Fred2
Any excess luggage with you would be OK ,but un-accompanied luggage you would need proof of purchase and 200% customs fee + fee everyday you don't pay and they will find some way (paperwork) to hole it back. Indonesia doesn't need you household goods, that's why people don't bring goods in.
Sorry to be negative.
Balifrog
Having "migrated" from HKG to Bali a year ago, I had a look at the rules, had a shopping agent look at it, saw the official regulations in Indonesia, and with my experience of Asian customs I abandonned the idea. Specially after looking at the tax rates...
We brought our essential stuff wih us, and later did a trip back to HKG to fetch the remaining things. (50 kg)
Only personal long standing souvenirs.
All the rest my Miss gave to her friends Indo domestic helpers there.
Same warning as others mentionned concerning "discreet" working on line !
harryopal
After lots of information along the lines indicated I accepted the realities of the difficulties and divested ourselves of most stuff and took as much as possible in suitcases. At least coming from Townsville we had occasion to make several trips over a period and, from memory, finished up bringing about 240 kilos of stuff. Had no problems with customs. And took some consolation with the ongoing disasters with flooding or whatever where people lose everything.
A difficult period of decision making for you.
Fred2
"I didn't think that customs duties were that expensive. I thought I pay for shipment and some clearance fees, but do they also charge tax on contents value? It's a very grey area for me and I cannot seem to get answers anywhere"
Milana Indonesia allows you a tourist visa, no tourist travels with a 27' container.
There is no way of bringing that in without starting a PMA company and then you need receipts for everything in the container.
kameshiro
Finally I can contribute something:
I just shipped 1500kg of stuff (I have retirement KITAS) and duty/tax was about IDR 10 million. I honestly thought it would be much higher, I have no idea how it's calculated.
Milana_uk
Hello guys and thank you for reading my thread. Basically like most newbies on here I am looking for some friendly advice. Me, my partner and 8 year old daughter are moving to Bali from Dubai in April. We both work distantly so will be staying on social visas. My daughter is already enrolled in CCS and will be on student visa. Now the main problem is our household things and furniture, we need to send it all by sea freight (27 cubic metres) but as I understand without KITAS being held for minimum 1 year it's almost impossible. Please don't advise on selling/storing, it's not an option and we simply need our stuff. I understand that finding a way around law is not cheap either. So with above information, can anyone help? Surely with so many expats living in Bali someone must have sent a sea freight without KITAS etc. Thank you in advance.
Mark
Welcome to the forum Milana_uk.
Regarding your large amount of stuff (27 cubic is a lot, nearly a full 20' container load), you cannot legally import it yourself unless you have a work Kitas (and even then pretty steep customs duties would apply). Perhaps you can find a local Indonesian company with an import license to import it under their name on your behalf. However, both customs duties and agent fees would then apply and they would no doubt be extremely expensive and maybe (probably?) even more than the stuff is worth.
One other piece of friendly advice to consider. Working remotely in Indonesia is done often under the radar but it is technically not legal to work here without the correct Kitas. So, you risk the possibility that someone (for example, a jealous 'friend', crooked landlord or even a local staff you employ and then dismiss for whatever reason) would report you to immigration and you could be deported - pretty much straight away - and all that stuff, if you even managed to import it, would never leave Indonesia.
Sorry to speak some home truths, but I doubt the situation would be much different for an Indonesian without a work or residence permit trying to 'live' in the UK. In any case, good luck and enjoy your time in Bali, even if it's without much of your stuff.
Milana_uk
Mark, thank you for your informative, friendly advice.
I didn't think that customs duties were that expensive. I thought I pay for shipment and some clearance fees, but do they also charge tax on contents value? It's a very grey area for me and I cannot seem to get answers anywhere.
Also, how about I send the most needed possessions by the air? We have to semd something at least as our needs exceed by far our Emirates baggage allowance. Please advise if you can.
Regarding working, I am aware that many many digital expats from in Bali, even in official coworking spaces without any problems at all. My partner is an executive chef so it is a possibility she will find a job as a chef too. Not sure how easy that will be but we are in touch with many Italian chefs working happily in Bali.
Thank you.
Mark
Your best bet would be to consider making several trips to Bali on airlines with generous checked luggage allowances. Each time, you can import up to USD500 per person or USD1000 per family (assuming you all travel on one customs form), and unless your stuff is brand new (note: avoid taking things in their original boxes) you most likely wouldn't attract the attention of customs. For example, if you fly business class or are at an elite level of frequent flyer with an airline that flies to Bali, you could take, say, up to 40kg or more per person per flight. So, in two or three flights you could actually bring a pretty large amount of stuff in. Also, if you haven't yet sorted out accommodation, you can temporarily store the stuff at the mini-storage in Denpasar until you're settled.
Balifrog
kameshiro wrote
Finally I can contribute something:
I just shipped 1500kg of stuff (I have retirement KITAS) and duty/tax was about IDR 10 million. I honestly thought it would be much higher, I have no idea how it's calculated.
Any more details you could give on here ?
I guess it would be interesting for some in the future ?
Milana_uk
Thank you everyone for your valuable input. I abandoned an idea of container as it does seem highly unrealistic and problematic. But perhaps there is still a possibility to take some stuff as unaccompanied baggage. It's also a good idea to travel there and back a few times, long way to Dubai but worth it I guess.
kameshiro
Balifrog wrote
Any more details you could give on here ?
I guess it would be interesting for some in the future ?
Yes, I'll post my experience once everything is done, and notify on this thread. Thanks for suggesting!
Milana_uk
Speaking of air freight, can anyone recommend a good broker/agency please?
harryopal
I presume that the same duties and complicated regulations would apply to air freight. Something to check out before committing yourself. Baggage with your flight is simplest. Depending on your airline it is worth finding out just how much you can take on a flight for how much.
Mark
harryopal wrote
I presume that the same duties and complicated regulations would apply to air freight. Something to check out before committing yourself. Baggage with your flight is simplest. Depending on your airline it is worth finding out just how much you can take on a flight for how much.
Totally agree with harryopal. There is no easy workaround by using unaccompanied baggage. There are lots of stories of people being charged huge customs duties for airshipped but unaccompanied stuff worth only a fraction of the actual duties charged. Best that all stuff is accompanied baggage and the only customs people you deal with are the ones just after immigration.
Balifrog
harryopal wrote
I presume that the same duties and complicated regulations would apply to air freight. Something to check out before committing yourself. Baggage with your flight is simplest. Depending on your airline it is worth finding out just how much you can take on a flight for how much.
Agreed, I had a look at it and it seems even more complicated and costly than sea freight.
