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Moving from France to Japan (2026): Complete Guide

Moving from France to Japan (2026): Complete Guide

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Relocating from France to Japan is a two-country, two-customs-regime move: you leave the European Union through French customs (the douane), and you arrive into a strict, paperwork-driven Japanese import system centred on your immigration status. This guide covers both halves — the France export and deregistration side and the Japan import and arrival side — plus a short note on the reverse direction. It is written for a resident of France (French national or foreign resident) shipping a household, and every factual claim below links to an official government source.

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Key takeaways

  • Your Japanese immigration status of residence decides everything on arrival — a long-stay status is what unlocks the duty-free "home relocation" customs treatment (Immigration Services Agency, via Study in Japan; JETRO).
  • Ordinary personal effects do not require a French export declaration; you prepare a detailed, valued, dated, paginated and signed inventory in duplicate for the douane (DGDDI).
  • In Japan you clear goods on the "Declaration of Accompanied Articles and Unaccompanied Articles" and must clear unaccompanied cargo within 6 months of your arrival (Japan Customs).
  • Household effects owned and used before the move are duty- and tax-free if you lived abroad over a year or intend to stay in Japan over a year (Japan Customs).
  • Bringing a dog or cat requires ~7+ months of preparation: microchip, two rabies shots, a rabies antibody (RNATT) blood test, a 180-day wait, and advance notification to the Animal Quarantine Service at least 40 days before arrival (MAFF AQS).
  • Notify the French tax office of your departure and file the 2042-NR return; your file moves to the non-residents’ service (SIPNR) (impots.gouv.fr).
  • Carrying €10,000+ in cash out of the EU must be declared to French customs (DALIA); arriving in Japan with over ¥1,000,000 must be declared to Japan Customs (DGDDI; Japan Customs).

1. Your Japanese status of residence drives the customs treatment

Japan controls entry through the status of residence system: your activity in Japan (work, spouse, student, engineer, etc.) is fixed at landing and stamped into your passport as a landing permission (Immigration Services Agency, via Study in Japan). For any stay longer than a short visit you normally first obtain a Certificate of Eligibility (COE) from a regional immigration office before travelling, then convert it to a visa at a Japanese consulate (JETRO).

This matters for your move because Japan’s duty-free relocation relief is tied to residence intent: household effects are free of duty when the importer "has been abroad over one year" or "plan[s] to stay in Japan over one year" (Japan Customs). A tourist status will not give you the relocation treatment — so your visa/COE and your customs paperwork must tell the same story. Land first with your long-stay status, then import your shipment against it.

2. The France export side: douane, deregistration and tax exit

The customs authority. France’s customs service is the Direction générale des douanes et droits indirects (DGDDI) — la douane. For a residence transfer outside the EU, the DGDDI does not require a formal export declaration for ordinary furniture and personal effects. Instead you assemble a file: proof of the residence change (passport, property deed or lease, employer transfer letter or work contract), a landlord or town-hall attestation, and — the core document — "un inventaire des biens transférés en double exemplaire, détaillé, estimatif, daté, paginé et signé" (a detailed, valued, dated, paginated and signed inventory in two copies) (DGDDI; France Diplomatie).

When an export declaration IS required. A formal export declaration (single administrative document, DAU) is needed only for specific categories: firearms and ammunition, gold and gold objects, dual-use goods and technology, protected wildlife species (CITES), and cultural goods. Precious-metal exports outside the EU carry a 10% tax, and cultural/art objects above €5,000 per item can face a 6% flat levy (DGDDI). Exports may be spread over one year in several shipments.

Deregistration. France has no compulsory population register to sign out of the way Germany or Japan do. The practical "deregistration" is administrative: close or update utilities, tell your caisse d’assurance maladie and any benefits body, and — if you are a French national — consider registering with the consulate in Japan.

Tax residency exit. Before leaving, inform your local Service des impôts des particuliers (SIP) of your departure and new foreign address through your secure account on impots.gouv.fr. In the year of departure you file a form 2042 for income up to the departure date and a form 2042-NR for French-source income from departure to 31 December; your file is then managed by the Service des impôts des particuliers non-résidents (SIPNR) at Noisy-le-Grand (impots.gouv.fr). Check whether you fall under the French exit tax on large securities holdings and confirm your position under the France–Japan tax treaty with a professional.

Cash. Physically carrying €10,000 or more (cash, bearer instruments, gold, prepaid cards) out of the EU must be declared to the douane, now done online via DALIA before crossing the border (DGDDI).

3. Ports & transit times (freight-industry estimates)

Almost all France→Japan household sea freight leaves through one of two French gateways: Le Havre on the Channel — France’s leading container port and part of the HAROPA PORT complex, which handled over 3.1 million TEU in 2024 (HAROPA PORT) — or Marseille-Fos on the Mediterranean, France’s leading port by cargo tonnage and often faster to Asia via Suez (Marseille-Fos Port (GPMM)). Dunkerque is a third option for northern France.

These transit times are freight-industry ESTIMATES, not official figures. Ocean container transit from Le Havre or Marseille-Fos to Japanese ports (Yokohama, Kobe, Nagoya) typically runs roughly 6–9 weeks port-to-port, plus packing, consolidation and destination clearance — realistically 8–14 weeks door-to-door. Air freight for a small shipment is far quicker — commonly 1–2 weeks door-to-door — but multiples of the cost. Actual timings depend on sailing schedules, transshipment, canal conditions and customs, so treat any single number as an estimate and confirm current schedules with your mover.

4. The Japan import side: the form and the process

Japan clears household goods under a simplified regime called "Customs clearance for traveler’s baggage", covering both accompanied and unaccompanied personal effects and professional equipment of a person moving their residence (Japan Customs).

The form. At entry you submit the "Declaration of Accompanied Articles and Unaccompanied Articles" — two copies. If you have a sea/air shipment following you, declare it as unaccompanied articles on this form; customs returns one certified copy, which you (or your agent) present when the cargo arrives to clear it (Japan Customs). Japan Customs recommends submitting the declaration electronically via Visit Japan Web.

The 6-month rule. Unaccompanied goods must be cleared within 6 months of your arrival in Japan — you can ship after you land, but the clock starts at your entry (Japan Customs). Keep your passport (showing the landing/entry stamp) for clearance.

Duty. Personal effects used before the move are admitted free of duty, subject to the over-one-year residence-intent condition above. Prepare a valued packing list in English or Japanese; new items, alcohol and tobacco are treated separately (Japan Customs).

Cash on arrival. Bringing in more than ¥1,000,000 (or equivalent, including certain instruments) must be declared to Japan Customs at entry (Japan Customs).

5. Pets: the strictest part of the whole move

Japan is a rabies-controlled country and treats France as a non-designated region, so the full protocol applies. Start at least 7–8 months before departure (MAFF AQS):

  1. Microchip (ISO 11784/11785) implanted before the first rabies vaccination.
  2. Two rabies vaccinations — the first when the animal is at least 91 days old and after microchipping; the second 30+ days after the first.
  3. Rabies antibody test (RNATT) at a designated laboratory after the second shot; titre must be ≥ 0.5 IU/ml (valid two years).
  4. 180-day wait — the animal may only arrive in Japan after 180 days have passed from the blood-sampling date.
  5. Advance notification to the Animal Quarantine Service at the port of entry not less than 40 days before arrival, followed by clinical inspection and an official export certificate.

On the French side, your dog, cat or ferret needs an ISO microchip, a valid rabies vaccination and the appropriate health documentation; the douane summarises the pet-movement rules, and an EU pet passport is issued only to EU residents (DGDDI). Because Japan requires an official export health certificate endorsed by the competent authority, coordinate the final vet visit and endorsement with your French veterinarian and the relevant French veterinary service.

6. Vehicles, money and things people forget

  • Vehicles. France requires a copy of the registration certificate (carte grise) to export a car (DGDDI). Japan can admit a personally-owned car duty-free on a dedicated application, on condition it is not resold or transferred within 2 years — but a French left-hand-drive car must still pass Japanese registration and inspection, which is costly (Japan Customs).
  • Prohibited/restricted items. Japan strictly bans certain meats and plants and controls medicines (a Yakkan Shoumei import certificate may be needed for larger quantities of medication).
  • Electricals. Japan runs on 100V; many French 230V appliances need transformers or are impractical to ship.
  • Documents. Carry your COE/visa, passports, the returned unaccompanied-articles copy, inventories, pet certificates and marriage/birth certificates (with apostille/translation) in hand luggage, not in the container.

A note on the reverse direction (Japan → France)

Coming back the other way, French customs applies a residence-transfer franchise: to import household goods duty- and tax-free into France from a non-EU country you must have lived outside the EU at least 12 months, have owned and used the goods for at least 6 months, and import them within 12 months of settling in France, with a signed inventory and the relevant cerfa form (Service-Public; France Diplomatie). Goods admitted duty-free cannot be sold or lent for 12 months. For a pet, re-entry into the EU/France requires an ISO microchip, valid rabies vaccination and an EU animal health certificate (European Commission).

How Flyto handles your France to Japan move

Flyto runs strong in-house European operations — our own offices, warehouses, teams and vehicles across Northern, Central and Southern Europe — so the French pickup, packing, inventory and export leg is handled directly. For the long-haul freight and the Japan side we work through a carefully chosen network of partners and subcontractors plus trusted local partners in Japan for customs clearance and last-mile delivery. We coordinate the whole corridor end-to-end without pretending to own every link in it.

Frequently asked questions

How long does the whole move take?
Plan for 3–4 months door-to-door by sea once you include packing and clearance, and around 2 weeks by air freight. Both figures are freight-industry estimates, not official transit times.

Do I pay customs duty on my furniture in Japan?
Not on used personal effects, provided you meet the over-one-year residence-intent condition and clear the goods within 6 months of arrival (Japan Customs; 7103).

What’s the single biggest deadline for my pet?
The 180-day wait after the rabies antibody blood draw, combined with 40-day advance notice to the Animal Quarantine Service. Miss the wait and your pet faces up to 180 days’ quarantine (MAFF AQS).

Do I need a French export declaration for my household goods?
No — ordinary personal effects need only the signed inventory and supporting documents. A DAU export declaration applies only to controlled goods like firearms, gold, dual-use items, wildlife and cultural objects (DGDDI).

What must I do with the French tax office?
Notify your SIP of your departure and new address, file 2042 and 2042-NR for the departure year, and expect your file to move to the SIPNR (impots.gouv.fr).

How much cash can I carry?
Declare €10,000+ leaving the EU (via DALIA) and over ¥1,000,000 entering Japan (DGDDI; Japan Customs).

Sources

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