Moving from Poland to Taiwan (2026): Complete Guide

Relocating from Poland to Taiwan means running two very different systems back to back: a European Union export on the Polish side and a stand-alone East Asian customs and quarantine regime on the Taiwanese side. Because Taiwan is a non-EU ("third country") destination, your household goods leave the EU customs territory under Poland’s export procedures, cross roughly 20,000 km of ocean or air freight, and then clear separately under Taiwan’s own rules once you have arrived in person. This guide covers both halves — the Polish departure and the Taiwanese arrival — plus deregistration, tax, pets, money and a short note on the reverse move. It is written for a Poland resident (Polish or foreign national) making a genuine transfer of residence to Taiwan.

Key takeaways

• In Poland, customs and export declarations are administered by Krajowa Administracja Skarbowa (KAS) — the National Revenue Administration — through the electronic PUESC / AES platform (puesc.gov.pl).
• Your Taiwan customs treatment depends on your immigration status: duty-free relief on used personal effects applies to genuine residents holding a resident visa or Alien Resident Certificate (ARC) (Taipei Customs).
• Taiwan gives unaccompanied baggage a duty-free exemption of NT$20,000 for personal/household articles; goods must arrive before you enter or within 6 months of entry (Kaohsiung Customs).
• After the baggage arrives in Taiwan you must apply for clearance within 15 days (counted from the day after the carrier arrives), or a NT$200/day late fee applies (Kaohsiung Customs).
• Deregistering your Polish address (wymeldowanie) is free and can be done online via mObywatel/ePUAP (gov.pl).
• Pets need a 15-digit ISO microchip, an inactivated rabies vaccine, a rabies antibody titre of ≥0.5 IU/mL from an approved lab, and an import permit applied for in advance through Taiwan’s online system; a quarantine period applies on arrival (APHIA).
• Cash rules on Taiwan arrival: declare New Taiwan Dollars over NT$100,000, foreign currency over US$10,000, Renminbi over RMB20,000, or negotiable securities over US$10,000 (Kaohsiung Customs).
• For the reverse move, Taiwan → Poland qualifies for EU Transfer of Residence relief under Council Regulation (EC) No 1186/2009 (EUR-Lex).

1. Your Taiwan immigration status decides the customs treatment

Before you book any freight, settle your visa route, because it drives everything on the import side. Taiwan Customs grants duty-free clearance of used household goods and personal effects to people who are genuinely settling in Taiwan — that is, holding a valid resident visa or Alien Resident Certificate (ARC) — rather than visiting (Taipei Customs). The goods must be for personal or household use, not resale.

Two dates then govern the clock. First, your shipment must reach Taiwan before you enter, or within six months of your date of entry. Second, your entry stamp is the reference point for that six-month window (Kaohsiung Customs). Because unaccompanied-baggage clearance is tied to your own entry, the usual sequence is: fly to Taiwan, activate your ARC, and only then have your agent present the sea shipment for clearance. Plan your freight timeline around your arrival, not the other way round.

2. The Poland export side — authority, deregistration, declarations and tax exit

Who runs customs. Poland’s customs formalities are handled by the customs service operating within Krajowa Administracja Skarbowa (KAS), the National Revenue Administration under the Ministry of Finance. All export formalities are handled electronically on the PUESC platform (Platforma Usług Elektronicznych Skarbowo-Celnych) (puesc.gov.pl).

The export declaration. Because Taiwan is outside the EU, moving your goods there is a customs export. The declaration is lodged through the AES (Automated Export System) on PUESC, which handles goods leaving the EU customs territory (puesc.gov.pl). In practice a moving company or customs agent files the AES declaration on your behalf, supported by a detailed inventory/packing list valued for customs. Personal removal goods are not export-taxed by Poland, but the declaration is what proves the goods lawfully left the EU — keep the confirmation, as your agent and Taiwan Customs will reference the bill of lading it underpins.

Deregistration (wymeldowanie). If you are registered at a Polish address, you should deregister from permanent (pobyt stały) or temporary (pobyt czasowy) residence at the latest on the day you move out. It is free of charge and can be filed online through mObywatel/ePUAP with a trusted profile, or in person at the urząd gminy (gov.pl). Deregistering also produces the paper trail that supports the end of your Polish residency.

Tax residency exit. Under Polish law you are a tax resident if your centre of vital interests (personal or economic ties) is in Poland, or if you spend more than 183 days in a fiscal year in Poland — the two tests are alternative (podatki.gov.pl). Moving your home, work and family to Taiwan shifts that centre of interests abroad. Poland has no formal "exit" filing that ends residency, so keep evidence of the move (deregistration, Taiwan ARC, lease, employment). If you need to prove Polish residency for a given period, the revenue office issues a CFR-1 certificate of tax residence (podatki.gov.pl). Given the Poland–Taiwan split-year timing, confirm your position with the Krajowa Informacja Skarbowa (KIS) helpline.

3. Ports & transit — real Polish gateways and honest timing

Poland ships to Taiwan mainly from its Baltic seaports. The Port of Gdańsk is Poland’s largest seaport and the largest container port on the Baltic (portgdansk.pl), while the neighbouring Port of Gdynia is a major universal and container seaport (port.gdynia.pl). Ocean containers from Gdańsk or Gdynia route via a North Sea/European hub (such as Rotterdam or Hamburg) onward to Taiwan’s main ports of Kaohsiung and Keelung. Air freight departs from Warsaw Chopin Airport into Taoyuan International Airport.

Transit times below are freight-industry estimates, not official figures, and vary with routing, transshipment and season:

• Sea freight (FCL/LCL), door-to-port: roughly 6–9 weeks Gdańsk/Gdynia to Kaohsiung, before Taiwan customs clearance.
• Air freight: roughly 1–2 weeks door-to-airport, plus clearance.

Remember the Taiwan constraint from Section 1: whichever mode you choose, the goods must land within six months of your entry and — for the smoothest clearance — after you are physically present to attend Customs.

4. The Taiwan import side — the actual form and process

On arrival in Taiwan you declare your incoming household shipment as unaccompanied baggage. You complete the Inbound Passengers Declaration Form and clear through the Red (Goods to Declare) Channel on entry (Kaohsiung Customs). This declaration is what links your later sea shipment to your personal duty-free entitlement.

Key parameters, all from Taiwan Customs:

• Duty-free exemption: NT$20,000 total for personal or household articles carried as unaccompanied baggage (Kaohsiung Customs). Used household effects of a genuine resident are generally cleared free of duty when full documentation is presented (Taipei Customs).
• Timing: baggage imported before entry or within 6 months of entry; apply for clearance within 15 days of the day following the carrier’s arrival, or pay NT$200/day (Kaohsiung Customs).
• Documents: passport photo/signature pages, the entry stamp dated within the last 6 months, the bill of lading or air waybill, and an English inventory/packing list (Taipei Customs).

Customs may inspect the container, and the governing legal framework is Taiwan’s Customs Act (Laws & Regulations Database). Check prohibited and restricted items before packing.

5. Pets — official rules on both ends

Leaving Poland (EU side). To take a dog, cat or ferret out of the EU to a third country, you follow the destination country’s import rules; within the EU the animal must be microchipped and a local vet issues the necessary health documentation (European Commission; Your Europe). So for a Poland → Taiwan move, Taiwan’s requirements govern, and your Polish vet prepares the paperwork to satisfy them.

Entering Taiwan. Taiwan’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency (APHIA), under the Ministry of Agriculture, requires each dog or cat to have a 15-digit ISO microchip, an inactivated (killed) rabies vaccine (live vaccines are not accepted), and a rabies neutralising antibody titre of at least 0.5 IU/mL from an APHIA-recognised laboratory (APHIA). There is a mandatory waiting period between the antibody blood draw and import, and a quarantine period applies on arrival; animals that do not meet the requirements face a substantially longer quarantine (historically up to 180 days). The importer must obtain an import permit through the online e-permit system before shipment (APHIA; pet e-permit portal). Because of the antibody-test waiting period, start your pet’s timeline several months before departure and confirm the current intervals, permit lead time and quarantine length directly with APHIA, whose permit conditions were last revised on 5 January 2026.

6. Vehicles, money and the things people forget

Vehicles. Importing a car into Taiwan is complex and expensive — vehicles face import duty, commodity tax and stringent safety/emissions compliance, and the used-effects duty relief does not extend to them. Most movers sell the car in Poland. Because Taiwan is not in the EU, taking a Polish-registered car out is a customs export handled through PUESC/AES like any other goods (puesc.gov.pl).

Money. On arrival in Taiwan you must declare cash and instruments above the thresholds: NT$100,000 in New Taiwan Dollars, foreign currency equivalent to US$10,000, Renminbi over RMB20,000, or negotiable securities with a face value over US$10,000 (Kaohsiung Customs FAQ; Ministry of Finance). Undeclared excess can be confiscated. Leaving the EU, note that carrying €10,000 or more in cash out of the EU must also be declared to customs.

Easy to forget: an English packing list valued for customs; the six-month import window tied to your entry stamp; that new items and anything for resale are taxable; and prohibited/restricted goods (certain foods, plants, medicines) under the Customs Act.

How Flyto handles your Poland to Taiwan move

Flyto runs strong in-house European operations — our own offices, warehouses, teams and vehicles across Northern, Central and Southern Europe — so the collection, packing and export in Poland are handled to a consistent standard, complemented by a carefully chosen partner and subcontractor network for the legs we do not run ourselves. For the Taiwan arrival we work with trusted local partners for customs clearance and delivery, so your shipment is coordinated end to end without us pretending to do every step alone.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to be in Taiwan before my belongings can clear customs?
In practice, yes. Unaccompanied-baggage clearance is tied to your own entry — your goods must arrive before you enter or within six months of your entry, and the clearance clock runs from your entry stamp (Kaohsiung Customs).

How long do I have to import my belongings?
Your unaccompanied baggage must arrive before you enter Taiwan or within six months of your entry date, and you must apply for clearance within 15 days of the day following the carrier’s arrival or face a NT$200/day charge (Kaohsiung Customs).

Do I need to deregister my Polish address?
You should deregister (wymeldowanie) by the day you move out. It is free and can be done online via mObywatel/ePUAP (gov.pl).

When should I start my pet’s preparations?
Several months ahead. Taiwan requires an inactivated rabies vaccine and a rabies antibody titre of at least 0.5 IU/mL, with a waiting period before import and an import permit obtained in advance — confirm the exact timings with APHIA (APHIA).

How long does sea freight take from Poland to Taiwan?
As a freight-industry estimate (not an official figure), roughly 6–9 weeks from Gdańsk/Gdynia to Kaohsiung before customs clearance; air freight is roughly 1–2 weeks.

What about moving back — Taiwan to Poland?
Returning to Poland, your used household effects can enter the EU duty- and VAT-free under Transfer of Residence relief (Council Regulation (EC) No 1186/2009), provided your normal residence was outside the EU for a continuous period of at least 12 months and you import the goods within 12 months of establishing residence in the EU (EUR-Lex). The import is declared through PUESC (puesc.gov.pl).

Sources

• PUESC – Export of goods (AES), KAS
• PUESC – Import of goods, KAS
• gov.pl – De-register from permanent residence (wymeldowanie)
• podatki.gov.pl – Tax residence in Poland
• Port of Gdańsk (official)
• Port of Gdynia (official)
• Taipei Customs – Personal effects / household goods
• Taipei Customs – Arrival & dual-channel clearance
• Kaohsiung Customs – Unaccompanied baggage
• Kaohsiung Customs – Currency/instrument limits FAQ
• Ministry of Finance, R.O.C. – Cash declaration
• Taiwan Customs Act – Laws & Regulations Database
• APHIA – Quarantine for dogs & cats
• APHIA – Enhanced quarantine rules for dogs & cats
• APHIA – Pet import e-permit portal
• European Commission – Bringing a pet dog, cat or ferret between the EU and a non-EU country
• Your Europe – Taking pets and other animals across EU borders
• EUR-Lex – Council Regulation (EC) No 1186/2009 (customs duty reliefs)