Shipping goods to fiancé

[David And Katie 5]

I keep hearing of people who have to prove they have a visa in order to ship things without being stung for customs duty when sending items to the US.

What's to stop me sending a few small(ish!) items via DHL or similar, to my fiancé? They're not worth anything in commercial terms, and to replace them would cost around £300 at MOST.

I could insure them for £300 and just declare them as no-commercial value (which is true). They're also ham/amateur radio parts/equipment which I believe has a specific customs exemption anyway.

Is the "proof of a visa" requirement for people who are shipping a LOT of stuff ( a container full ?). Surely there's people like me who live at home currently and DON'T have a houseful of stuff to move.

Cheers!

David.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

I've pretty much forgotten everything I knew about sending stuff, but even if you sent a gift to the US worth £300 ($450) then customs duty is owed on $350. Katie would have to pay the duty plus a service charge. But as an immigrant, you can send/bring with you unlimited "household goods". So with a visa you get to tick off on a duty free form that the package contains your household goods. It's supposed to be things you have owned at least one year to qualify, so don't send a dozen new cameras still in boxes, for example. Don't get too worked up over the exact age of your personal possessions. Nobody is going to worry about general stuff. They would question the camera example. Every package entering the US is x-rayed. I saw it on TV.

[JoannaV 174]

If you have a visa then you can move all/any of your belongings from the UK to the US without paying duty.

But if you transport something from the UK to the US before you have your visa, you can't be considered to be sending it to yourself. It would have to be, I suppose, you a foreign resident sending a gift to your fiance a US resident. The CBP website isn't easy to navigate so I can't be sure as to what the duty-free exemption is. I think anything under $100 (except for alcohol and the like) is free. Not sure about more than that, but that seems to be what Nich-Nick thinks too.

Of course, if the equipment is old enough not to be worth $100, then that would be fine. And if there is some kind of exemption then that is fine too. I'm not sure that such an exemption would apply to a gift though, which is what it would have to be considered. I don't know. If you can work out the value of your stuff, I mean what could you sell it for?

[David And Katie 5]

Hmmm.

The two items I really want to ship are about 12kg combined.

I thought about putting them in a suitcase or putting into a box and bringing with me on the plane, but that would eat into the 50kg that American let me have (I'm already bringing two bags).

[Andy H 1]

Hmmm.

The two items I really want to ship are about 12kg combined.

I thought about putting them in a suitcase or putting into a box and bringing with me on the plane, but that would eat into the 50kg that American let me have (I'm already bringing two bags).

I think that with a weight of 12kg, the cost of sending it may be far greater then the cost of booking another extra bag onto your flight. I think the size has something to do with it also, but i'm not too sure how the volumetric weight formulas work that companies use to calculate how much to charge you.

I know DHL are expensive.

[David And Katie 5]

DHL quoted me £55. Which is a lot less than buying the items new.

Another bag would be around the same cost... I'm honestly not sure what the best option would be.

Shipping two 6kg parcels would be £33 each, which is obviously not as cost effective as one 12kg parcel.

Edited June 28, 2011 by David And Katie

[David And Katie 5]

Fake edit:

So, with the "visa exemption" do I just tick a box on the customs form before I see the customs agent at POE? I never noticed that before on the form.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Fake edit:

So, with the "visa exemption" do I just tick a box on the customs form before I see the customs agent at POE? I never noticed that before on the form.

Shipping forms and on the plane customs declaration are different customs forms. I spoke to CBP Houston before we flew in together with 6 suitcases and asked if there were any specific things that needed to be done. There is the part about listing goods that will remain in the US. And I was carrying 3 bags containing things not belonging to me, but to the K visa holder. He told me "no problem" just write "Household goods" on one form and don't itemize or value them. If you are bringing something else...like 2 giant bags of Sainsbury's red lable teabags, then you would list/value those because it was something new recently bought that you were bringing in.

This is the form that's used for free entry of unaccompanied items (shipped over). http://forms.cbp.gov/pdf/CBP_Form_3299.pdf

#10, C (1) applies to you.

Edited June 28, 2011 by Nich-Nick

[David And Katie 5]

Thank you NN!

Its stuff I've had for years and I will be bringing most of the stuff with me on the plane - mostly higher value electronics - radios, audio-visual equipment etc. I just never fancied taking the two heaviest items with me. I need that weight for all my clothes etc.

I know when you're passing through countries you can sign a carnet but that's not really for us visa holders.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Thank you NN!

Its stuff I've had for years and I will be bringing most of the stuff with me on the plane - mostly higher value electronics - radios, audio-visual equipment etc. I just never fancied taking the two heaviest items with me. I need that weight for all my clothes etc.

I know when you're passing through countries you can sign a carnet but that's not really for us visa holders.

Well if you use DHL to send, they probably want you to fill out that form for unaccompanied goods if you want it duty free. Did you check with Parcel Monkey. There were some people who used that. It's cheaper, but the packages were actually transported by DHL. That was last year or before when people were talking about Parcel Monkey.