Moving from Germany to Japan (2026): Complete Guide

Relocating from Germany to Japan means clearing two very different customs and administrative systems in sequence: an export and deregistration process in Germany (an EU external border), and an import and residence process in Japan. Neither half forgives the other’s mistakes — Japanese Customs will not release your household goods duty-free if your paperwork or timing is wrong, and German offices will keep billing you if you never deregister. This guide covers both halves for a person living in Germany who is moving to Japan, plus a short note for anyone making the reverse trip. It is a practical overview, not legal or tax advice; always confirm your own case with the authorities linked below.

Key takeaways

• Your Japanese residence status — a work, spouse, student or other long-stay status of residence with a Residence Card — supports Japan Customs treating your shipment as a duty-free move rather than a commercial import (Japan Customs, passenger clearance).
• Japan grants duty/tax relief on used personal effects and household goods, but the shipment must reach you within six months of your arrival in Japan (Japan Customs).
• You declare an international move to Japan on Customs form C No. 5360 (Declaration of Personal Effects and Unaccompanied Articles), submitted in two copies or via Visit Japan Web (Japan Customs, declaration; form list).
• On the German side, goods leaving the EU are handled by German Customs (Zoll); an electronic ATLAS export declaration is generally required once a consignment reaches 1,000 euros in value or 1,000 kg in weight (Zoll, export procedure; IHK Düsseldorf, €1,000 threshold).
• You must deregister your German residence (Abmeldung) under the Federal Registration Act; the Abmeldebestätigung is your proof of departure to insurers, utilities and the tax office (Bundesmeldegesetz § 17, gesetze-im-internet.de).
• Carrying 10,000 euros or more in cash out of Germany to a non-EU country must be declared in writing to Customs; arriving in Japan with means of payment over ¥1,000,000 must likewise be declared (Zoll, cash; Japan Customs, means of payment).
• Bringing a dog or cat requires a long lead time: microchip, two rabies vaccinations, a rabies antibody titer ≥ 0.5 IU/ml, a 180-day wait and advance notice at least 40 days before arrival to Japan’s Animal Quarantine Service (MAFF/AQS, importing dogs and cats).

1. Your Japanese residence status decides the customs treatment

Japan’s Immigration Services Agency issues a status of residence and a Residence Card (Zairyu Card) to foreign nationals staying longer than 90 days, usually on the basis of a Certificate of Eligibility obtained before travel. That status is the pivot for the whole move: Japan Customs distinguishes between a short-term traveller and a person taking up residence, and only the latter can bring in the full range of used household goods under personal-effects relief (Japan Customs).

Practically, this means you settle your visa first and let the shipping follow. Your unaccompanied household shipment is cleared against the C No. 5360 declaration you lodge on entry, tied to your passport and residence status — so the goods are recognised as yours, moving with you, rather than a taxable importation (Japan Customs, declaration). Get the immigration side right before your container sails.

2. The Germany export side: authority, deregistration, declaration and tax exit

The customs authority. Goods leaving Germany for Japan cross the EU’s external border and fall under German Customs (Zoll), part of the Generalzolldirektion within the Federal Ministry of Finance. For a household move, an electronic export declaration in the ATLAS system is the mechanism. German Customs and the chambers of commerce set a clear working threshold: a consignment up to 1,000 euros in statistical value and up to 1,000 kg can generally be handled by an oral declaration at the customs office of exit, while anything at or above 1,000 euros or 1,000 kg requires a full electronic ATLAS export declaration — and you cannot split one shipment into smaller parcels to duck under the line (Zoll, single-stage export procedure; IHK Düsseldorf). A full household container is comfortably over both limits, so expect a proper ATLAS declaration — normally prepared by your forwarder or a customs agent.

Deregistration (Abmeldung). Under Section 17 of the Federal Registration Act (Bundesmeldegesetz), anyone who moves out and does not take up a new residence in Germany must deregister at the local Bürgeramt / Einwohnermeldeamt, generally within two weeks of moving out. You can deregister from about a week before your move-out date, and the office issues an Abmeldebestätigung (deregistration certificate). Keep several stamped copies — it is what proves to your health insurer, utilities, landlord and the tax office that you no longer live in Germany (Bundesmeldegesetz § 17).

Tax residency exit. Giving up your German residence normally ends your unlimited tax liability, so notify your local Finanzamt and file a final German return for the part-year you were resident. One trap to know about: if you hold (or held within the past years) at least 1% of the shares in a corporation, Germany’s exit tax (Wegzugsbesteuerung) under Section 6 of the Foreign Tax Act (AStG) can treat the unrealised gains on those shares as if realised on departure — and moving to a third country like Japan does not get the interest-free deferral available for moves within the EU/EEA (§ 6 AStG, gesetze-im-internet.de). If this could apply to you, get tax advice before you deregister.

3. Ports and transit: real German gateways, and honest timing

Germany’s household goods to Japan almost always leave by sea from its two big container gateways — the Port of Hamburg and Bremerhaven — while air freight for smaller or urgent shipments moves through Frankfurt Airport, Europe’s largest cargo hub. These are the realistic origins your forwarder will quote.

Transit times are freight-industry estimates, not official figures, and they swing with sailing schedules, transhipment and port congestion. As a rough planning guide only, sea freight from a North German port to a main Japanese port such as Yokohama, Tokyo or Kobe is commonly quoted in the region of five to eight weeks port-to-port, plus packing, export clearance and Japanese customs clearance at each end; air freight is a matter of days in transit but far more expensive per cubic metre. Treat any single number as indicative and confirm the current schedule when you book. Remember the hard deadline that is official: your goods must reach you in Japan within six months of arrival to keep the duty-free treatment (Japan Customs).

4. The Japan import side: the C-5360 and how clearance works

When you arrive, you tell Japan Customs about both the belongings in your luggage and the unaccompanied baggage (your sea or air container) still to come. You do this on Customs form C No. 5360, the Declaration of Personal Effects and Unaccompanied Articles, submitting two copies; a customs officer stamps both, keeps one and returns the sealed copy to you (Japan Customs, declaration; Customs form list). You must keep that stamped copy — it is presented when your shipment lands so the goods clear under personal-effects relief instead of as a dutiable import. Japan Customs increasingly steers travellers to declare electronically through Visit Japan Web, which produces a QR code you scan at the airport (Japan Customs).

Used personal effects and household goods brought in for your own use are treated as duty- and tax-free within the specified allowance and provided they are not for sale, so long as they arrive within the six-month window (Japan Customs, passenger clearance). New items, or goods clearly bought for resale, are assessed normally. Alcohol, tobacco and perfume carry their own separate traveller allowances, and certain regulated goods have their own limits — declare them (Japan Customs, duty-free allowance for travellers).

5. Pets: the long game on both ends

Japan is rabies-free and enforces one of the world’s strictest pet-import regimes. For a dog or cat coming from Germany (a non-designated region), the Animal Quarantine Service (AQS, under MAFF) requires, in order: an ISO 11784/11785 microchip implanted first; two rabies vaccinations (the second at least 30 days after the first); a rabies antibody (RNAT) test showing a titer of 0.5 IU/ml or more at an AQS-designated laboratory; and then a 180-day waiting period counted from the blood-sampling date before the animal may enter. Crucially, you must send advance notification to the AQS at your port of arrival at least 40 days before the pet arrives (MAFF/AQS, importing dogs and cats; AQS Q&A). Animals that fail to meet the requirements can be held in quarantine for up to 180 days at the owner’s cost — so start the clock well over half a year before you fly.

On the German departure side, your pet needs the veterinary paperwork and an export health certificate endorsed by the responsible German official veterinarian; your forwarder or a specialist pet-relocation service typically coordinates this with the AQS timeline. Because the antibody test and 180-day wait dominate the schedule, the pet plan should be the first thing you start, not the last.

6. Vehicles, money and things people forget

Vehicles. Japan drives on the left and applies its own type-approval and modification rules, so importing a German car is often costly and slow relative to buying locally; treat it as a specialist project and get a Japan-side quote before shipping. If you do ship a car from Germany, it becomes part of your ATLAS export declaration.

Money. Leaving Germany for a non-EU country with 10,000 euros or more in cash or equivalent means of payment must be declared in writing to German Customs, unprompted (Zoll, cash). On arrival in Japan, carrying means of payment over ¥1,000,000 (or gold of more than 90% purity exceeding 1 kg) must be declared to Japan Customs (Japan Customs, means of payment). Both are anti-money-laundering controls, not taxes — but non-declaration risks heavy fines.

Easily forgotten. Cancel German utilities, broadband and GEZ/Rundfunkbeitrag using your Abmeldebestätigung; settle or transfer your German health insurance; keep an inventory (packing list with values) for the C-5360; and hand-carry your passport, residence documents, the stamped C-5360 copy and pet certificates rather than packing them.

How Flyto handles your Germany 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 German side of your move (packing, export documentation and getting your goods to Hamburg, Bremerhaven or Frankfurt) is handled directly by people we manage. For the long haul and the Japanese arrival, we combine that with a carefully chosen network of partners and subcontractors and trusted local partners in Japan who manage customs clearance and final delivery. We do not claim to do everything ourselves — we own the European legs and orchestrate vetted specialists for the rest.

Frequently asked questions

How long before my move should I start? For the household goods, 2-3 months is workable; if you are bringing a pet, count backwards from Japan’s antibody test plus 180-day wait and 40-day notice, which realistically means starting 7-8 months ahead (MAFF/AQS).

Will I pay import duty on my used furniture in Japan? Generally no — used personal effects and household goods for your own use are duty- and tax-free within the specified allowance, provided they arrive within six months of your arrival and you declared them on the C-5360 (Japan Customs).

Do I really have to deregister in Germany? Yes. Section 17 of the Bundesmeldegesetz requires deregistration when you move out without taking a new German residence, and the Abmeldebestätigung is what stops ongoing obligations and proves your departure to the tax office (Bundesmeldegesetz § 17).

Could I owe German exit tax? Only in specific cases — most notably if you hold ≥ 1% of a corporation’s shares, where § 6 AStG can tax unrealised gains on departure, without the EU-style interest-free deferral when moving to Japan (§ 6 AStG). Take advice if this is you.

Who prepares the German export declaration? In practice your forwarder or a customs agent files the ATLAS export declaration; a full household shipment exceeds the 1,000-euro / 1,000-kg oral-declaration limits (Zoll).

What about moving the other way, Japan to Germany? The mirror applies. You clear Japanese export formalities, then bring goods into the EU as removal goods (Übersiedlungsgut) using German Customs Form 0350, which grants duty relief if you held your residence outside the EU for at least 12 months and owned/used the goods for at least 6 months (Zoll, transferring residence). Pets travel under EU animal-import rules, and you register your new German address (Anmeldung) on arrival.

Sources

• Japan Customs — Procedures of Passenger Clearance (six-month rule, personal effects)
• Japan Customs — Declaration of Accompanied and Unaccompanied Articles (C-5360 / Visit Japan Web)
• Japan Customs — Customs Form list (C forms)
• Japan Customs — Duty-free allowance for travellers (alcohol, tobacco, perfume, ¥200,000)
• Japan Customs — Export/Import of Means of Payment
• MAFF Animal Quarantine Service — Importing dogs and cats (non-designated regions)
• MAFF Animal Quarantine Service — Bringing dogs and cats into Japan (Q&A)
• German Customs (Zoll) — Export procedure (single-stage)
• German Customs (Zoll) — Transferring residence / removal goods (Form 0350)
• German Customs (Zoll) — Cash controls when leaving Germany
• IHK Düsseldorf — Export clearance for shipments under €1,000
• Bundesmeldegesetz (BMG) § 17 — registration/deregistration of residence
• Foreign Tax Act (AStG) § 6 — exit taxation (gesetze-im-internet.de)