Moving from Switzerland to Peru (2026): Complete Guide

Switzerland to Peru is a genuinely intercontinental corridor with two very different customs regimes on either end: a non-EU, e-declaration-based Swiss export process, and a Peruvian import regime built around traveler status and strict arrival-window rules. This guide is written for a Swiss resident — Swiss national or foreign resident registered in a Swiss commune — relocating household goods, and where relevant a pet or vehicle, to Peru. It covers the Swiss departure formalities (customs, commune deregistration, tax exit), realistic freight routing out of landlocked Switzerland, the Peruvian import process, pets, vehicles, money, and a short note on moving the other way, from Peru back to Switzerland.

Key takeaways

• Switzerland is outside the EU customs union, so every household move out of the country needs a formal export customs declaration, filed through the BAZG’s e-dec Export system, which is being progressively replaced by the newer Passar platform.
• Genuine relocations qualify for duty-free treatment on both ends: as Übersiedlungsgut on the Swiss side using BAZG form 18.44, and as menaje de casa on the Peruvian import side, but Peru requires proof of at least 13 consecutive months living abroad and the goods must arrive within a window from one month before to six months after you do.
• You must deregister from your Swiss commune of residence before or when you leave (an Abmeldung, e.g. via Stadt Zürich’s process) — this is the administrative trigger that ends unlimited Swiss tax liability.
• Switzerland has no mandatory cash-declaration threshold when leaving, though you must answer truthfully if questioned about amounts of CHF 10,000 or more; Peru, by contrast, requires a mandatory declaration above US$10,000 and caps cash carried in or out at US$30,000.
• Pets need Swiss export paperwork from the FSVO/BLV to leave, and on arrival Peru’s SENASA requires an official sanitary export certificate, up-to-date core vaccines, and deworming within 15 days of travel.
• Switzerland has no seacoast — the only water gateway is the Rhine, via the Basel Rhine ports, so household-goods sea freight is trucked to a North Sea or Mediterranean port before the ocean leg to Peru.
• Peru’s household-goods import runs through SUNAT, the national customs and tax authority, using a Simplified Import Declaration (DSI) rather than a standard commercial customs entry.
• Vehicle import to Peru always requires a formal customs declaration (DAM) through a licensed customs agency, regardless of the vehicle’s value — it is never treated as personal baggage.

1. How your immigration status in Peru determines the customs treatment

Peru’s duty-free household-goods regime is tied directly to your migratory status, not simply to the fact that you are moving. To bring your menaje de casa in duty-privileged (subject only to a single simplified tax, not the full standard import-duty stack), SUNAT requires you to be entering to establish residence and to prove at least 13 consecutive months of prior residence abroad; if you enter as a tourist, the household-goods relief does not apply and normal commercial import rules and taxes apply instead (SUNAT — el menaje de casa). To actually hold resident status you first need a calidad migratoria — worker, family member of a resident, investor, student, rentista, etc. — granted by the Superintendencia Nacional de Migraciones, Peru’s immigration authority; processing runs on a standard administrative timeline and requires a passport copy and the applicable fee paid at Banco de la Nación. In short: secure your Peruvian residence visa first, then use that status to claim the duty relief on your shipment — the two processes are linked, not parallel.

2. The Switzerland export side

Authority. Swiss customs is administered by the BAZG (Bundesamt für Zoll und Grenzsicherheit / Federal Office for Customs and Border Security, formerly the Federal Customs Administration). For a relocation, the relevant guidance is BAZG’s own relocation-export page.

Export declaration. Because Switzerland sits outside the EU customs union, every shipment leaving the country needs a formal export customs declaration. BAZG’s electronic clearance system, e-dec Export, is being progressively replaced by the newer Passar platform as part of BAZG’s ongoing digitalisation programme; movers and forwarders file through whichever platform is current at the time of your move. For household effects, wedding trousseaux, inherited property and holiday-home contents, BAZG requires an inventory list showing your address in Switzerland and your new address abroad, presented at the exporting customs office during clearance hours — documented on BAZG’s official process page — using the same household-effects clearance form BAZG uses on the import side, form 18.44, "Customs clearance of household effects in connection with household removal" (PDF). If you’re also exporting a private car, BAZG asks for a copy of the Swiss vehicle registration document.

Deregistration (Abmeldung). Before or at departure you must deregister from the Einwohnerkontrolle (resident registration office) of your Swiss commune. The exact channel — online portal, appointment, or written submission — varies by commune; Zurich’s process, which requires an in-person appointment (or written submission if that isn’t possible) when moving abroad, is a representative example (Stadt Zürich). Request a written deregistration confirmation — banks, insurers and Peruvian authorities may later ask for proof that you formally left Switzerland. Swiss nationals leaving permanently should also register with the Swiss representation (embassy/consulate) responsible for Peru; the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs publishes general emigration guidance at eda.admin.ch.

Tax-residency exit. Unlimited Swiss tax liability generally ends on the day you genuinely transfer your center of life abroad, with a part-year return covering the period up to your departure date. The exact filing process and deadlines are set at cantonal level, so notify your cantonal tax office of your departure date as soon as it’s fixed and ask them directly how the part-year assessment for your final year will be handled — rules and forms differ from canton to canton.

Cash. There is no obligation to declare cash, foreign currency or bearer securities when leaving Switzerland in any amount, but BAZG staff may question you about source and purpose if you are carrying CHF 10,000 or more, and you must answer truthfully (BAZG — cash, foreign currency, securities).

3. Ports and transit

Switzerland is landlocked; its only direct water connection is the Rhine. The Basel Rhine ports — Basel-Kleinhüningen, Birsfelden and Muttenz Auhafen, operated by the public-law body Schweizerische Rheinhäfen / Port of Switzerland — link by barge along the Rhine corridor toward the North Sea ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp. In practice, a household shipment leaving Switzerland for Peru is trucked (or barged) from Basel to a deep-sea container port — typically Rotterdam or Antwerp, sometimes a Mediterranean port such as Genoa — where it is loaded onto an ocean vessel bound for Peru’s main container port, Callao. For air freight, Zürich Airport (ZRH) is Switzerland’s principal air-cargo gateway, with Geneva (GVA) as a secondary option.

The following transit-time ranges are freight-industry estimates for planning purposes only — they are not official government figures and vary by carrier, season and routing: sea freight door-to-door from Switzerland to Peru (trucking to a North Sea port, ocean transit, Callao customs clearance, final delivery) typically runs 8–12 weeks; air freight door-to-door is typically 1–2 weeks, reflecting shorter transit but tighter weight/volume economics.

4. The Peru import side

Peru’s customs and tax authority is SUNAT (Superintendencia Nacional de Aduanas y de Administración Tributaria). Household goods (menaje de casa) move under a simplified regime, not the standard commercial import process. To use it: present yourself at the customs office covering the port or airport where your goods will enter, with your passport, and request the Simplified Import Declaration (Declaración Simplificada de Importación, DSI), supported by the international transport document and, where applicable, the dispatch slip and insurance policy (SUNAT — ingresar menaje de casa al país). Under this regime household goods pay a single simplified tax of 12% on customs value rather than the standard tariff/VAT stack (SUNAT — el menaje de casa). Timing and eligibility rules that matter: you must document at least 13 consecutive months of prior residence abroad (occasional trips back to Peru of up to 30 days, consecutive or cumulative per year, don’t break this), you must not have used this benefit in the preceding two years, and the shipment must arrive between one month before and six months after your own arrival date in Peru. Miss any of these conditions and the shipment falls out of the simplified menaje regime into the standard "Importación para el consumo" process, requiring a formal customs declaration (DAM) through a licensed customs agency.

5. Pets

Leaving Switzerland. Peru is a non-EU/EFTA "third country" for Swiss export purposes, so the EU pet passport alone is not the relevant document for this leg — a veterinary health certificate issued by an authorized Swiss vet is generally required, alongside the animal’s microchip and rabies vaccination records; requirements and current forms are maintained by the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO/BLV — Reisen mit Heimtieren). Confirm the exact certificate template with your vet well ahead of travel, as it must be completed close to departure.

Entering Peru. SENASA (Servicio Nacional de Sanidad Agraria) requires an application with owner and pet details plus an original official sanitary export certificate from the exporting country’s veterinary authority, confirming current vaccination status: for dogs, rabies, distemper, parvovirus, hepatitis and leptospirosis; for cats, rabies and feline panleukopenia. Rabies vaccination is mandatory from three months of age, and internal and external deworming must be done within 15 days before travel. On arrival, SENASA inspects the animal and charges an inspection/entry-document fee before releasing it (SENASA — requisitos de salida e ingreso de mascotas).

6. Vehicles, money, and things people forget

Vehicles. A used car is never cleared as personal baggage in Peru: any vehicle import requires a full Declaración Aduanera de Mercancías (DAM) filed through a licensed customs agency, supported by invoice and transport document, regardless of the car’s value (SUNAT — importación de vehículos). Given the cost and complexity, weigh this against buying locally in Peru before shipping a Swiss-registered car.

Money. The two ends of this corridor have opposite defaults. Leaving Switzerland, there is no cash-declaration threshold — only a duty to answer questions truthfully above CHF 10,000 (BAZG). Entering or leaving Peru, cash and bearer financial instruments must be declared above US$10,000, and carrying more than US$30,000 is not permitted outside the regulated financial system — undeclared amounts can be retained, with a penalty of up to 30% of the undeclared value and 72 hours to prove lawful origin to Peru’s financial intelligence unit (SUNAT/Bienvenido al Perú — ingreso y salida de dinero en efectivo).

Things people forget. Get your Swiss commune deregistration confirmation in writing before you leave — Swiss banks, insurers and sometimes Peruvian authorities will ask for it later, and it’s far harder to obtain retroactively. Line up your Peruvian resident visa (Section 1) before your shipment departs, since the customs relief on your household goods depends on that status and on the arrival-window rule. And keep your Swiss export inventory (form 18.44) consistent, item-for-item, with whatever value declaration you submit to SUNAT for the menaje de casa — discrepancies between the two are a common cause of delays at Peruvian customs.

Moving back: Peru to Switzerland

The process reverses but is not symmetrical. Coming back into Switzerland, your household effects are again eligible for duty-free treatment as Übersiedlungsgut if you’re genuinely transferring residence back — items must have been used personally for at least 6 months abroad and continue to be used in Switzerland — following BAZG’s import procedure using the same form 18.44 (BAZG — moving to Switzerland, procedure). On the Peru side, you would need to close out your Peruvian tax and immigration status with SUNAT and Migraciones before departure, and re-registering in a Swiss commune on arrival re-establishes Swiss tax residence going forward. Pets moving Peru → Switzerland need to satisfy Swiss/FSVO entry conditions for animals coming from a non-EU third country, which are stricter than the outbound leg (BLV/FSVO).

How Flyto handles your Switzerland to Peru move

Flyto runs its own offices, warehouses, teams and vehicles across Northern, Central and Southern Europe, so the Swiss collection, export documentation and consolidation to a North Sea or Mediterranean port stay in-house wherever we operate directly. For the ocean leg and the Peruvian side, we work through a carefully vetted network of partner carriers and trusted local partners in Peru who handle Callao clearance and final delivery, so you get one coordinated move without us overstating what we do ourselves outside Europe.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a Peruvian visa before my container ships? Not strictly before shipping, but the duty-free menaje de casa treatment depends on your resident migratory status and on the goods arriving within the one-month-before-to-six-month-after window relative to your own arrival, so applying for residence early avoids losing the relief (Migraciones Perú; SUNAT).

Can I ship household goods directly from Basel by sea? No — Basel’s Rhine ports connect by barge toward Rotterdam/Antwerp; there is no direct ocean sailing from Switzerland, so goods are trucked or barged to a sea port first (Port of Switzerland).

Is there a Swiss exit tax on my savings or investments? Switzerland does not generally tax unrealized worldwide gains on departure; your unlimited tax liability ends on the date you genuinely relocate abroad, with a part-year return for that final year. Because filing details are set cantonally, confirm the specifics with your cantonal tax office as soon as your departure date is fixed.

How much cash can I bring into Peru? You must declare amounts over US$10,000 and cannot carry more than US$30,000 outside the regulated financial system (SUNAT/Bienvenido al Perú).

What vaccines does my dog or cat need for Peru? Core vaccines (rabies mandatory from 3 months, plus distemper, parvovirus, hepatitis and leptospirosis for dogs; rabies and panleukopenia for cats) confirmed on an official sanitary export certificate, plus deworming within 15 days of travel (SENASA).

Should I ship my car to Peru? You can, but it clears as a full commercial import (DAM via a licensed customs agent) regardless of value — factor in that cost and complexity against buying a vehicle locally (SUNAT).

Sources

• BAZG — Relocation: Export from Switzerland
• BAZG — Form 18.44, customs clearance of household effects (PDF)
• BAZG — Moving to Switzerland: Procedure
• BAZG — Cash, foreign currency, securities
• BAZG — e-dec platform for goods traffic / Passar transition
• Stadt Zürich — Wegzug aus Zürich (deregistration)
• EDA — Emigrating
• BLV/FSVO — Reisen mit Heimtieren
• Port of Switzerland (Schweizerische Rheinhäfen)
• SUNAT — Ingresar menaje de casa al país
• SUNAT — El menaje de casa (Asistente Aduanero)
• Migraciones Perú — Solicitud de visa para residentes
• SENASA — Requisitos para salida e ingreso de mascotas
• SUNAT — Importación de Vehículos
• SUNAT/Bienvenido al Perú — Ingreso y salida de dinero en efectivo