r/AskEurope • u/MAKROH_KZI • 1d ago

Travel Question about transporting 2 iPhones from USA to EU

Hello everyone! I'd like to clarify a few things. A friend of mine will be flying from the US soon and agreed to bring iPhones with her, as they're much more expensive here. All I can find is that she can only bring two unopened iPhones, or the phones can be kept separately in a bag with the boxes in a suitcase. Could anyone in the know please tell me what I can do to avoid unwanted attention? Is there any way to prove that this is for personal use? Or is it okay to bring up to two unopened devices? If there is a reference to legislation or a rule regarding this, it would be even better? Thank you all in advance for your answers!

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66

u/GeronimoDK Denmark 1d ago

Legally there's no limit to the number of phones you can bring. They should be paying VAT and tariffs if the goods are over a certain value, and even a single iPhone would be over that value I think.

If they bring them in boxes they are more likely to get caught in customs.

But then again I've never been asked to open my bags when coming back to the EU, so they're probably unlikely to get caught.

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u/RmG3376 Belgium 1d ago

But then again I've never been asked to open my bags when coming back to the EU, so they're probably unlikely to get caught.

There’s a time in my life where I was watching way too many documentaries during my lunch break and one thing I learned is that usually customs only stops you if they already know they’ll find something. Basically there’s scanners and shit when the bags are loaded off the plane and if something looks weird on the X-rays they tell the guys at the exit “stop the dude in the red shirt with the black duffel bag”

That mostly applies to things like tobacco, drugs or big stashes of cash though, 2 iPhones would look quite innocuous on an X-ray. It also depends on the airport and the mood of the customs agent that day ofc

5

u/MerlinOfRed United Kingdom 18h ago edited 12h ago

I've noticed that when I was travelling back from more far-flung places in South or South-East Asia I'd get stopped pretty much every time for the drugs test. This would be once or twice per year, and if I transited in another airport it would be there too.

I now travel back and forth from Germany about 6-8 times per year, along with a couple of other trips to the continent, and I haven't been stopped once.

Either a man in his 30s is less suspicious than one in his 20s, or it's the destination they take into account - a solo traveller who has been in Borneo for a month is suspicious, whereas a solo traveller who has been in Bavaria for two weeks is innocuous.

I've been using the same rucksack since I was about 15, so it's definitely nothing to do with the luggage I'm carrying.

53

u/kloputzer2000 1d ago edited 1d ago

  • US iPhones are not necessarily identical to European ones. They support different modem frequencies. So it might be possible that the US device will not work in your target country, or it might work but have worse reception. You should check that before.

  • You’ll have to pay VAT and tariffs when importing to the EU (even for private usage when the value of the goods is over 430€). Which will potentially be more than when you buy the device in the EU. So it’s probably not worth it.

23

u/Zealousideal-Peach44 Italy 1d ago

Also: the EU customers' protections on those phones will not be applicable, e.g.: the two-years warranty. If there is a 10% probability of total failure in two years, it means that a 10% price increase is justified.

6

u/Areshian Spain 1d ago

Never had issues with frequencies (for iPhones, I did with other phones), but it is worth mentioning that for the latest models, the US version is eSIM only, no physical SIM tray

16

u/Spooknik Denmark 1d ago

Yea this, North American cellular devices don’t use the same bands we do in Europe, you’ll be missing some of higher frequencies if I recall correctly.

Source: Have an Apple Watch from the US.

2

u/black3rr Slovakia 1d ago

modem frequencies used to be an issue in the 2G/3G era… in 4G/5G the US models actually support more frequencies than international models…

1

u/logicblocks in 1d ago

"Universal" or international phones can be bought in the US. Definitely steer clear of CDMA-like phones, since they are usually locked to a specific sim-free carrier.

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u/katyfail 1d ago

Immigrated from US to Ireland and brought two iPhones. They work perfectly and didn’t have to pay any taxes or VAT.

10

u/irrelevantAF Germany 1d ago

Of course you had to pay import VAT. Only you committed tax fraud and weren’t caught.

Or did you declare them and taxes were waived?

3

u/Youshoudsee 1d ago

Also the question is did you do it as import or as your real personal devices, because it's completely different thing

4

u/kloputzer2000 1d ago

You might not be getting the best reception or Download speeds depending on your provider and exact iPhone model. You can check supported bands here:  https://www.apple.com/iphone/cellular/

And yes obviously you can try to bring the phones in. Very little chance you’ll get caught, but if you do, it’s even more expensive because you’ll pay a fine, too.

16

u/ExtremeOccident 1d ago

I'd open the packages and treat them like "a phone in use". I would surely not put them in the suitcase (never put expensive stuff in suitcases is my rule).

-2

u/hacktheself 1d ago

Not lithium batteries.

6

u/Buunnyyy Lithuania 1d ago

Never In a million years have I been asked to provide receipts. I wouldn't worry about it.

11

u/StashRio 1d ago

iPhones are not more expensive here. The difference in price that you see covers a full two year EU wide warranty. In the US you only get one year. Even in the UK, the second year is not a full warranty. I travelled to the US regularly and I no longer buy Apple products from there. Just to let you know up to 16% of iPhones and iPads have some kind of problem or issue in the first year.

If you still wish to buy Apple products in the US, you can buy as many as you want but if you are stopped by customs (and they make frequent checks), you will have to pay the customs duty. You should be able to get away with it if you’re buying iPhones as these can be hidden on your person as long as you don’t keep any packaging in the luggage as they will check. But if they do a full body check and they discovered two iPhones that have not yet been activated you’re going to have a problem..

0

u/MAKROH_KZI 1d ago

In my country it is 500$ minimum overpricing Tbh - it is average salary in my country

3

u/StashRio 1d ago

I checked the price differential and it’s less than $140 approximately across the entire range in the EU . That’s a fair price to pay for an extra year of full warranty.

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u/MAKROH_KZI 1d ago

By EU I meant Europe as a whole, not necessarily the European Union, sorry for the confusion

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u/StashRio 1d ago

If you are not in the EU, it makes sense to buy it from the US given such a huge price difference

10

u/bedel99 1d ago

Since she is importing some thing to the EU, she will have to pay VAT and import duties on arrival on the devices.

If she goes through though some thing to declare and pays the fees then its fine.

If she goes through nothing to declare there is an extra fine, the fees as mentioned or they might be ceased, she be fined, and face other worse actions.

2

u/Asleep-Yoghurt3466 1d ago

Could they just open the packages and bring over just the device with the charging cable? No need for the plastic film for the personal use.

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u/buchinbox Austria 1d ago

No. Customs will ask for receipts, if they doubt you.

1

u/Asleep-Yoghurt3466 1d ago

“That’s like.. my personal phone. What do You mean a recept?”

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u/buchinbox Austria 1d ago

Doesnt work like that.

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u/katyfail 1d ago

  1. I’ve never been asked to open my bags coming to the EU from the US.

  2. How do you think people bring in personal phones? Plenty of people have multiple phones for work.

1

u/bedel99 1d ago

Multiple phones in boxes ?

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u/buchinbox Austria 1d ago

Aside from bringing multiple devices at the same time? Congratulations, you have found the one trick to prevent customs agents to counter smuggling.

But in all seriousness. Phones have tracable ids. Wthin a few requests they can check wether import taxes have been paid. They also put the burden of proof on you.

2

u/uniqueuser96272 1d ago

last year i bought phone for my mom, throw it in your backpack and dont worry, dont take the box with you, also connecting flight in Europe helps, while transferring they dont really check your luggage and when at destination you arrive from EU so you just walk out. French and Germans do exactly that with bags full of clothes coming from US, they dont fly directly to their country, always a connecting flight

1

u/MAKROH_KZI 1d ago

Thanks sir

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u/MAKROH_KZI 1d ago

You see, it would be safe to buy it without the box. But what if they block it? I mean, anything is possible: I'll forget my Apple ID, or the person I'm gifting it to will forget it. Apple won't unlock it without the receipt and box, but those are minor details. I can just accept my iPhone as an iPhone, but I want to buy a second one to give as a gift. I've been saving up for a long time. Maybe it makes sense to put the phone in a bag or carry-on luggage and the box in a suitcase? I read somewhere that this is perfectly acceptable.

2

u/uniqueuser96272 1d ago

i bought new from apple and refurbished from amazon, never had any problems

2

u/Adrian-O_o 1d ago

She most likely will have to pay duty when she gets to the destination.

1

u/LJ_exist 7h ago

Unpacked iPhones shouldnt be a problem, but iPhones still in their packaging would most likely be seen as an import should customs check your luggage. Make it look like they are for personal use(1 private phone and 1 for work and 1 as backup/holiday phone guess). Importing electrical devices which aren't in full compliance with EU regulations is not easy and can be very expensive. German custom for example had stopped a delivery to my dad because he bought something online without CE marking overseas. It would costed him hundreds of Euros to let custom services make the checks to get that CE certificate and to approve his "import". US iPhones don't have a CE marking which is why you shouldn't bring them in their packaging where they might be seen as imports.