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

Relocating from the Netherlands to Japan means clearing two very different customs and administrative systems back-to-back. On the Dutch side you leave the European Union’s single market, so your household goods need a formal export declaration and you have to unwind your residency and tax registration. On the Japanese side you enter one of the world’s most procedure-driven import regimes, where your visa status, a specific customs form and strict pet rules decide what actually gets released to you. This guide covers both halves — the Dutch departure side and the Japanese arrival side — plus a short note on moving back the other way. It is written for anyone leaving the Netherlands for Japan: employees on a work transfer, spouses, students and returning Japanese nationals.

Key takeaways

• Moving to a non-EU country like Japan, you must file an export declaration for your removal goods with Dutch Customs (Douane) and include an inventory list (Douane).
• Dutch export declarations are filed electronically through the DMS or AGS systems by an EU-established declarant — in practice your moving company (Douane).
• You must deregister from the Personal Records Database (BRP) at your municipality; deregistration is mandatory if you will live abroad for more than 8 months in a year, and is done from 5 days before departure at the earliest (Government.nl, NetherlandsWorldwide).
• For the year you emigrate you generally file a migration (M) tax return with the Belastingdienst (Belastingdienst).
• Japan lets you import used household effects duty-free on the C-5360 declaration (two copies), provided the goods arrive within 6 months of your entry (Japan Customs).
• Dogs and cats need a microchip, two rabies vaccinations, an antibody test ≥ 0.5 IU/ml, a 180-day wait and a 40-day advance notification to the Animal Quarantine Service (MAFF/AQS).
• You must declare cash or other means of payment of ¥1,000,000 or more when entering Japan (Japan Customs).
• Your Japanese status of residence (visa) — not just your shipment — determines whether you qualify for the relocation duty exemption (Immigration Services Agency, Japan Customs).

1. Your Japanese visa status drives the customs treatment

Before any box is packed, your status of residence in Japan sets the rules for everything that follows. Japan’s Immigration Services Agency issues a status of residence (for example Engineer/Specialist in Humanities, Business Manager, Spouse, or Student) and, for mid- to long-term residents, a residence card (zairyū card) (Immigration Services Agency). That status matters for customs because Japan’s duty-free relief for household effects is reserved for a person "who enters Japan for relocation of their residence" and, in practice, for passengers who have been abroad for more than one year or plan to stay in Japan for more than one year (Japan Customs).

A short-stay tourist cannot claim relocation relief; a work- or family-visa holder settling in Japan can. So confirm your visa is granted and understand its intended length before you commit to a sea shipment. If you will leave and re-enter Japan while your goods are in transit, use a re-entry permit or the special re-entry permit procedure — a mid- to long-term resident who holds a valid residence card, indicates the intention to re-enter at departure and returns within one year is generally covered by special re-entry permission (Immigration Services Agency).

2. The Dutch departure side: customs, deregistration and tax exit

The customs authority. The Netherlands’ customs authority is the Douane, part of the Belastingdienst (Tax Administration). Because Japan is outside the EU, moving there is not intra-EU free movement: "you must file an export declaration for your removal goods with Customs and include an inventory list" (Douane). This is different from a move to another EU country, where you can generally take household effects without a customs declaration.

The export declaration system. The declaration is submitted electronically: "In the Netherlands you submit an electronic declaration using DMS or AGS," and the declarant must be based in the EU (Douane). You may file it yourself or, far more commonly, have your international mover do it as your representative. There is no minimum value threshold that exempts household removals from the export-declaration requirement; the key document is the signed inventory of what you are shipping.

Deregistration (BRP). You must deregister from the Basisregistratie Personen (BRP) — the Personal Records Database — at your municipality (gemeente). Deregistration is required if you will live abroad for more than 8 months within a one-year period, even if you keep a Dutch home (Government.nl). You report your move ("aangifte van vertrek naar het buitenland") from 5 days before departure until the day of departure at the latest; if not all household members are leaving, at least one adult must appear in person (NetherlandsWorldwide). Ask for the international proof of deregistration — you may need it to register in Japan or to re-register later (note it is only issued if the deregistration date matches your actual emigration date). After deregistration your data moves to the non-residents record (RNI) and your citizen service number (BSN) stays valid.

Tax exit. Emigrating splits your Dutch tax year. For the year you leave you file a migration (M) tax return so the Belastingdienst can treat you as a resident for part of the year and a non-resident for the rest — you can file online or on the paper M-form (Belastingdienst). Also settle or transfer your Dutch health insurance, benefits (toeslagen) and any 30%-ruling paperwork before you go.

3. Dutch ports, air hubs and realistic transit times

The Netherlands is one of Europe’s best-connected export gateways. The Port of Rotterdam, the country’s largest deep-sea port, and the Port of Amsterdam are the main sea gateways for containerised household goods (Port of Rotterdam). For airfreight, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is the primary cargo hub. Most Netherlands-to-Japan household moves sail from Rotterdam to Japanese ports such as Yokohama, Tokyo, Kobe or Osaka.

The following transit times are freight-industry estimates, not official government figures, and vary with carrier, routing, transhipment and season:

• Sea freight (FCL/LCL), port to port: roughly 35–50 days Rotterdam → Japan, before customs clearance at each end.
• Groupage/LCL: add consolidation and deconsolidation time at both ends, often another 1–3 weeks door to door.
• Air freight: typically 1–4 days in transit, plus booking and clearance windows.

Treat any door-to-door quote as an estimate and build in buffer, especially around Golden Week and year-end in Japan.

4. The Japanese import side: the C-5360 declaration

Japan clears personal moves under the "Declaration of Personal Effects and Unaccompanied Articles," customs form C-5360 (Japan Customs form list). The mechanics:

• On arrival, you (or your representative) submit two copies of the declaration to Customs; one is returned with an official seal (Japan Customs). Keep the stamped copy safe — it is what releases your sea or air shipment later.
• Unaccompanied baggage (your main shipment arriving separately) must be imported within six months of your entry to qualify for household-effects treatment (Japan Customs).
• Duty-free scope: for people who have been abroad more than a year or will stay more than a year, personal effects and professional equipment that you owned and used before arrival, in reasonable quantities and not for sale, are free of duty and tax (Japan Customs).
• You can complete the declaration on paper or electronically via Visit Japan Web before you land (Japan Customs).

Alcohol and tobacco are excluded from the used-goods relief and are dutiable, so declare them separately.

5. Pets: rules at both ends

Leaving the Netherlands. The Dutch NVWA (Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority) handles export of pets to a third country. Start with the NVWA Export Assistant to see whether a binding health certificate exists for Japan; if not, your vet completes the required health certificate and the NVWA may need to legalise the documents. Contact the NVWA well in advance — a legalisation request must be sent at least 14 working days before the date you want the legalisation to take place (NVWA).

Entering Japan. Japan’s rules are strict and long-lead. Through the Animal Quarantine Service (AQS), a dog or cat from a non-designated region (the Netherlands is not on Japan’s rabies-free list) must complete, in order (MAFF/AQS):

1. Microchip (ISO 11784/11785), implanted before the first rabies shot.
2. Two or more rabies vaccinations, the first when the animal is at least 91 days old and the second at least 30 days after the first (inactivated or recombinant vaccines only).
3. A rabies antibody (RNATT) test on a blood sample drawn after the second vaccination, at an approved lab, showing a titre ≥ 0.5 IU/ml.
4. A 180-day waiting period counted from the blood-draw date.
5. Advance notification to AQS at least 40 days before arrival (MAFF/AQS Q&A).

Miss a step and your pet can face detention at an AQS facility for up to 180 days, so start the pet timeline at least seven months before your move.

6. Vehicles, money and things people forget

Vehicles. A privately owned car can qualify for household-effects duty exemption in Japan, but it needs three copies of an "Application for Duty Exemption on Household Effects" plus proof you owned and used it, and it must not be resold or transferred within two years of import permission (Japan Customs). Beyond customs, the car must still meet Japanese registration and compliance rules — often costly — so most movers leave the car behind.

Money. Declare cash and other means of payment (cash, cheques, securities) totalling ¥1,000,000 or more, and gold of more than 90% purity over 1 kg, on entering Japan (Japan Customs). Separately, when you physically carry €10,000 or more in cash or gold out of the EU you must declare it to Dutch Customs (Douane).

Commonly forgotten: apostilles or legalisation of diplomas and marriage certificates before you leave; prescription medicines (Japan restricts some common drugs — check the Yakkan Shoumei import-certificate rules); ending Dutch utility, insurance and DigiD-linked services; and keeping the stamped C-5360 copy until your shipment clears.

How Flyto handles your Netherlands to Japan move

Flyto runs strong in-house European operations — our own offices, warehouses, teams and vehicles across Northern, Central and Southern Europe handle the Dutch collection, export documentation and loading directly. For the long-haul leg and the Japan arrival we combine that with a carefully chosen partner and subcontractor network plus trusted local partners in Japan for customs clearance and final delivery. We coordinate both halves so the Dutch export declaration and the Japanese C-5360 line up cleanly — we don’t claim to do every step ourselves, and that honesty is why the handovers work.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need an export declaration for a move to another EU country too?
No. Within the EU you can generally move household effects without a customs declaration; the export declaration requirement applies because Japan is outside the EU (Douane).

When exactly can I deregister from my municipality?
From 5 days before departure up to your departure date. Deregistration is mandatory if you will be abroad more than 8 months in a year (NetherlandsWorldwide).

How long do my belongings have to reach Japan to stay duty-free?
Unaccompanied household goods must be imported within six months of your arrival to qualify for the relocation treatment (Japan Customs).

How far ahead must I start the pet process?
Because of the 180-day wait after the antibody test plus a 40-day advance notification, begin roughly seven months before departure (MAFF/AQS).

Can my moving company file the customs paperwork for me?
Yes. Dutch export declarations are filed via DMS/AGS by an EU-established declarant, and Japanese unaccompanied-baggage clearance is routinely handled by your mover as representative (Douane).

What about moving back — Japan to the Netherlands?
Reverse the flow. Japan handles the export side, and Dutch Customs grants a tax exemption on removal goods if you transfer residence to the Netherlands, have owned and used the goods for at least six months, import them within twelve months of taking up residence, and don’t sell or lend them for twelve months after import (Douane). You would also re-register in the BRP and pick up Dutch tax residency again.

Sources

• Dutch Customs — Moving things from the Netherlands
• Dutch Customs — Relocating abroad (overview)
• Dutch Customs — Export: submitting a declaration (DMS/AGS)
• Dutch Customs — Moving to the Netherlands (import exemption)
• Dutch Customs — Pets / travel restrictions
• Dutch Customs — Entering or leaving the EU with €10,000 or more
• Government.nl — When to deregister from the BRP
• NetherlandsWorldwide — How to deregister from the BRP
• Belastingdienst — Migration (M) tax return
• NVWA — Legalisation / exporting pets outside the EU
• Port of Rotterdam
• Japan Customs — Procedures for importing/exporting household effects (7301)
• Japan Customs — Declaration of accompanied & unaccompanied articles
• Japan Customs — Customs form C (list)
• Japan Customs — Procedures of passenger clearance
• Japan Customs — Means of payment / cash declaration (7305)
• MAFF Animal Quarantine Service — Importing dogs and cats
• MAFF Animal Quarantine Service — Dogs and cats Q&A
• Immigration Services Agency of Japan
• Immigration Services Agency — Re-entry permit