Shipping possessions to UK -- does residence visa matter?

[giblet]

If I wanted to ship several boxes of possessions over, will I be charged an import tax if I do not have a valid residence visa?

My vague plan is to get married and apply for a spousal visa next year. However, I am not currently living in my home country. My idea to ship my stuff to my partner in the UK, get a visit for marriage visa and use it), go to the US to wait for my spousal visa application and then move to the UK.

However, my concern is that without a valid residence visa, I will need to pay import tax on my stuff (which is all used, personal possessions). Does visa matter in this case or can I ship my stuff to my partner without having to worry about that?

[wpilr_nov12]

Have you tried checking with one of the bigger shipping comanies (UPS, DHL), as they handle the paperwork part of international shipment. Unfortunately, IMO you might not get accurate opinions to your particular question in this forum.

[giblet]

Thank you, I will check with some shipping companies.