Long-Distance Move Berlin – Basel: Route Customs, Duration

Switzerland is not part of the EU, so your removal goods are assessed by customs on entry into Basel. They remain duty-free if you move your residence to Switzerland and have used the items yourself for at least six months and continue to use them. You present form 18.44 and an inventory list; proof can be an employment contract, tenancy agreement or the deregistration certificate from Berlin. Who handles clearance at the border is set out in our quote.

As an EU citizen you do not have to apply for a residence permit in advance: you register at the residents' office within 14 days of arrival and before starting work, and the permit follows afterwards. For a job of at least one year or with an open-ended contract this is usually the B permit; for shorter jobs it is the L permit.

From Stromstraße in Moabit it is around 867 km to Basel: south on the A9, along the A4 through Thuringia and on the A5 via Frankfurt, Karlsruhe and Freiburg to the border. The lorry needs about 13 hours including breaks, which puts the journey above one day's driving time. We therefore plan two drivers or an overnight stop and cross the border on a working day. In Switzerland, lorries over 3.5 t are subject to a night-time and Sunday driving ban and to the LSVA heavy vehicle charge.

The costs depend on volume, floor, access and additional services such as packing or furniture assembly; on top of that come the route, the LSVA and border clearance. After a free survey you receive a fixed price in which these items are listed individually. We plan long-distance moves from Basel back to Berlin the same way – then with an export inventory list. More under Locations.

Before you decide on a moving date, you should know the costs: 1-room flats start from €359, 2-room flats from €615, 3-room flats from €889 and 4-room flats from €1,309. For houses and villas there is always an individual quote. If you want to move to another city, we charge long-distance moves from €4.25 per kilometre. Feel free to use our free survey to get clarity on your individual costs.

Every price calculation is based on volume and distance, which is charged from €4.25/km. Added to this are the floor, a lift and any parking restriction zone. For furniture set-up and small transports we also recommend furniture assembly and a shared load.

You can book these services individually or together for your move to Basel.

1. Company relocation: offices and businesses move without downtime.
2. Private move: your home move organised on schedule.
3. Move with assembly: dismantling and assembly from a single source.
4. Furniture transport: individual pieces transported with care.
5. House clearance: the old goes, space is created.
6. Shared load: the affordable alternative for small loads.

We plan moves from Berlin-Moabit (Stromstraße 21), including to Switzerland. Places with their own pages can be found in the locations overview, long routes under long-distance moves. We plan the return trip from Basel to Berlin in the same way – with an export inventory list and deregistration at the residents' office.

On entry into Basel, the same procedure applies to household goods as in the rest of Switzerland. The Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (BAZG) names the transfer of your residence to Switzerland as the most important condition; the items must have been used personally for at least six months and continue to be used after import. Students can also import household goods, personal effects and study materials duty-free without moving their residence.

Process: you fill in form 18.44 (PDF version of 1 January 2022) and present it to the customs office of entry. Assessment is only possible during the opening hours of the customs offices for commercial goods; the times of the individual offices are shown at dst.bazg.admin.ch. As an aid, the BAZG provides the removal goods list as a PDF; the legal basis is Art. 14 of the Customs Ordinance (SR 631.01). According to the BAZG, only three customs offices in Ticino offer a pre-check before crossing the border, so it is not available for Basel.

A separate rule applies to vehicles: customs clearance takes place at the first border crossing at a staffed office, also with form 18.44. For registration with the cantonal road traffic office, customs issues test report 13.20 A. Information is available from the customs regulations information centre on +41 58 467 15 15 (Monday to Friday 8.00 to 11.30 and 13.30 to 17.00). Further notes on supporting documents can be found in the guide to customs and formalities for Switzerland.

According to the canton of Basel-Stadt, you can order mobile no-parking signs ("zum Zügeln", for moving) for moving day; the cantonal police put them up and collect them. Online orders must be placed at least eight days in advance; the statutory lead time is 48 hours. Use costs 5 francs per sign per day, and putting them up and collecting them by the police costs 50 francs. A maximum of three days may be blocked off, usually around 15 metres. More on the organisation can be found under parking restriction zone.

The city-centre core zone is closed to motor vehicles. Loading and unloading is permitted for everyone Monday to Saturday from 5 to 11 a.m. Other journeys require a permit; according to the canton, a short-term permit costs 20 francs and is issued electronically only. The motor vehicle inspectorate (Motorfahrzeugkontrolle) is responsible.

Anyone moving in registers at the residents' office within 14 days. What counts is the date of the online reservation. Registration costs 25 francs per person; for people moving in from abroad, fingerprints and a photo are taken at the appointment. Since 2 November 2026 the counters have temporarily been on Schwarzwaldallee opposite the main entrance of Badischer Bahnhof because of the refurbishment at Spiegelhof; the counter can only be visited by appointment. For orientation on districts, see the Basel moving guide.