Singapore Expats

Hi,

Reading some of the forum posts on the topic has still left me confused about the handling of customs clearance and freight forwarding in Singapore.

Recently, I have moved to Singapore and shipped my household goods from the UK. They are due to arrive at the Singapore port on 7th April. I bought a door-to-port package from a UK moving company as I didn't have a Singaporean address yet at the time of booking. I called the UK mover's Singaporean agent and they sent me an "arrival notice". Unfortunately, I could not understand the accent very well and I fear that I have missed some things she said.

How do I proceed from here? I would like someone to forward my boxes to my address and possibly handle the customs clearance for me. Should I now get a quote from a freight forwarder or pay the local agent first (Astro Pacific)? What documents will the forwarders need? Do I have to go to the port in person for customs (trying to avoid that via the forwarding company)? I would be very grateful for a quick heads up from someone with experience of the process.

vigor wrote:Hi,

Reading some of the forum posts on the topic has still left me confused about the handling of customs clearance and freight forwarding in Singapore.

Recently, I have moved to Singapore and shipped my household goods from the UK. They are due to arrive at the Singapore port on 7th April. I bought a door-to-port package from a UK moving company as I didn't have a Singaporean address yet at the time of booking. I called the UK mover's Singaporean agent and they sent me an "arrival notice". Unfortunately, I could not understand the accent very well and I fear that I have missed some things she said.

How do I proceed from here? I would like someone to forward my boxes to my address and possibly handle the customs clearance for me. Should I now get a quote from a freight forwarder or pay the local agent first (Astro Pacific)? What documents will the forwarders need? Do I have to go to the port in person for customs (trying to avoid that via the forwarding company)? I would be very grateful for a quick heads up from someone with experience of the process.

You've probably received an arrival notice from the seafreight agent at the port. Best thing you can do is contact a local forwarder, forward the arrival notice to them and get them to quote you for clearance and delivery. Good thing is, you now have the port charges via the arrival notice, so they can't rip you off

Port charges are VERY expensive and port agents will show no mercy regarding storage charges etc. So if I were you i'd get this sorted right away. Good luck.