shipped in a container of personal stuff...on a tourist social visa....paid through the nose.....up to 25,000 mil rupee.....30% of the value....it will be borken down into 3 catagories.....10@ of the shipping fee....from door to door manifest is required or they will guess and add a bunch of fees.
5% of the declared value and 15% of the assesed value (they decide the assesment not you or the shipper. Then you pay additional fees for wood, or other pourus materials...most furniture, etc. Funugation...if that is reguired (for me it was) one wood item they found...then the whole load must be fumigated....they charge by the pund and since you at their mercy....it is not cheep.

Since I did just that..think twice...cheeper to buy again here.....or storage.

Where in vietnam? My wife is Vietnamese

Wow that's a lot, how much stuff did you ship over?

We are in HCMC 

We shipped a medium size crate....(wood so they required fumigation) I offered to leave the wood crate behind...but they found a small wood carving in side....got stuck anyway. We shipped about 400 kil in weight.

Now its better...becouse of the new president...now they dont take bribs...most of the time. So we figured out a loop hole (untill it is filled). We ship USPS (regular mail)...if it is stopped...it goes to Benoa customes (they are clean and dont take bribes...you get the clearance...you are good to go...no fees. If it goes through without being held...you still pay the 30%....

We purposly put a "questionable item at the top" or declare it...so it is held. Then I go to Animal Quarrentee...for a small "fee" they will amke the release and then you are done...no extra fees or BS. But this route requires a few hours of driving and waiting and the other BS....not the best for a first timer...but if in private we can give you better directions. SO far...we have saved about 30 mil on fees this way....We just shipped 9 boxes...full. about a 1 1/2 cubit space...paid only the quarrentee release fees.....about 500,000.

But its a gamble.....

As you may note in this discussion, we are still waiting for JCollins to respond with the name of one of these “small cargo companies that specializes in repatriating Indonesian's that work overseas.” 

As for your wood crate experience, it’s an irony that shipments from the US crated with wood do not automatically include fumigation paperwork.  However, any wood crated shipment to the US does require this paperwork, or it will be held in the US, fumigated there, and of course, at the shipper’s expense.

Hey sorry guys. The small company I used does not have a presence in Vietnam. That's why I suggested you make contact with the Indonesian Embassy there. Or you could try to contact any Indonesian's that you can find there to get some info from them. If they are working there, they may be able to help you through their own network of Indonesians living in Vietnam.

That makes sense. 

Most all Indonesians I know who have worked abroad came home with their personal possessions packed the same way they were when they left...in luggage and carry on bags.  So that's what primarily accounts for my for my curiosity with the approach you suggested. 

Cheers, Roy

That's right. Benjol, if you were shipping from Singapore or Malaysia I would pass the name of the company to you. I checked in Vietnam and they don't exist. Hong Kong also has a lot of Indonesian workers so they almost certainly have similar companies there. After six or seven years of working overseas they always want to bring back stacks of stuff, hence the existence of small cargo companies like this. Better check as per my previous post, try the Indonesian Embassy or speak to the indonesian community.

But you can check with the regular large removal companies as they all give free quotations, but make sure to get a breakdown of the costs. From my experience there is normally a 4 cbm minimum.

Odd that our experiences with repatriating Indonesians is so different.  For example, by far the greatest number of repatriating Indonesians from Singapore and Malaysia are repatriating domestic workers…and they don’t have “stacks of stuff” to bring home.  Moreover, while working over seas they have already sent a large proportion of their earnings back home (if paid periodically)…thus they haven’t been buying much of anything while working abroad.  The same is true of Hong Kong…the vast majority of Indonesian workers there are domestic workers. 

Repatriating from the US, the vast majority of Indonesians I know were working on cruise ships…and while their income was much higher than that of the domestic Indonesian workers in Singapore and Malaysia, they too (like domestic workers) most often return with primarily that which they initially took with them, as they also were sending most of their earnings home during their absence and sojourn abroad.

“Not just domestic helpers but also construction workers, restaurant workers, boutique staff, massageurs, students, etc. They are not all maids.”

True enough, they aren’t all maids, but by and large the vast majority have one thing in common…they aren’t making tons of money, thus how can it be that they are bringing back “stacks of stuff?”  Moreover, if they are working in Singapore or Malaysia, then they are going home on a fairly regular basis (Idul Fitri once a year at least) as Jakarta is so close.

No worries though as I’m just trying to figure out how these shipping companies that “specialize in repatriating Indonesians” work.  When you first brought this up this was completely new to me, so just regard my curiosity as simply that…curiosity.

And admittedly, I am also curious why you seem so reluctant to reveal the name of the company that you used when you moved to Bandung.  On one hand you provide very specific information on how they work: 

“However, these smaller companies provide you with cartons of different sizes and will even help with packing them. The cost of sending the boxes is based on the carton size, S, M, L & XL or the volume of individual items that you send and you can go to their websites and see a chart showing the cost against carton size. As you can imagine, people use these companies for repatriating and also for shipping stuff back home, such as clothes, food, electronics etc back home or to their families.”

So, how can one “go to their websites and see a chart showing the cost against carton size” if one doesn’t have the name of one of these companies to begin with? 

Seeking out specific information, is that what you meant when you wrote, “Roy, I've seen what you do in lots of other threads.”  I assure you, I’m not looking for an argument…on the contrary, I’m only looking for specific information. 

Cheers, and have a great Sunday evening.

My advise having been in a similar though not the same situation and having browsed the other replies and your additional information is:

Arrange for your goods to be packed prepared for shipping and STORED where you are.

WHEN you have got into Bali and sorted out your KITAS etc. and are happily settled and secure THEN ship your goods.

If things go wrong then you put your back up plan into operation and RETURN or GO HOME or new location and this contingence should be pre-planned with your shipper.

Good luck - I arrived here in March and got may paperwork sorted after 6 months and am still waiting for bigger apartment that will take my shipment,  may goods have now been in storage for over a year, they were in storage for a while before I left Brunei to come here.
As I said good luck it normally works out in the end but takes a long time and you need the patients of a saint.

Nigel

Don't worry Ben...you do not need all that stuff....going thru the same, though different country and have been advised to really start from scratch...lighter feeling! Good luck!

JCollins....I wouildl like the shipping companies name...we have a storage unit in Singapore waiting for shipping to Bali it would really help. You can PM me if you like.

Ubidian, Thanks for the help on the Visa topic

Benjoj, My wife moved to Bali (to marry me) August 2014 - she hand carried all the (personal stuff...gifts, household items...etc that she could. We shipped the clothes to avoid customs fees....we used MSA Cargo ubud...Murnie is the ladies name....they cleared the shippment as personal effects...we still paid a little becouse no KITAS....Under the law...you can ship after you get a KITAS...up to 15 days...with no import fees at all.

My advise...if you want it is simple.....pack and store ship after you get your work permit. But most likely the shipping cost will be more than buying again...unless you ship exspencive stuff. We made a trip to Jawa and bought everything we needed for a 4 bedroom house and it was delivered in a truck the next week....way cheeper than shipping from USA. And its all brand new....

Based on my recent (july) experience importing personal effects into jakarta, without the IMTA you will pay duty according to the following formula:
Weight of goods x per kilo charge to calculate customs value;
35% of customs value to calculate duty value 1; plus 10 % of duty value 1 to calculate duty value 2; plus 7.5% of (duty value 1 plus duty value 2) to calculate duty value 3; total of duty values 1, 2 and 3 is payable.
Expect to pay between AUD2500 & 3500 for a 20` container load

Ben,

Depends on how much you intend to ship. If its relatively substantial you might consider employing a credible removals company such as "Crown" who will handle the paperwork for you.
We moved 2x20ft container loads of P/E's to Bali from Australia several years ago. It was quite simple as we used a reputable removals outfit. One thing is certain if things regulations remain the same as they were and that is you must land you P/E's in Bali with in two months of your arrival or they become dutiable however once again the removals company can give you the latest advice on this.

tel522 wrote:

JCollins wrote:

Roy, I've seen what you do in lots of other threads. And I don't intend to get pulled into an argument with you. If you think you know best or if you think I am making things up then bully for you mate. Have a great sunday!

here here ! 

Tel522, if you have a personal problem with a poster then deal with it like a man and avoid forum flaming.   

In other words, send a PM and avoid disrupting a thread.   

Thanks all. I am speaking to a contact I have in Bali now who deals with import and export a lot. Maybe he can help. Worst case is that we store our stuff here (we have family here who can hold it for us), we take over the essentials in our checked luggage and then ship the rest over when we have our KITAS.

On a separate topic but related, we are looking at limited stay visas which may allow us to ship our personal effects into the country.

PS find me a single forum thread on the internet that doesn't descend into an argument!