Moving from Australia to Vietnam
A regional sea move from Australia to Southeast Asia. Here is the honest brief on container costs, the work permit and residence card that release your household goods from customs, the visa routes, and a timeline you can plan around.
Your import rights ride on a long stay work permit.
A move from Australia to Vietnam is a comparatively short sea haul across the region. Containers leave Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane and arrive at Cat Lai, the main container terminal serving Ho Chi Minh City, or at Haiphong if you are heading north toward Hanoi. The ocean leg runs roughly three to five weeks, and a realistic door to door window is six to nine weeks once consolidation, clearance and delivery are counted.
The customs picture is paperwork driven. The General Department of Vietnam Customs lets foreigners import used household goods, but the right is tied to your immigration status. You generally need a work permit valid for at least twelve months and a Temporary Residence Card, plus your passport and the employer's documents, and personal effects clear free of duty within a reasonable personal allowance, with the excess taxed. Without that long stay status the import becomes far harder.
Prices below are in Australian dollars and indicative for 2026. Your real number turns on volume, whether you share a container or take a full one, and delivery from Cat Lai or Haiphong to your Vietnamese address.
What it costs in 2026, by home size and container.
Your bill is driven by volume and whether you share a container or fill your own, plus delivery from the port. The figures below are indicative ranges for 2026 in Australian dollars, door to door.
Indicative 2026 ranges in Australian dollars, door to door by sea from Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane to Cat Lai or Haiphong. Volume, season, the port pair and final delivery distance within Vietnam move the figure. Summer is the peak booking season.
- +Best value for a studio or a partial home
- +You pay only for the space you use
- −Slower, because your goods wait for the consolidated load
- +Faster and sealed to your home only
- +The sensible choice for a full home
- −You pay for the whole box even if you do not fill it
- +Fastest way to get essentials to Vietnam
- +Useful while your container is at sea
- −Rarely sensible for a full household
Get moving quotes for Australia to Vietnam.
Tell us your size and timing. We pass your request to vetted movers who run the route from Australia into Vietnam and understand the work permit and residence card paperwork, and you compare them on your own terms.
A realistic schedule for this route.
Working back from the day your container sails, here is a realistic schedule for a sea move from Australia to Vietnam.
Sort your work permit and visa
Line up your Vietnamese work permit and the visa your employer sponsors, because your household goods import rests on a work permit valid for at least twelve months and a Temporary Residence Card.
Get surveys and quotes
Have movers run video or in home surveys for an accurate volume and a binding price. Confirm they sail to Cat Lai or Haiphong and have cleared expatriate shipments through Vietnamese customs before.
Book the sailing
Confirm your Australian port and sailing date and lock a valued inventory, which you need for insurance and for the detailed customs documents Vietnam requires in triplicate.
Register residence
Obtain your Temporary Residence Card and register your stay with the local ward police, the step that records where you live and supports your customs clearance.
Clear customs and deliver
Your agent presents your work permit, Temporary Residence Card, passport and the valued inventory to the General Department of Vietnam Customs, clears your effects, and delivers to your home.
Clearing your goods into Vietnam.
Vietnam clears imports through the General Department of Vietnam Customs, and household shipments arrive at Cat Lai for Ho Chi Minh City or at Haiphong for the north. The right to import used household goods is reserved for foreigners with genuine long stay status. In practice you need a work permit valid for at least twelve months and a Temporary Residence Card, alongside your passport, the employer's business licence and a power of attorney, with three copies of each document for every shipment.
Personal effects that are clearly used and for your own household generally clear free of duty within a reasonable personal allowance, while quantities or values beyond that allowance are taxed. Items that look new or commercial attract duty, so honest used valuations and a clean inventory keep clearance smooth. Used goods are scrutinised, so labels and an accurate packing list help.
Bringing a car or motorcycle is tightly controlled and rarely worth the cost and delay for a temporary resident, so most movers buy or lease locally. Alcohol and tobacco beyond personal limits, firearms, certain electronics and printed or recorded media can be restricted, so declare everything and check the current lists before you ship.
The routes in for this corridor.
An Australian moving to Vietnam to work needs an employer sponsored permit and a residence card, arranged through the Vietnam Immigration Department. Your status decides both your right to stay and your right to import your household goods.
The core route. Your employer secures a work permit, which supports a Temporary Residence Card valid up to two years and lets you import your household effects.
A visa for those working with or investing in a Vietnamese company, issued on the strength of the business relationship and convertible toward residence in some cases.
Residence tied to a qualifying investment in a Vietnamese company, with the level of investment shaping the length of the card granted.
For the spouse and dependent children of a foreigner who holds a work permit or residence in Vietnam, granted alongside the principal's status.
How to pick a mover for this route, without the guesswork.
We do not rank or recommend individual companies. We teach you the criteria that separate a safe international move from an expensive mistake, then put your request in front of vetted movers who run this lane.
Check the trade affiliation. Membership of FIDI or IAM is the clearest signal a mover is financially screened and bound to industry standards for international household goods. For this route, ask whether the mover ships regularly from Australia into Cat Lai or Haiphong and handles the Vietnamese customs documents in house.
Insist on a binding pre move survey. A real video or in home survey of your volume is the only honest basis for a price. A quote given without one is a guess that tends to grow on moving day.
Compare like for like. Read what each quote includes: packing, materials, the ocean freight, customs clearance in Vietnam, destination delivery, stair or long carry charges, and insurance. The cheapest headline number is rarely the cheapest move.
Understand the insurance terms. Ask whether cover is full replacement value or depreciated, what the excess is, and how claims are handled in the humid Vietnamese climate. Read the valuation clause before you sign.
Read recent reviews for this corridor. A mover can be excellent domestically and weak on shipments to Vietnam, where paperwork is decisive. Look for verified reviews that mention the Australia to Vietnam route and a clean clearance at Cat Lai.
Questions people ask about this move.
How much does it cost to move from Australia to Vietnam?
For a two to three bedroom household by sea, plan on roughly 7,500 to 21,000 Australian dollars door to door in 2026, depending on volume, shared or full container, the port pair, and delivery distance within Vietnam. A studio is less and a four bedroom home more. These are indicative ranges, not a quote.
How long does shipping take from Australia to Vietnam?
Door to door is usually about six to nine weeks. The sailing from Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane to Cat Lai or Haiphong runs roughly three to five weeks, and consolidation, customs clearance and final delivery add the rest.
Do I pay duty on my household goods moving to Vietnam?
Used personal effects generally clear free of duty within a reasonable personal allowance if you hold a work permit valid for at least twelve months and a Temporary Residence Card, with values beyond the allowance taxed. Verify the current rules with the General Department of Vietnam Customs.
Do I need a visa to move from Australia to Vietnam?
Yes. The main route is an employer sponsored work permit with a Temporary Residence Card. Business, investor and family routes also exist. Confirm your route with the Vietnam Immigration Department and your employer before you move.
Which port do my goods arrive at in Vietnam?
Cat Lai near Ho Chi Minh City handles most household shipments, with Haiphong serving the north and Hanoi. Your mover clears the goods and delivers onward to your Vietnamese address.
What paperwork do I need to import my goods to Vietnam?
Typically your work permit valid for at least twelve months, your Temporary Residence Card, your passport, the employer's business licence and a power of attorney, with three copies of each document for each shipment and a detailed valued inventory.
Last reviewed: 6 June 2026. We refresh this guide as costs, customs, and visa rules change.