Preparing to move. Where to start?
In order to calculate transport costs, we need to know whether 20 feet container (20') or 40 feet container (40') container are an option for you and to which railway station in Russia the container will be sent.
Railway stations in Russia that work with containers.
Check whether you are entitled to reimbursement of moving costs.
The government of the Russian Federation has developed a state program to support the voluntary resettlement of compatriots living abroad to the Russian Federation.
The program was launched by decree of the President of the Russian Federation of June 22, 2006.
You can find the necessary information about the program here. Consultation on the program is carried out in all foreign consulates of the Russian Federation.
This program provides reimbursement for the cost of transporting personal items to a new place of residence. We will provide the necessary transport documents for reimbursement.
The next step is to decide which items will be transported. This is necessary to assess the volume of the shipment and then to select the type and type of container for transportation.
Please read the section - Items that are not authorized or recommended for transport.
In addition, it should be checked which train station working with container is located in the vicinity of your new place of residence.
Based on the information gathered, you will receive estimate transport cost.
Items that are not allowed or not recommended for transport.
It is forbidden to transport financial documents, money and other valuables as well as fragile objects, firearms, malodorous, flammable, poisonous, explosive and other dangerous substances as well as other objects that can damage the goods being transported, the means of transport or the railway infrastructure.
Based on previous experience, it is not recommended to transport between personal items:
Objects that are not listed in the accompanying documents, antiques, valuable musical instruments, aerosols, varnishes, paints, detergents and cleaners, horsehair, used tires (only used wheels on rims are permitted for transport), food, living plants, pets, used equipment for breeding animals, birds and insects.
The rules for the carriage of personal items throughout the territory of the Russian Federation are set out in article 50 of the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated 02/03/2005 N 111 (in the version dated 08/27/2020) “Regulations for the provision of services for the carriage of passengers on the Rail as well as for freight, baggage and cargo baggage for personal, family, household and other purposes unrelated to the conduct of business activities ”.
In addition, it is not recommended to transport goods subject to sanctions in accordance with the Decree of the Russian Federation No. 778 of 07/08/2014. Despite the existing arrangement that goods imported by individuals for personal use are not subject to the above sanctions, the procedure for obtaining a permit or confirmation of a permit for transport through the territory of the Russian Federation is very time-consuming and involves additional costs.
If in doubt as to whether items not mentioned are permitted for transport, please contact us for further advice.
Sanctions against Russia.
According to Decision 2022/576 of the European Councils of April 8, 2022, it is allowed to export goods from the European Union to Russia subject to the following restrictions:
- Goods not expressly mentioned in Decision 2022/576 with a value of up to EUR 300.00
- Electronic household appliances worth up to EUR 750.00
- Electronic devices for reproducing sound and images with a value of up to EUR 1,000.00
- Musical instruments with a value of up to EUR 1,500.00
List of restricted items with customs codes.
When preparing for the move, we strongly recommend obtaining a confirmation of the value of the exported items (till receipts, confirmation of the current market value of the exported second-hand goods offered on the secondary market).
At our request, the Federal Office of Economics and Export control (BAFA) confirmed that no special permit is required for the import of personal itemsto Russia. However, in order to avoid misunderstandings and additional costs in the event that export customs clearance is refused, we intend to submit separate applications to BAFA for each shipment.
The processing time for the application at BAFA is approx. 2 weeks.
Railway stations in Russia that work with containers.
City, Area, Region Railway station Container
Abakan, Republic of Khakassia Abakan 20´and 40´
Barnaul, Altaj Region Barnaul 20´and 40´
Belgorod, Belgorod Region Belgorod only 20´
Bijsk, Altaj Region Bijsk 20´and 40´
Bryansk, Bryansk Area Bryansk Lgovsky 20´and 40´
Cheljabinsk, Cheljabinsk Area Cheljabinsk Gruzovoy 20´and 40´
Chita, Zabykalskiy Region Chita 1 only 20´
Ekaterinburg, Sverdlovsker Area Ekaterinburg Tovarnyj 20´and 40´
Izhevsk, Republic Udmurtia Pozim 20´and 40´
Kaluga, Kaluga Area Kaluga 1 20´and 40´
Kostroma, Kostroma Area Kostroma Novaja 20´and 40´
Krasnodar, Krasnodar Region Krasnodar Sortirovochnyj 20´and 40´
Krasnojarsk, Krasnojarsk Region Bazaikha 20´ and 40´
Kursk, Kursk Area Ryschkovo 20´and 40´
Lipezk, Lipezker Area Lipezk 2 only 20´
Miass, Chelyabinsk Area Miass 1 20´and 40´
Moscow, Moscow Area Kuntsevo 2 20´and 40´
Moscow, Moscow Area Kupavna 20´and 40´
Moscow, Moscow Area Selikatnaya 20´and 40´
Murom, Wladimirsk Area Murom 1 20´and 40´
Nizhnij Nowgorod, Nizhegorodsk Area Kostarikha 20´and 40´
Novokuznetsk, Kemerovo Area Novokuznetsk Vostochny 20´and 40´
Novosibirsk, Novosibirsk Area Kletschicha 20´and 40´
Omsk, Omsk Area Omsk Vostochnyj 20´and 40´
Perm, Perm Area Blochnaja 20´and 40´
Rostov na Donu, Rostov Area Rostov Tovarnyj 20´and 40´
Rubzovsk, Altaj Region Rubzovsk only 20´
Ryazan, Ryazan Area Lesok 20´and 40´
Salsk, Rostov Area Salsk 20´and 40´
Samara, Samarsker Area Bezymjanka 20´and 40´
Sankt-Petersburg Finlyandskiy only 20´
Sankt-Petersburg Shushary 20´and 40´
Saransk, Republic Mordowia Saransk 20´and 40´
Saratov, Saratov Area Trofimovskij 2 20´and 40´
Stavropol, Stavropol Region Staromarjevskaya only 20´
Tver, Tver Area Tver 20´and 40´
Ufa, Republic Bashkortostan Chernikovka 20´and 40´
Ulan-Ude, Republic Buryatia Talzy only 20´
Ulyanovsk, Ulyanovsk Area Ulyanovsk 3 20´and 40´
Vladivostok, Primorskiy Region Pervaya Rechka 20´and 40´
Volzhskiy, Volgograd Area Volzhskiy only 20´
Voronezh, Voronezh Area Pridacha 20´and 40´
Wlikie Luki, Pskov Area Welikie Luki only 20´
If you did not find or could not determine the station you need, write or call us.
How the transport takes place.
The customer sends the freight forwarder a written order for the transport stating the loading date, the loading location, the destination, the agreed costs and the confirmation of the conditions of carriage.
At the specified time, the container will be delivered to the loading place specified in the order.
After loading, the container is handed over to customs where, after checking the documents and the cargo, it is sealed and released for transport. The personal presence of the owner of the cargo at the customs office at the time of customs clearance of the container is not required.
Next, the container is delivered to the departure station for transport.
When the container arrives at the border between the European Union and the CIS countries (Malaszewicze / Brest station), a re-expedition is carried out, the container is reloaded onto a broad-gauge wagon and the transit handling is handled.
Then the container is transported in transit mode through Belarus and Russia to the final destination.
While the container is being transported by rail, the location of the container is monitored on a daily basis.
When the container arrives at the destination, the customer receives a notification of the arrival of the container. We recommend that you seek advice on the customs clearance procedure from the customs office at your destination in advance.
After receiving the notification, the recipient carries out customs clearance at the customs office.
Types and dimensions of containers.
For transport of personal items are used 20 feet (20') and 40 feet (40') containers. These common names indicate the outer length of the container.
20 feet container (20'), internal dimensions:
Length: 590 cm
Width: 235 cm
Height: 239 cm
40 feet container (40 '), internal dimensions
Length: 1203 cm
Width 235 cm
Height: 239 cm
The Russian Railways (RZD) also use containers with a length of 5 and 10 feet. However, such containers are not used for transport from the countries of the European Union (EU) to Russia.
In addition, for the transport can be used containers of the Russian Railways (RZD), which are returned, after transport, to the arrival station and purchase containers, which can be used after transport at your own discretion. The cost of transporting a purchased container by rail is cheaper. In this case, however, it is necessary to take into account the cost of container.
Sequence and time period for container loading.
The container will be delivered for loading according to the preliminary application on the specified day and at the location specified by the customer.
As a rule, the container remains on the container platform with a container floor height of approx. 120 cm above the ground during loading.
At the customer's request, however, the container can be delivered for a separate fee for loading on a special truck with the option of unloading the container on the ground.
In this case, the container can remain on the customer's premises for the time required for loading.
In both cases, the customer must ensure in good time that the space to park the vehicle with the container or the space to unload the container is free on the agreed day.
Loading into the container is carried out by the client. Standard time for loading containers included in transport costs is 2 hours.
If necessary, however, the time for loading the container can be extended by agreement.
During loading, the customer is responsible for properly placing and securing the cargo in the container so that the weight of the cargo is evenly distributed across the length and width of the container and the cargo is not shifted and damaged during the movement of the train.
Documents required for transport.
The preparation of the documents required for the transport of removal goods begins with drawing up a detailed list of the items. In addition, a customs code is assigned to each article or group of articles with the same properties. Here you can select the customs code. The next step is to create an invoice in German and Russian.
For the customs formalities in Germany, an invoice will be created in a simplified form. A detailed invoice in Russian accompanies the container along the transport route and is required for the transit declaration procedure at the border between Poland and Belarus and for customs clearance at the final destination.
The prepared invoice will be checked by us with regard to the unanimity of the description of the objects and customs regulations in order to avoid delays in container transport on the way.
When creating an invoice, we offer the customer the necessary support.
A sample invoice can be viewed and downloaded from the following links:
Sample invoice for German customs
Sample invoice for Russian customs
Customs clearance in Germany. The cost of completing customs formalities.
Customs clearance in Germany is carried out on behalf of the customer by the freight forwarder on the basis of a prepared invoice.
An application for customs clearance is submitted by the freight forwarder in electronic form to the customs office at least 24 hours before the planned delivery of the container.
The customs office decides on the release of the cargo on the basis of the provided information. The personal presence of the owner of the cargo at the customs office at the time of customs clearance of the container is not required.
The costs of customs clearance are included in the transport costs.
Customs clearance in Russia. The cost of completing customs formalities.
Customs clearance in Russia is carried out by the customer (recipient of the cargo) or with the help of customs brokers on the basis of accompanying documents and a transit declaration for the cargo.
According to people who have previously moved, there are no customs duties on personal items when moving. Additional customs fees will not be charged if you submit a customs declaration yourself.
Ensuring the safety of the cargo. Cargo insurance. Position monitoring.
After completing the customs formalities in Germany and obtaining approval for further transport, the customer seals the container with a special seal.
The freight forwarder sends the seal to the customer. The seal number is entered on the SMGS consignment note (SMGS).
The presence and integrity of the security seal is further checked by the railway employees along the entire route, on arrival at the border, when reloading onto a wide-gauge wagon, at marshalling yards, during customs controls, etc.
While being transported on the wagon, the containers are always in the door-to-door position, which prevents them from entering the container.
The railway is responsible for the cargo in all cases related to the operation of the railway, with the exception of situations covered by the term of force majeure (wars, armed conflicts, floods, earthquakes and other natural disasters).
Information on the position of the container during transport can be found daily on our website. To obtain information, you must enter the letter designation and the 7-digit number of your container in the format XXXX000000-0 in the "Tracking" field and click on the "Search" button.
Transport costs.
The transport costs are calculated individually as the final amount is influenced by the following factors:
- Container size, 20 '(20') or 40 'container (40')
- the type of container you have selected for the transport (railway container or purchased container that becomes your property after the transport).
- Distance of the container loading point from the customs office and from the railway terminal in Germany
- Distance of the departure station in Germany from the border between the European Union and the CIS
- Distance from the border of the European Union to the final destination in Russia.
Give us a call or send us an inquiry. We will inform you of the transport costs. Contact
Reports about our work.
Marina Dreilich, 23.07.2021
We are very satisfied with the result of transporting a container with personal belongings with Waräger GmbH. If we had any questions, we contacted Viktoria Reichert. A very competent and responsible person. I would particularly like to emphasize such quality as helpfulness, both during the preparation of the move and after its implementation. Many thanks from our family for this work, thanks to which the transport of the container with all the papers went perfectly. We are satisfied and can definitely recommend people who want to move to contact Waräger. Reliable, competent.
