Moving to Norway from the USA

Ocean freight takes 6–9 weeks door-to-door (3–5 weeks port-to-port from the US East Coast to Oslo, plus pickup, customs clearance and delivery). Air freight takes 10–14 days door-to-door. We recommend starting the process 4–6 weeks before your move so your belongings are in Norway shortly after you arrive.

If you qualify for flyttegods (Norway's moving-goods relief), your used personal effects and household goods can be imported free of customs duty and Norwegian VAT (25%). The main conditions are: you lived abroad continuously for at least one year, the items were owned and used by you at your previous residence (typically for at least 12 months), and you are establishing your normal residence in Norway. Alcohol, tobacco, vehicles and pleasure craft are excluded. City Post Express prepares the flyttegods declaration — and the RD-0030 application via Altinn in special cases — on your behalf.

Costs depend on volume, weight and whether you choose air or ocean freight. We price flat-rate and all-inclusive — one number that covers pickup, shipping, Tolletaten clearance and delivery, with no surprise surcharges. Tell us roughly what you are shipping and we will come back with a clear quote within a day.

Yes, but cars are not imported as flyttegods — they follow a separate process. You declare the vehicle to Tolletaten on arrival, pay any applicable customs duty, VAT and one-off registration tax, then register and have the vehicle approved by Statens vegvesen (the Norwegian Public Roads Administration). Norway drives on the right, so US left-hand-drive cars are practical, but import costs can be significant — particularly for petrol vehicles with higher emissions. Many clients find it cheaper to sell in the US and buy in Norway. Contact us for a vehicle-specific quote.

We deliver everywhere in Norway — from Oslo apartments to villages in Trøndelag, farms in Vestland, and addresses in Tromsø and the far north. Our local delivery partners know the country, including the long drives and ferry connections up the coast. No address is too remote; we just plan the timing around it.

Yes. Many clients send an air freight shipment first with the essentials, then a larger ocean freight shipment with furniture and the rest of the household. Under flyttegods, all moving goods should be imported within a reasonable time and no later than one year after you relocate to Norway — we coordinate the shipments to stay inside that window.

Not necessarily. You can nominate a family member, friend or colleague to receive the delivery. For customs, you must have established (or be in the process of establishing) your residence in Norway for flyttegods relief to apply. We can clear your shipment against your passport and residence permit while your D-number or personnummer is still being issued by Skatteetaten.

For anything more than a few parcels, shared container (LCL) ocean freight is the most affordable option. You only pay for the space you use, and a flat-rate door-to-door service bundles pickup, shipping, Tolletaten clearance and delivery into one price. This is typically a lot cheaper than sending boxes individually through USPS, FedEx or UPS, especially once you factor in customs brokerage on each parcel.

Parcel carriers charge per box, add customs brokerage fees separately, and do not organise flyttegods relief — which means the recipient can end up paying 25% Norwegian VAT plus any duty on every box. Shared container ocean freight with full customs handling is a completely different model and usually saves 40–60% on a household-sized move.

For a full relocation, dedicated international shipping is the right choice — not postal carriers, not package forwarders. City Post Express provides door-to-door ocean freight with pickup in the US, Tolletaten customs clearance in Norway, and delivery to your new address. One company, one invoice, one point of contact from your US driveway to your Norwegian front door.

It depends. Items with sentimental or high monetary value — handmade pieces, family heirlooms, good sofas and beds — are usually worth shipping. Flat-pack and lower-value furniture is often cheaper to replace in Norway (IKEA, Jysk, Bohus and Skeidar are all well established). Measure your Norwegian home before deciding — stairwells, lifts and doorways are often tighter than US equivalents, particularly in older Oslo and Bergen buildings.

No — alcohol is excluded from flyttegods relief and Norway has strict rules. Retail alcohol sales in Norway are controlled by the state-owned Vinmonopolet monopoly, and Tolletaten enforces tight personal import quotas with duty on anything above them. In practice, wine cellars and spirits collections do not travel well to Norway; plan to replace them locally. The same logic applies to tobacco.