Into Europe
A move abroad is an ordinary removal with a customs file attached. Starting in the middle of England adds a first leg we plan around rather than pretend away — and changes nothing at all about the file.
We are not on the coast and we will not imply otherwise. A load leaving a Leicestershire address runs down the M1, round the eastern side of London, and out through Kent on the M20 or M2 to the tunnel terminal at Folkestone or the port at Dover.
What that means practically is that the M25 decides the morning, so a European load is usually packed and loaded the day before it travels. It is an extra step, not an obstacle, and it is priced as what it is.
The shortest of the four and the most common. Work postings, long-planned houses in the south-west, and families leaving the commute behind.
Île-de-France · Normandy · Brittany · the Loire · Nouvelle-Aquitaine · Provence
The route and the paperwork →The busiest British destination in Europe, and the one where the paperwork rather than the distance sets the date.
Madrid · Catalonia · Valencia · Costa Blanca · Andalucía · the Balearics
The route and the paperwork →Fewer moves, more moving parts — Alpine tunnels or the coast road, and restricted zones at the far end.
Lombardy · Piedmont · the Lakes · Tuscany · Umbria · Lazio
The route and the paperwork →The longest drive of the four, where the discipline is loading once and loading correctly.
Lisbon · Cascais · Porto · the Silver Coast · the Algarve
The route and the paperwork →An inventory, itemised and valued line by line — "box of kitchen" is not one. Transit paperwork, raised before the vehicle leaves. And evidence of transfer of residence, which is what allows used household effects to enter without import duty.
We prepare and lodge the export side. The parts only you can obtain — the residency application, the address proof at the far end — have the longest lead times, so those are the ones to start first.
The distinction that governs duty. Transfer-of-residence relief applies where the destination becomes your primary home. If you stay UK-resident and are furnishing a property abroad, the goods are a conventional import assessed on declared value.
Plenty of people do not know which they are on the first call. That is fine — it simply has to be settled before the inventory is valued.
Households leaving the country are rarely all in one place. London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Bristol are ordinary collection points, consolidated with the Leicestershire load before the vehicle heads south. Arrange them early rather than once the vehicle is loaded.
A dedicated vehicle carries your household alone and leaves when you are ready. A shared load consolidates with other households going the same way — cheaper, with a delivery window rather than a date. Neither comes with a day count from us; your quote gives the expected window for your route and what would shift it.
Common on every route. The UK house completes before the destination is habitable, so the household waits in store here and exports when you say — simpler than arranging storage in a country whose systems you are still learning.
Worth knowing
It adds a first leg — the M1 south, round London and out through Kent — which we plan around rather than pretend away. It changes nothing about the customs file, and the file is what sets the date.
An itemised, valued inventory; transit paperwork raised before departure; and evidence of transfer of residence, which is what allows used household effects to enter without import duty. We prepare and lodge the export side.
Then the relief does not apply and the goods are a conventional import assessed on declared value. It needs settling before the inventory is valued, because the declaration carries your name.
Dedicated carries your household alone and leaves when you are ready. Shared consolidates with other households on the same route and costs less, with a delivery window rather than a fixed date.
Yes — a storage unit, a relative's house, a flat someone has been using. London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Bristol are ordinary collection points, consolidated with the Leicestershire load before the crossing.
Very common. The UK sale completes before the destination is habitable, so the household sits in store here and exports when you say.
The documents have the longest lead time on any European move. Tell us the country and roughly when, and we will tell you what to start today.