Shipping, Airports and Bureaucracy - part 1

Back in November, my wife and I were facing the big move to Brazil and had to decide how much of our possessions to take with us and what we would need to sell.  Globo Internacional, the Brazilian TV channel transmitted in North America, was awash with adverts for removal companies specialising in shipping to and from Brazil.  We had decided not to go with sea freight as we did not have enough furniture to fill a container and had heard horror stories where a shipment has been stuck in customs due to problems with another person’s belongings in a shared container, accruing daily charges.  I contacted several of companies to see what they had to offer and settled on BraBox, being about the only one that offered airfreight only options. 

This made part of the decision for us, but still left a lot to decide: how much to ship?  How much to take on the plane?  Should we pay for extra cases on the flight?  How much should we sell?  I wish I could say there is a magic formula, but there isn’t.  After weeks of deliberating, packing, unpacking, re-packing, loading boxes, we ended up with an extra suitcase each to travel with (luckily flights to Brazil still allow two bags at 32Kg each, so we ended up with three each) and three boxes to ship.  Everything else was either sold on Craiglist, donated to the Salvation Army or given away to some mad woman that lived a few doors from us that seemed to want all of our old and useless stuff.

Preparing the shipment was a long and time-consuming task.  Aside from deciding what to ship, it had to be packed efficiently to maximise the space.  On top of this, a detailed list of contents was required with approximate valuations for insurance purposes.  This was easy enough for things like the computer or bread maker, but became a bit more awkward when it came to clothes, bedding, books etc.  Eventually everything was packed in the boxes, the list sent to BraBox and all we had to do was start packing the suitcases.

Packed and ready to go

I’m sure the eagle-eyed read spotted my mistake: foolishly using the word “only.”  We packed, weighed, unpacked, repacked and repeated ad nauseam until we reached the conclusion that we would need either another box or two more suitcases.  So off we went to Home Depot, bought another box and proceeded to fill it with bags, clothes, books, shoes and a pair of squash racquets that had not been used since well before I moved to the US, so easily more than five years gathering dust.  Maybe I’ll find a squash court in Brazil.  Once that was over, the changes had to be communicated to BraBox (who said it was no problem) which led to countless e-mails back and forth explaining at each point of the shipment to explain the complex concept of 3 + 1 = 4.  (Please take a moment to let this high-level thanks sink in.)

While all this was going on, we were trying to obtain an “Atestado de Residência” a certificate to prove that my wife had lived outside of Brazil for the past 12 months at least.  This allows a Brazilian to bring all their personal belongings into Brazil without having to pay tax, if they have lived abroad for at least a year.  Given that Brazilian taxes can be quite high, this was obviously an important document to have and a requirement to use BraBox’s “Fast Moving” service.  For this, we needed to gather documents in my wife’s name that covered the past 12 months, examples being Comcast bill, phone bill etc.  Bank statements did not count for some reason, nor did such official documents as Visas to live in the US, passport stamps and Employment Authorisation Documents.  A housing lease was acceptable, but needed additional documentation.  As my wife’s US visa was depended on my work visa, and I earned more, it had seemed only natural that I would pay the bills in my name, why not?  Even my wife’s mobile phone was in my name, because the company required credit history to start a phone contract, which I had as I had been paying the rent, car and credit card bills.  But no one will tell you that, until you’ve been to the consulate and they’ve told you to come back with more documents.  Luckily they accepted the insurance certificates for the car and apartment, which named both of us.  So I have some important advice to Brazilians moving abroad, whether or not they expect to return to Brazil: make sure you have something in your name, especially if you are not the primary earner.

Due to the delay in getting documents, we were cutting it very fine and we were told to collect the Atestado de Residência on Monday 7^th Dec, two days before our flight and two days after we had booked collection of our shipment.  Fortunately BraBox were flexible and willing to work with us, we scheduled a collection for the afternoon of the 7^th, giving a morning to make the hour and a half drive to San Francisco, get to as close as the front of the queue as possible, wait through whatever delays may present themselves (it’s a consulate after all.  Help people?  Umm, I’ll get back to you on that one) drive back to San Jose continue packing cases and wait for the collection.  In the end, we only spent about 10 minutes in the consulate (not taking back what I said though!) so we had plenty of time.

He meant well...

The truck was very punctual and was driven by the Filipino Forrest Gump.  He was a very nice and friendly guy, but my god could he talk!  He told us how he used to be an engineer when he first left the Philippines to come to the US, then sent for his childhood sweetheart, married her, brought her to the country and bought a house.  He told us about his sons who are doctors and lawyers, how her sent money to his family after the Typhoon that hit the Philippines and how he competed in a poker tournament in Las Vegas and beat the world champion.  There was a lot more too, but I can’t remember the details, my lunch was rapidly cooling down and he was still talking!  When he gave me the paperwork, it immediately caught my eye that there were only 3 boxes scheduled for collection (remember that high-level maths from a few paragraphs back?)  We corrected the form and not for the first time and certainly not the last, I contacted BraBox to point out that there were four boxes, not three.  Later that day, the driver sent me a picture message to show that he has put the boxes together on a pallet and wrapped them securely in plastic.  Nice guy!

With that lot gone, all we had to do was repack (and maybe repack again) the suitcases, load up the car with Salvation Army donations and clean the apartment.  Oops, I used the work “all” again.  If you’ve ever moved house, you probably already know the horrors, and this was no less horrifying.  By the time we were done, we were ready to drop dead.  Or perhaps load up the car, hand in the keys and go to our hotel at San Francisco Airport.

Click here for the exciting conclusion!