Moving from Sweden to Vietnam
A long haul move from the Baltic to Southeast Asia. Here is the honest brief on sea freight from Gothenburg to Cat Lai or Hai Phong, why your household clearance hinges on a Vietnamese work permit and a temporary residence card, and what the move actually costs in 2026.
Costs are indicative ranges for 2026.
The honest summary of this move.
Moving a household from Sweden to Vietnam is a long sea move from the Baltic to Southeast Asia. For a 2 to 3 bedroom home a shared container runs roughly 4,600 to 8,800 US dollars in 2026, arriving in about seven to ten weeks door to door. Used belongings can clear, but only once you hold a valid work permit and a temporary residence card and your Vietnamese employer signs the customs paperwork.
Goods leave from a Swedish port, usually Gothenburg, and sail through the Suez Canal to a Vietnamese port. Most southern moves clear at Cat Lai in Ho Chi Minh City, while northern moves clear at Hai Phong, the gateway port for Hanoi. A shared container is the value option for a normal home or a partial move because you pay only for the volume you ship, while a sole use twenty foot container suits a full household and a forty foot container suits a large one. Air freight is the fast alternative for a small, urgent shipment.
The detail that catches Swedes out is that Vietnamese customs will not release a household shipment on a tourist footing. You must already be in Vietnam, working for a registered company, and you must hold a work permit and a temporary residence card or an entry visa valid for at least several months. Your employer in Vietnam signs an authorisation letter and a letter to customs, and without that local sponsor the goods sit in bond and storage charges build.
Plan the Swedish exit cleanly too. Tell Skatteverket, the Swedish Tax Agency, that you are emigrating so your folkbokforing record and your tax residence are closed correctly, since that paper trail shows you genuinely lived abroad and matters for any future return. Build a careful room by room inventory in English, because it is both your customs packing list and the basis of any insurance claim.
What this move really costs in 2026.
On a long sea lane the drivers are volume, the sailing distance, and destination handling at the Vietnamese port. The table shows indicative ranges in US dollars for the common home sizes and shipping modes.
Indicative ranges for 2026 in US dollars. A shared container is cheapest because you share the box and wait for it to fill, a sole use container is faster and private, and customs brokerage, port handling in Vietnam, and final delivery to your address all add cost.
- + Best value for a normal home or partial move
- + You pay only for the volume you ship
- ~ Slower, as you wait for the container to fill
- + Private and faster than groupage
- + Right size for a full 2 to 3 bed home
- ! You pay for the whole box
- + Fastest for a small, urgent shipment
- ! Far more expensive per cubic metre
- ~ Best for essentials, not a full home
A realistic timeline for this move.
Sea freight on this lane is slow, so book early and line up your Vietnamese paperwork in parallel. The work permit and residence card drive clearance, so do not ship until they are in hand.
Confirm your right to work in Vietnam
Settle your job offer and start the work permit and temporary residence card process with your employer, because customs clearance of your goods depends on it.
Get three movers to survey
Have movers run video or in home surveys for an accurate volume and a binding or not to exceed quote. Compare a shared container against a sole use container for your dates.
Book the sailing
Confirm your shipment and sailing date from Gothenburg, allowing for the ocean transit through Suez and final delivery in Vietnam.
Assemble the customs file
Prepare your passport copies, the English packing list, the work permit and residence card copies, and the employer authorisation and customs letters.
Pack, load, and sail
The crew packs and loads the container, which is trucked to the port and shipped to Vietnam under your work based residence.
Clear customs and settle in
Your broker lodges the declaration at Cat Lai or Hai Phong, customs inspects, and your goods are released for delivery to your home.
Bringing your household goods into Vietnam.
Vietnam allows people who relocate for work to import used household goods, but the relief is tied tightly to your residence status and your employer, not to a simple transfer of residence rule.
To clear a household shipment you must be in Vietnam holding a work permit and a temporary residence card, or at least an entry visa valid for several months. The standard file is your passport with the entry stamp, an English packing list, the bill of lading, notarised copies of the work permit and residence card, an authorisation letter, and a letter to customs, the last two signed and stamped by your registered Vietnamese employer. Build the inventory carefully, because customs at Cat Lai and Hai Phong inspect used goods shipments.
Most ordinary household effects move through, including furniture, clothing, books, and kitchenware, in reasonable quantities for personal use. Used electrical goods can attract questions on age and quantity, and new or boxed items may be treated as commercial and taxed. Restricted and prohibited items are taken seriously, so leave behind anything political, military, or otherwise sensitive, and declare medicines properly.
Vehicles are the hard part. Importing a car or motorbike as a foreigner is heavily restricted and expensive, and for most movers it is simply not worth attempting, so plan to buy locally. Pets travel under Vietnamese import rules, needing a microchip, rabies vaccination, and a health certificate. Confirm every requirement before you commit, because Vietnamese customs practice can vary by port and by year.
Verify before you move. Vietnamese customs practice, the document list, and the residence and work permit conditions change and can differ between Cat Lai and Hai Phong. Confirm the current position with the General Department of Vietnam Customs, your employer, and your mover before you move.The realistic routes for this corridor.
You move to Vietnam on a work based status in almost every case, since there is no simple retirement visa. These are the routes that apply most often to people relocating from Sweden.
With a job offer from a registered Vietnamese employer you obtain a work permit and then a temporary residence card, which together let you live and work and are the basis for clearing your goods.
Founders and investors in a Vietnamese company can obtain an investor visa and residence card, with the category depending on the size of the capital contribution.
Spouses and dependants of a Vietnamese citizen or a permitted resident can obtain a family based temporary residence card, subject to the relationship and document checks.
A business visa can bridge the gap while a work permit is processed, but it is not a residence status and is rarely enough on its own to clear a full household.
How to choose a mover for Sweden to Vietnam.
We never name, rank, or recommend a moving company. Instead, here is the neutral checklist that matters on this exact lane. Apply it to any quote, then request comparable quotes through the form below.
FIDI or IAM affiliation
Membership of the FIDI Global Alliance or the International Association of Movers signals audited financial stability and a complaints process you can lean on if something goes wrong.
Real corridor experience
Ask how many households the company has shipped on your exact route in the past year. A mover that runs the lane regularly knows the ports, the customs broker, and the paperwork by heart.
A binding pre move survey
Insist on a video or in home survey and a binding or not to exceed quote. A price built from a real volume estimate is the only quote you can compare like for like.
Clear insurance terms
Read how transit cover is calculated, what the deductible is, and whether valuation is by replacement value. Vague cover is the most common regret on an international move.
Verifiable reviews
Look for recent, specific reviews that name the destination, not just star ratings. Patterns in how a company handles claims tell you more than any single glowing note.
Written scope and timeline
Everything that matters belongs in writing: packing, customs clearance, delivery, unpacking, and debris removal, with who pays destination charges spelled out.
Get moving quotes for Sweden to Vietnam.
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Questions people ask about this move.
How much does it cost to move from Sweden to Vietnam?
For a 2 to 3 bedroom home, a shared container typically costs from about 4,600 to 8,800 US dollars in 2026. The figure depends on volume, the sea distance, and Vietnamese destination handling. Base your budget on a binding pre move survey.
How long does it take to move from Sweden to Vietnam?
Plan on roughly seven to ten weeks door to door for a shared container, sailing from Gothenburg through Suez to Cat Lai or Hai Phong. A sole use container is a little faster, and air freight moves a small shipment in one to two weeks.
Do I pay duty on my furniture moving to Vietnam?
Used household goods of a foreigner working in Vietnam can usually clear without commercial duty, but only with a valid work permit, a residence card, and the employer signed customs letters. New or boxed items can be taxed as commercial goods.
Can I bring my car from Sweden to Vietnam?
For most movers, no. Importing a private car or motorbike as a foreigner is heavily restricted and costly, so plan to buy or lease locally rather than shipping your vehicle.
Which port will my shipment use?
Southern moves to Ho Chi Minh City usually clear at Cat Lai, and northern moves to Hanoi clear at Hai Phong. Your final delivery distance from the port affects the destination charges.
When should I start planning?
Begin about ten weeks out. The long sailing and the work permit and residence card process are the slow steps, so run them together and do not ship goods before your status is confirmed.