Moving from Hong Kong to Germany (2026): Relocation Guide
Key takeaways
- Germany is inside the EU customs and VAT area, so a shipment arriving from Hong Kong is a non-EU import. With transfer-of-residence relief (form 0350) your used household goods enter free of duty and import VAT.
- To qualify you must have lived outside the EU for at least 12 continuous months, have owned and used the goods for at least 6 months, and register your German address before customs will release the shipment.
- Hong Kong is an EU-listed third country for pet travel, so a dog or cat needs only a microchip, a valid rabies vaccination and an EU animal health certificate — no rabies antibody (titre) blood test. You also need an AFCD export health certificate to leave Hong Kong.
- Sea freight from the Port of Hong Kong to Hamburg via Suez typically takes around four to five weeks port-to-port, plus packing, clearance and delivery. Air freight is faster but far costlier.
- Before leaving, confirm your immigration status, withdraw your MPF on the ground of permanent departure, and settle export formalities on goods and pets. After arrival, complete your Anmeldung within 14 days, sort residence and health insurance, and exchange your driving licence.
1. Leaving Hong Kong: what to close out
Hong Kong places almost no exit controls on departing residents, but several practical matters are worth closing cleanly. If you have been working on an employment visa, check your status and any dependant visas with the Immigration Department (ImmD) where family members travel on different documents. Holders of a Hong Kong permanent identity card retain the right of abode however long they are away.
The most valuable thing to deal with is your Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF). MPF savings are normally locked until age 65, but permanent departure is a recognised ground for early withdrawal. You claim through your trustee (increasingly via the eMPF Platform) with a claim form and a statutory declaration that you are leaving permanently with no intention of returning to live or work. Trustees generally pay within 30 days of receiving complete documents. This can be used only once in your lifetime on this ground, and a false declaration is a criminal offence carrying a fine of up to HK$100,000 and imprisonment, so claim only if you are genuinely emigrating. See the MPFA guidance on early withdrawal.
For your possessions, Hong Kong is a free port and does not levy customs duty on ordinary household goods leaving the territory. Personal effects and household removals shipped as baggage are generally exempt from lodging an import/export declaration, though your carrier or removal agent will still need a detailed inventory and transport documents for clearance. Excisable items — liquor, tobacco, hydrocarbon oil and methyl alcohol — are treated differently and are best left out of a household shipment. The authoritative reference is the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department page on personal effects. Also remember to close or redirect local utilities, bank standing orders and your Octopus auto-top-up, and to keep proof of your Hong Kong address for the previous 12 months — German customs will want it.
2. How your household goods ship to Germany
Almost all household moves from Hong Kong to Germany travel by sea in a shipping container out of the Port of Hong Kong. If you have a full home to move you will usually book a dedicated 20ft or 40ft container (FCL); for a smaller flat, groupage or a shared container (LCL) keeps costs down at the price of a slightly longer schedule. Vessels sail regularly on the Asia–North Europe trade lane, running from the South China Sea across the Indian Ocean and through the Suez Canal to Northern Europe, with Hamburg the main German gateway.
As a qualitative guide, port-to-port sea transit from Hong Kong to Hamburg is commonly around four to five weeks. Adding packing and collection in Hong Kong, the wait for a sailing, and clearance plus inland delivery in Germany, a realistic door-to-door window is usually eight to twelve weeks. Schedules can lengthen when services reroute around the Cape of Good Hope during Red Sea disruption, so treat any single figure as indicative.
Air freight is the alternative when speed matters, moving goods in days rather than weeks and well suited to a small consignment of essentials, but it costs several times more per cubic metre. A common hybrid is to air-freight a box of must-haves and send the bulk by sea. Whichever mode you choose, insure the shipment at replacement value and keep your inventory, packing list and bill of lading — you will need them for the German customs declaration.
3. Germany customs & transfer-of-residence relief
Because Hong Kong sits outside the EU, your shipment is formally an import into the EU customs territory. The good news is that people genuinely moving their main home to Germany can bring used personal property in free of customs duty and import VAT under transfer-of-residence relief (Übersiedlungsgut). The relief is claimed on customs form 0350, the “Zollanmeldung für Übersiedlungsgut”. You or your appointed agent lodge it with the German customs office (Zoll) handling the entry.
The core conditions, set out by German Customs (Zoll), are: your normal place of residence must have been outside the EU for at least 12 continuous months; you must have owned and used the goods for at least six months before the move; the goods must be for your continued personal use, not for sale; and they should be imported around the time you establish residence, and in any case within 12 months. Vehicles, furniture, appliances, instruments and pets can all fall within personal property, though a vehicle brings its own registration and possible emissions considerations.
To support the claim you typically provide a signed form 0350, a detailed inventory, a copy of your passport, evidence of your Hong Kong residence for the previous year (tenancy agreement, utility bills or an employer letter), and proof that you are settling in Germany — most importantly your Anmeldung (see below). New items bought within the last six months, or goods intended for resale, do not qualify and may attract duty and the 19% import VAT; excise goods such as alcohol and tobacco are never covered. Because a mis-filed declaration can hold your container at the port, most people let their removal company’s German customs broker handle the 0350 submission.
4. Arriving: registration, residence, driving, healthcare
Your first legal duty after moving into German accommodation is the Anmeldung — registering your address at the local Bürgeramt (citizens’ office). Under the Federal Registration Act you must do this within 14 days of moving in, bringing your passport, the completed registration form and a Wohnungsgeberbestätigung (a confirmation your landlord must give you). The Anmeldung is the master key to German life: without it you generally cannot open a bank account, sign a health insurance contract, get a tax ID or, crucially, complete your customs clearance. It can also be requested as proof of settlement for the 0350 relief.
Your residence rights depend on your nationality. EU passport holders have freedom of movement and simply register. Third-country nationals — including most Hong Kong SAR or BN(O) passport holders — need an appropriate German residence title, such as an EU Blue Card or a work, family-reunion or study permit, arranged with the Ausländerbehörde (foreigners’ authority). Where a visa is required before travel, the German mission in Hong Kong issues the entry visa which you convert to a residence permit after registering. Confirm requirements on the German Federal Foreign Office site and with the German Consulate General in Hong Kong.
Healthcare in Germany is built on mandatory health insurance: you must hold either statutory (gesetzliche) or private cover, and you generally cannot finalise many formalities without it. Employees are usually enrolled in a statutory fund through their employer; others arrange cover directly. For driving, a Hong Kong licence can be used for a limited initial period, after which residents must exchange it for a German licence. Depending on the arrangement, this may involve theory and practical tests — check the rules with your local driving licence authority (Führerscheinstelle) soon after arrival, as the clock starts once you become resident.
5. Pets
Bringing a dog or cat from Hong Kong to Germany is refreshingly straightforward because Hong Kong is an EU-listed third country. That means your pet needs only three core things to enter the EU: a compliant ISO microchip, a valid rabies vaccination (given after the microchip, from 12 weeks of age, and in force for at least 21 days before travel), and an EU animal health certificate issued by an official vet shortly before departure. Critically, pets from Hong Kong are exempt from the rabies antibody (titre) blood test and the associated three-month wait that non-listed countries face — a major saving in time and stress. See the European Commission’s guidance on bringing a pet to the EU from a non-EU country.
To leave Hong Kong, you also need an AFCD animal health certificate. The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department issues or endorses the export health certificate for your destination; you apply with the relevant forms and your ID, and AFCD advises allowing several working days. Coordinate the timing so the EU certificate and the rabies vaccination are both valid on the day of travel. Details are on the AFCD export health certificate page. Book pet transport well ahead, as animals travel as manifest cargo on most long-haul routes and space is limited.
6. Money, banking & tax basics
Set up your German finances in the right order. You generally need an Anmeldung and often a tax ID before you can fully open a current account, so register your address early. Your MPF withdrawal (see section 1) is best initiated before or around your departure, as it can take weeks to pay out and you will want the funds accessible from Germany. Be mindful that transferring a large lump sum internationally may trigger source-of-funds checks at the receiving bank, so keep your MPF documentation.
On tax, Germany taxes residents on worldwide income, and you generally become tax-resident once you establish a home or habitual abode there. Hong Kong operates a territorial system and has no tax on the MPF payout itself. Because the timing of your move affects which country taxes what, take professional advice if you have significant assets, rental income or investments, and keep records of asset values at the date of your move and of your Hong Kong earnings for the year.
How Flyto handles your Hong Kong to Germany move
Flyto Relocation manages the whole Hong Kong-to-Germany corridor as one coordinated project rather than a series of disconnected bookings. We arrange professional packing and collection in Hong Kong, book sea or air freight from the Port of Hong Kong, and clear your goods into Germany with the transfer-of-residence relief (form 0350) handled by our customs partners — so your container is not left waiting at Hamburg. Because we run our own hubs across Northern, Central and Southern Europe, we manage the German delivery leg directly and keep a single point of contact from door to door. We also help sequence the moving parts that trip people up: MPF timing, pet certificates, and the Anmeldung that unlocks everything else. To see indicative costs and a tailored plan for your household, get a quote.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to pay German import VAT on my used household goods?
No — if you qualify for transfer-of-residence relief and file form 0350 correctly, used personal property is free of both customs duty and the 19% import VAT. New items bought within six months and goods for resale are excluded. See German Customs.
How long must I have lived in Hong Kong to claim the relief?
Your normal residence must have been outside the EU for at least 12 continuous months before the move, and you must have owned and used the goods for at least six months. Source: German Customs (Zoll).
Does my dog or cat need a rabies blood test to enter Germany?
No. Hong Kong is an EU-listed third country, so your pet needs only a microchip, a valid rabies vaccination and an EU animal health certificate — the rabies titre test is not required. Source: European Commission.
Can I withdraw my MPF when I leave Hong Kong?
Yes. Permanent departure is a recognised ground for early withdrawal; you claim through your trustee with a statutory declaration, once in your lifetime. False declarations are a criminal offence. Source: MPFA.
How long does shipping from Hong Kong to Germany take?
Sea freight to Hamburg is commonly around four to five weeks port-to-port, plus packing, clearance and delivery — realistically eight to twelve weeks door-to-door. Air freight takes days but costs far more.
What is the first thing I must do after arriving in Germany?
Register your address (Anmeldung) at the local Bürgeramt within 14 days of moving in. It is required by the Federal Registration Act and is a prerequisite for banking, health insurance, your tax ID and customs release.
Related moves
Sources
- German Customs (Zoll) — Transferring residence / removal goods relief
- European Commission — Bringing a pet into the EU from a non-EU country
- Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority — Early withdrawal of MPF
- Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department — Personal effects
- Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department — Export animal health certificate
- Hong Kong Immigration Department — Home
- German Federal Foreign Office — Moving to Germany, customs information
- Anmeldung (address registration) — overview of the Federal Registration Act requirement
Hiring an international mover? See our full International removals to Hong Kong service — Flyto’s own European hubs, vetted local partners and one English-speaking coordinator, door to door.