Duty and VAT relief when moving to Sweden after studies abroad

When you return to Sweden after studying in a country outside the EU, you do not need to pay customs duty or VAT on your personal belongings, provided you meet certain requirements.

As a student, you can apply in two ways:

Your normal residence was outside the EU for a continuous period of at least one year. You are eligible to apply for customs duty and VAT relief on goods intended for personal use during your studies.
Your your normal residence was not outside the EU for a continuous period of at least one year. You are only eligible to apply for customs duty and VAT relief on your return goods. These are the effects you brought with you when you moved abroad.

What is your normal residence?

Your ‘normal residence’ is the place where you live on a long-term basis and to which you have personal ties. You cannot have your normal residence in Sweden and in a country outside the EU at the same time.

If our assessment of your personal ties is not sufficient to determine where your normal residence is, we will also take into account the length of your stay outside the EU in our assessment.

Personal ties

When we assess your personal ties to a specific place, several factors are taken into account, such as:

Family
Housing circumstances
Economic interests
Registration in the population register
Social benefits.

Family includes a spouse, cohabiting partner, registered partner, children and parents with whom you live.

In certain cases, you are considered, as a student, to have moved your normal place of residence to your place of study if, due to personal ties, you have had your permanent ‘centre of interest’ in a country outside the EU for at least 12 months.

This might be the case, for example, if you have a family and they have moved with you during your studies. In that case, you will need to provide evidence of this, such as a residence permit from that country, registration with the local public agency (municipality) or similar documentation for the whole family.