Organize your move to Venezuela

Hi all,

we invite you to share your experience about moving to Venezuela.

Here is a list of questions which might help the ones preparing their move to Venezuela:

What would you bring and what would you leave behind?

Is it a good idea to bring furniture or domestic appliances?

Any foodstuffs that are banned in Venezuela?

Is it better to bring a car or to buy one once settled in Venezuela?

Any advice for the ones who are moving to Venezuela?

Thank you in advance for your participation :)

Really good questions.

I am a real fresher in relocating so you might find my questions a little silly but I think i am at the right place to post questions :D:D

so, I was thinking to bring with me a few traditional things from  Greece to Venezuela for friends etc. Things like herbs or traditional alcohol or some sweets etc...
How about that? Do u think that I could get these things inside the country or I will have a problem at the custom office in the airport?

Thnxx

hello, I have lived full time here in Rio Chico Venezuela for 5 yrs now. I see your question is from June 2011, are you still on this blog and still interested in information?

im registered in june2011my question was. yesterday.yes im still interested

I moved here from New Jersey in the United States, and used a shipping container from a well know shipping line to move my furniture and personal items to my house here (which I had bought years ago, so I already had a place to move to). Everything went fine, until I got to the port in Caracas. Customs held up my container for more than 6 months! the corruption was unbelievable. I had a lawyer, and even he could not shake my container loose any faster. MY RECOMMENDATION TO YOU - IF you decide to move here and transport items, make a detailed list of these items, get this list certified by a lawyer of your choosing, then go to the nearest Venezuelan embassy and present them with this list (make sure you make enough copies) and they will put an official stamp on this, meaning Venezuelan customs cannot (or should not) hold up the release of the container in any way. If they do (and I found most of the time it is because certain custom officers are "in bed" with people at the local customhouse brokers - they are the people who must clear your shipment into Venezuela, you must hire one of them to do this for you and once you are desperate enough to pay a "bribe" then both parties split this in one way or another) then contact the Venezuelan embassy RIGHT AWAY in the country where they approved the paperwork and the shipment of your goods and ask them to intervene. I would recommend if the price is right bringing down what you can, as any 1st world furniture or appliances cost almost triple what they do in your home country due to the extreme tariffs that Sr. Chavez puts on goods coming from capitalistic countries. Cheap Chinese products abound here, however but don't last but a few months apiece.

if you have any specific questions, pls don't hesitate to ask me.

Thank you for post!
Actually i was thinking my relocating more like 2-3 luggage staff, clothes,linen,etc ..nothing big..but my question was about a few bottles of alcohol, some herbs,tea, etc as gifts to friends over there.

So,if i bring my laptop i should pay for it in the custom?I mean to carry with me in the airplane..

I was told to avoid shipping at all cost since it causes neverending problems - regarding shipping a few bags, check with your airlines about proohibited items and cost of extra luggage, usually around 50/100 pounds per extra, of a maximum of 32kg but depends on comoanies I guess. I knwo raw meat is not suposed to be brought in and with bottles, you never know if they ll arrive pbroken, stolen or evaporated or anything...