Moving from the Netherlands to Georgia (2026): Complete Guide

Relocating from the Netherlands to Georgia (the country in the South Caucasus, not the US state) means managing two very different bureaucracies at once: Dutch deregistration and export customs on one side, and Georgian visa/residence status and import customs on the other. This guide is written for a Dutch resident — Dutch national or long-term resident with a Dutch residence permit — planning a full household move to Tbilisi, Batumi, or elsewhere in Georgia. It covers both halves of the corridor in the order you’ll actually deal with them, plus a short note on moving back.

Key takeaways

• Whether you pay Georgian import duty and VAT on your household goods depends on your immigration status on arrival — visa-free entry does not qualify for the personal-effects exemption; entering "for permanent residence" (confirmed by a Ministry of Justice document) does (Revenue Service of Georgia).
• Dutch nationals can enter Georgia visa-free for up to 365 days per entry, and holders of a valid Dutch (Schengen) visa or residence permit can also enter visa-free, for 90 days per 180-day period; neither status authorizes work (Geoconsul — MFA Georgia). Residence permits are applied for through the Public Service Development Agency.
• Before leaving, you must report your move abroad to your Dutch municipality (deregistration from the BRP); your record moves to the Non-residents Records Database (RNI) (NetherlandsWorldwide).
• Moving household goods out of the Netherlands to a non-EU country requires an export declaration plus an inventory list filed with Dutch Customs (Douane) (Douane.nl).
• The year you emigrate, you file a Dutch "M-form" (migration) income tax return covering the split tax year (Belastingdienst).
• Outside the permanent-residence exemption, household goods and personal effects entering Georgia generally face import duty plus 18% VAT, calculated on the CIF value (RS.ge exemption brochure).
• Cash and negotiable instruments over 30,000 GEL (in any currency) must be declared when crossing the Georgian border (RS.ge — Border Crossing).
• Dogs and cats need a valid rabies vaccination, and Georgia’s National Food Agency oversees animal imports; accompanied pets generally don’t need a separate import permit — confirm current certificate requirements directly with the agency before travel (National Food Agency of Georgia).

1. Your Georgian immigration status determines your customs treatment

This is the single biggest variable in the whole move. Georgia’s exemption for personal and household goods hinges on why you’re entering the country, not just on the fact that you’re moving:

• Visa-free entry: Dutch citizens don’t need a visa to enter Georgia and may stay up to 365 days per entry; holders of a valid Dutch visa or residence permit can also enter visa-free, for up to 90 days per 180-day period (Geoconsul, MFA Georgia). Neither status is work-authorized. Arriving on this basis, your shipment is treated as ordinary personal baggage/cargo subject to the standard exemption thresholds for travelers — not the full "moving goods" relief described below.
• Entry for permanent residence: If you’re granted a residence permit or a document confirming permanent residence from Georgia’s Ministry of Justice system, furniture and household items not intended for economic activity can be imported duty-free. If the goods travel unaccompanied, you must submit the customs declaration to a customs clearance zone within 90 days of acquiring the right of permanent residence, or within 90 days of applying for it (RS.ge exemption brochure).
• Residence permits (employment, business, investment, family reunification, study, and permanent-permit routes for spouses, minor children, or 10+ years’ residency) are applied for through Georgia’s Public Service Development Agency / Public Service Hall network (SDA.gov.ge).

Note: a separate, more generous customs allowance exists specifically for Georgian citizens returning home after living abroad — that scheme doesn’t apply to Dutch nationals moving to Georgia for the first time and is not covered further here.

Practical implication: apply for your Georgian residence status before your shipment arrives, and keep the confirming document — customs will ask for it.

2. The Netherlands side: deregistering, exporting, and closing your tax residency

Customs authority. Dutch Customs — Douane — handles moving-goods matters, including exports to non-EU countries (Douane.nl).

Deregistering (BRP → RNI). Before you leave, report your move abroad ("emigratie") to your municipality. You can report as early as 5 days before departure and must always report yourself. Once processed, your data is removed from the Basic Registration of Persons (BRP) as a resident and transferred to the Non-residents Records Database (RNI). Ask your municipality for an international proof of deregistration, since your new country of residence may require it (NetherlandsWorldwide — how to deregister; when to deregister). Deregistration has knock-on effects for rent allowance, student grants, benefits, and health insurance, so plan the timing against your actual departure date.

Export declaration for your goods. Because Georgia is not an EU member, moving your household goods out of the Netherlands is an export to a "third country." You must file an export declaration with Douane and submit an inventory list of everything you’re taking. The Douane page does not publish a separate value threshold for household relocations — the declaration/inventory requirement applies regardless of shipment value; you (or your moving company / customs agent) can file it (Douane.nl — moving from the Netherlands). Certain categories — pets, weapons, ammunition, protected species, narcotics, and cultural property — face separate export controls and can’t simply be packed into a container.

Tax exit. In the calendar year you emigrate, you file a Dutch income tax return using the "M-form" (Migratie/migration form), covering the period you were a Dutch tax resident. You usually receive it automatically after your municipal deregistration is processed, and can file online via Mijn Belastingdienst (DigiD or an EU-recognised login) or request the paper version (Belastingdienst — M-form filing). The Belastingdienst also publishes an emigration checklist covering DigiD access, vehicle export, allowances (toeslagen), and healthcare insurance cancellation (Belastingdienst — emigreren checklist).

3. Ports, routing and realistic transit times

Georgia has no direct deep-sea container service from Dutch ports, so household shipments normally move by sea via a transshipment hub, by combined road/sea, or by air for smaller volumes.

• Sea freight (groupage or FCL container): goods typically leave from the Port of Rotterdam, transship at a Mediterranean or Black Sea hub, and arrive at the Port of Poti or Port of Batumi on Georgia’s Black Sea coast. Industry estimate, not an official figure: roughly 4–8 weeks door-to-port depending on transshipment schedules and onward customs clearance.
• Air freight: cargo typically departs from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport and arrives at Tbilisi International Airport. Industry estimate: roughly 1–2 weeks including consolidation and clearance — used mainly for smaller, urgent, or high-value shipments given the higher cost per kg.
• Road/combined transport: some movers combine road transport across Europe and Turkey with a short sea crossing or full overland routing into Georgia; transit time varies widely by route and border-crossing conditions and is not something an official source publishes as a fixed figure.

These timelines are freight-industry planning estimates — always get a route- and season-specific transit estimate from your mover, not a generic figure.

4. Georgia’s import side: customs declaration and duties

Georgian customs is administered by the Revenue Service of Georgia (RS.ge), under the Ministry of Finance. Every traveler and shipment crossing the border completes a passenger/cargo customs declaration process.

• If your goods qualify for the permanent-residence exemption (see Section 1), furniture and household items not intended for commercial/economic activity can be imported without duty, subject to filing the declaration within the applicable 90-day window after your residence status is confirmed (RS.ge exemption brochure).
• If your goods don’t qualify (e.g., you’re still on visa-free status when the shipment clears), household goods and personal effects are treated as ordinary cargo, generally facing import duty plus 18% VAT, calculated on the CIF value — cost, insurance and freight (RS.ge exemption brochure). Most goods entering Georgia fall into 0%, 5% or 12% duty bands, with the large majority duty-free — the applicable band depends on the goods’ customs classification.
• The legal basis for all of this sits in the Customs Code of Georgia, published on the official legislative herald (Matsne.gov.ge — Customs Code of Georgia).
• You (or your local agent) must be reachable/present in Georgia to complete clearance, and you’ll need a valid Georgian visa or residence status matching your declared entry purpose.

5. Pets: rules on both ends

Leaving the Netherlands. For travel to a non-EU country, the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) advises starting preparations well in advance: your dog or cat needs a microchip and a valid rabies vaccination, the destination country may require additional tests, treatments or a health certificate, and in some cases the EU pet passport or other documents must be legalised through the NVWA before travel — a process that can take from a few weeks to over half a year depending on the destination (NVWA — travelling with a pet outside the EU).

Entering Georgia. Georgia’s National Food Agency (NFA) oversees animal imports and issues import permits for animals generally. For dogs and cats, the widely applied requirement — consistent with the international pet-passport standard many countries including Georgia follow — is a rabies vaccination administered no less than 21 days and no more than 11 months before entry, with pets accompanying their owner generally not requiring a separate import permit (unaccompanied animal shipments do). A veterinary inspection can occur on arrival, and animals whose documentation doesn’t comply can face quarantine or entry refusal. Because certificate formats and timing rules are updated periodically, confirm the current requirements directly with the NFA or the Georgian embassy in The Hague before travel (National Food Agency of Georgia).

6. Vehicles, money, and things people forget

Vehicles. Importing a car into Georgia is a separate process from household goods: it involves a customs duty on the CIF value, 18% VAT, and an excise tax calculated per cm³ of engine capacity, with older vehicles taxed at a substantially higher per-cm³ rate than newer ones. Georgia significantly revised these excise rates in a reform that took effect in April 2026, so treat any specific rate you find online (including in this guide) as provisional, and get a current, vehicle-specific duty calculation from RS.ge or your mover before committing to ship a car (RS.ge; legal basis under the Customs Code of Georgia). Registration also requires compliance with Georgian emissions/safety standards. For most moves from Western Europe, it’s cheaper to sell in the Netherlands and buy locally in Georgia.

Cash and money. Cash, foreign currency, and negotiable securities exceeding 30,000 GEL (or the equivalent in another currency) must be declared when crossing the Georgian border; failure to declare can result in fines or confiscation (RS.ge — Border Crossing). Georgia’s currency is the lari (GEL) — plan your initial cash needs and bank transfers accordingly, since opening a Georgian bank account typically requires your residence documentation.

Easy to forget:

• Cancelling or transferring your Dutch health insurance (zorgverzekering) around your deregistration date — the Belastingdienst emigration checklist flags this explicitly.
• Keeping your official Dutch deregistration certificate (bewijs van uitschrijving) — Georgian institutions and your bank may ask for proof of your change of residence.
• Confirming your Georgian entry/residence status before your container leaves the Netherlands, since it directly determines your import duty exposure (Section 1).
• DigiD/EU-recognised login access for your M-form and any future Dutch tax correspondence after you’ve left.

Reverse move: Georgia back to the Netherlands

Moving back works in mirror image. On the Georgian side, you’d close out your residence status and complete any required customs export formalities. On the Dutch side, Douane treats a return from a non-EU country as an import: you file a customs declaration and can request relief for used removal goods/personal belongings, with the specific conditions (and situations like moving for study, marriage, or after inheritance) set out on Douane’s "moving to the Netherlands from a non-EU country" pages (Douane.nl). You’ll also need to re-register with a Dutch municipality (moving back into the BRP) once you have an address. Because the exact ownership/residence-duration conditions for relief are set at the sub-page level and can be updated, confirm them directly with Douane before shipping.

How Flyto handles your Netherlands to Georgia move

Flyto operates its own offices, warehouses, crews and vehicles across Northern, Central and Southern Europe, so the Dutch collection, export documentation and European transport leg of your move are handled in-house by our own teams. For the Black Sea leg into Georgia and last-mile delivery, we work through a carefully vetted network of subcontracted carriers and trusted local partners on the ground in Georgia, who handle Georgian customs clearance and final delivery in coordination with our move coordinators.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a Georgian visa to move there from the Netherlands?
No visa is required for Dutch nationals for stays up to 365 days, and holders of a valid Dutch residence permit can also enter visa-free, for up to 90 days per 180-day period; neither status authorizes work, and neither is the same as the "permanent residence" status that unlocks duty-free import of household goods (Geoconsul, MFA Georgia).

Will I pay Georgian import duty on my furniture?
Only if you don’t yet have a Georgian document confirming permanent residence. With that status, furniture and household items for personal (non-commercial) use are exempt; without it, standard import duty and 18% VAT can apply (RS.ge).

Do I have to deregister from my Dutch municipality before I leave?
Yes — report your move abroad to your municipality; you can do this from 5 days before departure, and your data then moves from the BRP to the RNI (NetherlandsWorldwide).

How much cash can I bring into Georgia without declaring it?
Up to 30,000 GEL (or the equivalent in another currency) can be brought in without a mandatory declaration; above that, it must be declared at the border (RS.ge — Border Crossing).

Can I bring my dog or cat?
Yes, provided your pet’s rabies vaccination and Georgia’s National Food Agency documentation requirements are met; accompanied pets generally don’t need a separate import permit. Confirm the current timing and certificate details with the NFA before travel (NFA Georgia).

Is it worth shipping my car to Georgia?
Usually not for a move from the Netherlands — import duty, 18% VAT and an engine-size-based excise tax apply (recently revised, and higher for older vehicles), plus compliance checks before local registration (Customs Code of Georgia). Get a duty quote for your specific vehicle before deciding.

Sources

• Douane — Internationaal spullen verhuizen (overview)
• Douane — Spullen verhuizen vanuit Nederland (export)
• Douane — Spullen verhuizen naar Nederland vanuit een niet-EU-land (return import)
• NetherlandsWorldwide — How do I deregister when I go abroad?
• NetherlandsWorldwide — When do I have to deregister from a Dutch municipality?
• Belastingdienst — Aangifte doen over het jaar van emigratie (M-formulier)
• Belastingdienst — Emigreren checklist
• NVWA — Mijn hond of kat mee naar een land buiten de Europese Unie
• Revenue Service of Georgia — Exemption of goods from duties and the obligation of declaring
• Revenue Service of Georgia — Border Crossing (cash declaration)
• Matsne (Legislative Herald of Georgia) — Customs Code of Georgia
• Geoconsul — Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia: visa-free travel
• Public Service Development Agency of Georgia — Migration / Residence Permits
• National Food Agency of Georgia