If you plan to move your household items here after receiving a residence permit in Mexico, we do not recommend doing this. First of all, because the tariff for transporting things will be quite high, and the procedure for registering imports — excessively troublesome. It’s better to come with money and have the opportunity to buy whatever you want here. However, there are personal items that are especially dear to you and which you cannot bring in regular luggage. Here we will briefly explain how to get your household items imported when moving to Mexico to avoid paying import duty.
Any goods and items valued over $300 when shipped or imported into Mexico are subject to tax. However, Mexican legislation defines a number of cases when taxation can be avoided when importing personal belongings for a large amount. We are talking about an international move, when you move to live from one country to another and transport your personal belongings, or rather, household and household items (menaje de casa).
The following people have the opportunity to take advantage of this perspective:
- foreign citizens who have obtained permanent residency status in Mexico — final import is processed by him,
- visitors who have received temporary resident status in Mexico, students and researchers — they are issued temporary import of things,
- Mexicans who have lived abroad for more than 6 months (repatriates),
- residents of a border zone or region,
- diplomats.
These persons are not required to be registered in the Mexican importer registry, that is, they are not required to engage in foreign economic activity.
At the same time, they have the opportunity, without paying an import duty, to import goods and items of everyday use only 1 time in the following periods, counting from the date of first entry in the corresponding status:
- personally accompanying the luggage,
- sending cargo with a date of arrival in Mexico no earlier than 3 months and no later than 6 months from the date of entry.
These deadlines cannot be extended. In some cases, the importation of personal belongings is allowed to be repeated within a year after the first importation.
It is possible to import the following goods and everyday items duty free:
- home furniture and household appliances used in the family,
- personal items (clothes, books, etc.) — the list of these items is quite long,
- works of art that do not form complete collections,
- tools for professional research,
- tools for workers and craftsmen, if they are necessary for the development of a profession, art or trade, except for goods for commercial or industrial activities (a chisel is allowed, a woodworking machine is not).
It is important that these goods must be used and, moreover, without original packaging. These do not have to be commercial goods, exceptions — goods and items for conducting journalistic activities.
There are items that cannot be brought to Mexico and are not considered part of the household. You can see them in the image below.
The main document they should prepare in advance —Certificado de Menaje de Casa(certificate for household items). This is its official name, and if you search the Internet for more detailed information or contact the consulate, use its name in Spanish.
Step 1.Make an inventory of all the goods and items you plan to ship to Mexico. It must contain a detailed description and quantity of goods. For electronic items, you must provide the make, model, and serial number. The inventory is required in Spanish in 4 copies, each of which must be signed. The inventory should not contain new goods, only used ones.
The inventory must contain the following information:
- owner's name,
- shipping address,
- destination address in Mexico,
- taxpayer identification number,
- description of the product inside each box,
- total number of boxes,
- total weight and
- total advertised price,
- model number and serial number, and in addition the brand number of electronic devices.
In addition, the inventory must contain the box number, a description of the contents and the condition of the items (used only). You have the ability to generalize (say, “one box of men's clothing” or “a set of tools”) instead of listing every item. Also, list all unpacked items and number them. Attach a label to each box with the box number and even the contents — This will make your life easier when unpacking too. Unpacked items such as furniture should in addition be listed and optionally labeled. Finally, the packing slip should indicate the total weight of the shipment in kilograms (not individual boxes). In addition, the price for customs purposes of the entire consignment must be indicated.
The number of items is not limited, however, you should understand that there is a reasonable limit to everything.
Step 2.Prepare an affidavit (bajo protesta de decir verdad), which should include the following information:
- you guarantee the correctness of the information provided,
- you have not previously submitted/submitted an application for the import of household goods, and the details of this application,
- you undertake to remove the goods when your residence ends (for temporary residents),
- the goods will be located and applied at the address you provide. If the address changes, you undertake to notify the customs service.
Consulates have a template for this application. Say, at the consulate in Spainsuch. The application may be combined with an inventory of goods, for example, hereSo.
Step 3.Make an appointment with the Mexican diplomatic mission in your country and provide the following information and papers:
- ID card + 4 copies,
- resident visa or resident card,
- proof of residence address in your country + 4 copies,
- residential address in Mexico,
- sworn statement,
- inventory of goods in 4 copies.
Pay the price of the certificate — $115 (2021).
The result should be the acquisition of a Certificado de Menaje de Casa certificate.
Step 4.Send cargo goods to Mexico.
Step 5.In Mexico, find a customs agent in advance. The agent is required to prepare and submit an A1 petition to the customs authority, as well as your immigration documents and the original certificate. The agent carries out further customs clearance. However, unlike regular imports, when importing menaje de casa, you can do without the mandatory involvement of a customs agent by contacting customs directly.
We have described the procedure in a simplified manner. In fact, it is better to start from the end, by communicating with a customs agent, who also knows how documents for the consulate should be prepared. Most customs agents do not know how to handle non-commercial cargo.
The commission of customs agents in Mexico is quite high. Just because you don't pay import duty doesn't mean you don't have to pay customs duty. Get your country logistics, customs clearance, sea logistics here, and then transport to your Mexico address. Most likely, it will turn out that it is easier to sell everything at home and buy it in Mexico. And the most valuable things can be brought in regular luggage or sent to Mexico by parcels.