Move from Japan to Brazil return home with peace of mind

If you stayed abroad for more than 1 year and are effectively transferring residence to Brazil, the used goods that make up your unaccompanied baggage are treated as baggage, exempt from taxes, under the terms of Instrução Normativa RFB nº 1.059/2010. The condition is that the cargo arrives within the legal window and that the documentation proves the transfer of residence. New goods and vehicles are excluded from this exemption.

Yes, and this is not our preference: it is not possible to complete customs clearance before your disembarkation in Brazil. The Receita Federal requires, among the shipping documents, proof of the traveler's arrival in the country, and the right to the exemption is tied to your definitive disembarkation. The cargo can depart Japan and arrive before you — the legal window allows up to 3 months in advance — but it will remain awaiting at the port or airport until you arrive, with storage charges and demurrage accruing in that interval. That is why we schedule from your disembarkation date, not from the date your home is ready to be packed.

Unaccompanied baggage must arrive between 3 months before and 6 months after the date of your disembarkation in Brazil. This window is the most sensitive point of the route, and here it requires more attention than average, because sea transit takes 50 to 70 days. We plan the cargo's shipping date based on the date of your flight, and not the other way around. Outside the window, the Receita Federal treats the cargo as a regular import and charges the taxes.

You can bring it, but the tax treatment is different. The baggage regime for transfer of residence presumes a stay abroad of more than 1 year. With a shorter period, the operation needs to be structured differently and taxes may be due. We evaluate your specific case before issuing a quote, because the relocation strategy changes considerably in that scenario.

There are two layers here. On the Japanese side, vehicles imported under a moving exemption may not be resold or donated within 2 years from the import permit, and the destination must be verified with Japan Customs before the return shipment. On the Brazilian side, motor vehicles are not included in baggage treatment, so the import would be a separate operation, with its own taxation and homologation. We perform this check in the initial analysis, but the operation is rarely economically justified.

It depends on the appliance and the region. Japan operates at 100 V, with Type A plugs, and at 50 Hz in the east or 60 Hz in the west. In Brazil, much of the country uses 127 V, and there are regions at 220 V, with the NBR 14136 standard plug. A step-up voltage difference is more dangerous than step-down: a 100 V appliance connected directly to 127 V can burn out, and to 220 V it will certainly fail. Appliances with wide-range power supplies can work with a plug adapter, but motor-driven equipment requires a properly sized transformer. We evaluate items one by one during the inventory.

Yes. Returning animals to Brazil requires an international veterinary certificate issued by an official veterinarian, a valid rabies vaccination and compliance with the requirements of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock. The return protocol is much simpler than entry into Japan, which requires serology and a waiting period of 180 days after blood collection. Animal transport is a process separate from the moving of goods and runs in parallel, conducted by our pet department. We have already transported more than one thousand animals.

Proof is provided by a set of documents, and the hierarchy among them matters. The two pieces of evidence that actually support the clearance are the Declaration of Residence issued by the Brazilian Consulate in the city where you live and consumption bills in your name, such as water, electricity, gas and internet: these demonstrate effective residence at the address. Documents such as the residence card, the certificate of residence issued by the municipality, the employment contract and the rental agreement enter the dossier as supporting documents, together with the passport showing entries and exits, but do not prove residence on their own, because they attest to authorization to reside and not to the fact of having lived there. It is also necessary to have the document that attests to the termination of that residence, normally the municipal move notification. Note that the residence card is returned to immigration upon definitive departure, so we recommend keeping copies before travel. We assemble this dossier with you before departure, because gathering documents abroad after already being in Brazil is much more difficult.

This is a frequent practical question on this route. Japanese furniture usually has smaller dimensions, designed for compact apartments, and specific items such as tatami mats, kotatsu and automated bath appliances have no equivalent use in Brazil. On the other hand, quality electronics and items with sentimental value justify the freight. We carry out this item-by-item assessment in the pre-move survey, being frank about what is not worth the transport cost.

In Japan, collection, packing and exit documentation are carried out by accredited agents of our international network, under supervision of our team. In Brazil, customs clearance, final delivery and assembly are performed by One Moving's own team, with no intermediaries. Since Brazilian customs clearance is the critical point on this route, it is managed entirely under our direct control.