Dejan Bužanin’s return to Serbia after ten years of living and working in America turned into a serious administrative problem when his shipment of personal belongings was held in Belgium for more than a month. While he was already in Belgrade, his personal belongings were far away, and he was asked to provide numerous documents. As the only proof of employment abroad, they accepted a certificate from the consulate in America. In addition to the consulate certificate, the Belgian company requested a pro forma invoice and additional documentation, even though these were the personal belongings of a man returning to his home country after a decade abroad.
“My belongings were held in Belgium for an unreasonably long time, more than a month. I was already in Belgrade, and they refused to release the shipment until I provided them with a certificate from the consulate in America confirming that I had worked there for more than two years. They would not accept any other proof. They also requested a pro forma invoice, as well as a lot of documents that made no sense in that situation,” Dejan Bužanin told RINA.
“I thought I had nothing to lose. I submitted an inquiry with all the details, after which freight forwarders contacted me. Honestly, I chose the one who responded the fastest. Through my correspondence with him, I received information that was completely different from what the Belgian company had been telling me,” Dejan says.
The freight forwarder explained to him that a consulate certificate is indeed one of the documents that can be used to prove employment abroad, but that it is not the only option. If a returning resident does not have such a document, proof can also be an employer’s statement or another appropriate certificate.
“After that, the freight forwarder I had chosen took over communication with the Belgian company and tried to explain to its representatives that the documentation they were insisting on was not the only way to confirm Dejan’s years-long stay and employment in America. The freight forwarder continued communicating with them and somehow managed to explain to them that they were mistaken. After waiting for more than a month, the shipment finally arrived in Serbia, was cleared through customs in a single day and delivered to my address,” Bužanin points out.
His example shows how important choosing the right freight forwarder and obtaining timely professional information can be when citizens face complicated customs procedures, particularly when returning from abroad and bringing personal belongings home.
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Source: RINA; Foto: Pexels