Moving to Europe, without the dread.
Moving abroad is the version of this job with the most unknowns attached, which is exactly why it benefits most from somebody explaining it properly before you commit to anything.
Removals to France
The closest, and the one most people find least daunting — a short crossing and a country that is easy to visit again while you settle in.
What to expect →Removals to Spain
The most travelled route of the four, with the most established procedures waiting at the other end.
What to expect →Removals to Italy
Over the Alps, and the one with the most rules at the destination — worth starting earlier than you think you need to.
What to expect →Removals to Portugal
The furthest, through France and the length of Spain. Increasingly a working move rather than a retirement one.
What to expect →What to sort before you think about furniture
This is the advice nobody gives early enough. The thing that delays an international move is almost never the transport — it is a document.
Every destination wants some form of identification or tax number before it will release your belongings: an NIE in Spain, a NIF in Portugal, a codice fiscale in Italy, and evidence of residence in France. Those take time and they are your side of the job. Start them before you start sorting the loft.
Then think about what genuinely deserves the space on the vehicle. A move abroad is the one time it is worth being ruthless — and worth knowing that kitchens, wardrobes and plug sockets are all different sizes over there.
How the move itself works
Most household moves travel as groupage — sharing a lorry with other consignments going the same way, because almost nobody fills one alone. A dedicated vehicle makes sense for larger volumes, immovable dates, or where the destination needs a particular size of van to get near the door.
We will tell you which yours suits rather than defaulting to the bigger one.
Packing changes
Export packing is a heavier standard than an ordinary move. Goods crossing water are handled more times, sit longer in a vehicle and meet humidity changes, so cartons are double-wall, corners are boarded, soft furnishings get moisture protection, and anything polished is wrapped rather than blanketed.
It costs more in materials and time, and it is the difference between furniture arriving and furniture arriving intact.
The inventory
It matters more than anything else on the paperwork. "Household effects, various" is not an inventory, and a vague one is what leaves your belongings waiting at a border while somebody answers a query.
We will spend an extra hour on it with you. That hour is considerably cheaper than the alternative.
Staying in the UK after all? Long-distance removals covers cross-country moves.
Moving abroad — questions
Which countries do you move to?
France, Spain, Italy and Portugal. Four, and that is the complete list rather than a selection from it. A firm advertising twenty countries is usually listing its subcontractors — which is a perfectly normal arrangement, but it ought to be disclosed rather than discovered when something goes wrong.
Where can you collect from?
Anywhere in the UK. European loads consolidate before they cross, so collections happen across the country on the way to a crossing. If your things are split between two addresses — which is common when people have already started moving — say so and we will plan the pickups together.
What is groupage, in plain terms?
Your belongings share a lorry with other people's, all heading the same way. Almost nobody has enough furniture to fill one alone, so this is how most household moves travel. The trade-off is that the load goes when the vehicle is ready rather than the hour you finish packing.
How long will it take?
That depends on the route, the crossing, when the vehicle fills, and customs at the far end — so we give you an estimated window with your written quote rather than a number here. Any firm quoting you a precise number of days on a web page is guessing at one of those four things.
What is the paperwork, really?
A UK export declaration, an import entry at the destination, and a detailed inventory. If you are moving your home rather than furnishing a holiday place, there is relief available, but it must be applied for with evidence. We prepare it with you — the part we need from you is honesty about what is in the boxes.
What cannot come?
Fuel, gas bottles, aerosols, paint, solvents and anything flammable, plus restrictions on certain foods and plants entering the EU. We send the list before you start packing, which is much easier than unpacking a box at a border.
Thinking about a move abroad?
Tell us the country and town, roughly what is coming, and when you are hoping to go. We will explain how it would work before anyone talks about money.