How do I move my furniture and other stuff to Mexico?

Moving your furniture and things to Mexico is not too complicated. You cannot do it yourself; let’s tick that one off the board. You cannot do it like you can in the US or in Canada. You cannot hire a truck and drive it from Minnesota to Guadalajara or to Chapala. You cannot take a moving truck across the border.
 
What most people do is hire an international moving firm. The moving firm will give you a quote so either the people pack their own stuff or the moving company...

Moving your furniture and things to Mexico is not too complicated. You cannot do it yourself; let’s tick that one off the board. You cannot do it like you can in the US or in Canada. You cannot hire a truck and drive it from Minnesota to Guadalajara or to Chapala. You cannot take a moving truck across the border.
 
What most people do is hire an international moving firm. The moving firm will give you a quote so either the people pack their own stuff or the moving company will pack it for them. It then gets sent down to the border. Most often it is sent to Loredo, Texas, which is the most convenient border town to Mexico. It is the shortest route. From there, it gets repackaged into a Mexican truck, all the paperwork is cleared up and it goes through customs and then ends up down here in Mexico. It might be placed in a warehouse here if the people’s home is not ready yet for whatever reason.
 
Moving things to Mexico is pretty expensive and it also depends on where you are coming from. Moving things from Nova Scotia costs more than moving things from Phoenix. It could also depend on how heavy your things are. A lot of people just decide to buy new things here because most of the time, it is more expensive to bring a bed down than to just buy a nice, new bed here. Some people like to bring their books, collectibles, art, photographs, etc. and that is usually what drives people to make a decision of moving things here.
 
Moving furniture and other items to Mexico is not cheap but there are very good companies that are fair. They will guide you and not trick you. Your furniture doesn’t disappear or get high jacked. There are legitimate companies that specialize in getting furniture down to Chapala and Ajijic.
 
If you are just driving across the border, you can just bring your goods down but there is a certain amount or value that each person is entitled to bring. 95% of the time, people travel with a car or a pick-up truck loaded with personal goods area waved through. If you have lots of brand new clothes or a whole bunch of electronics in the box, then you might be charged a duty because that is considered importing goods that could be resold here. But if you have a couple of televisions and your CD collection, clothes, shoes, and tools, there is no problem bringing those in to Mexico by just driving them down.

 

(Bedroom in Villa del Angel in Ajijic, Chapala, Mexico, pictured.)

Moving your household goods to Mexico is not the same as moving from one city to another in the US for several reasons, the most significant of which is that you cross an international border. At that border on the southern side are Mexican customs officials, who are tasked with making sure only certain items cross; that the rules for who can bring household goods into Mexico are followed depending on your immigration status; and collecting taxes when appropriate.

 

One of the...

Moving your household goods to Mexico is not the same as moving from one city to another in the US for several reasons, the most significant of which is that you cross an international border. At that border on the southern side are Mexican customs officials, who are tasked with making sure only certain items cross; that the rules for who can bring household goods into Mexico are followed depending on your immigration status; and collecting taxes when appropriate.

 

One of the more confusing aspects of this is that you will often read or hear conflicting "advice" often from well-meaning people, many times on Facebook, that is outdated or just plain wrong.

 

Another confusing aspect is that rules can change over time and different ports of entry tend to enforce rules differently.

 

So how do you do it?

 

 

If you have a very, very small amount of household goods to move (for example, no more than would fit into a mini-van), you try to cross the border on your own, or you can can hire someone to help you, which may or may not be entirely legal.  I know at least one person who purchased a trailer in the US, got the permission to drive it in Mexico (not trivial), picked up his household goods in Salt Lake City, and with his gardener, crossed the border.  Luckily, he was only asked to pay a small amount of taxes, and didn't really know what was going on.  Another person told me that they made five or six trips to the US to pick up their household goods.  (I don't remember if he used a trailer or not.)

 

Once you have your temporary or permanent visa, you are entitled to bring your goods down on a "menaje de casa" one time, with no taxes, assuming that you bring only those items allowed.  There are rules to be followed to make it all go smoothly.  There are moving companies in Mexico that can help you, with each one offering different services, levels of quality, prices and procedures.  Whatever you do, please research your options completely to find which option works best for you and the one with which you are the most comfortable.

 

If you are moving to Mexico, please consider Best Mexico Movers.