International removals and moving abroad
Emigrating, moving abroad for work or spending a few months in another country?
If you are only sending a box or a suitcase overseas, it may be worth getting a quote from a parcel service such as UPS or TNT.
International removal companies or international shipping companies will also offer a service for small quantities but might not be as competitive at these volumes.
International removal companies, such as Foxes and Masons, will ship anything from one small box to a 40ft container full of household effects and a car.
Bear in mind that airfreight, while fast, is expensive and priced on weight whereas anything sent by ship is priced on volume.
How long will it take?
European Services
Most international removal companies will run a road service to Europe every week or so. If your belongings will fill a whole lorry (which can take up to a three bed house, four with a trailer), they will load it in the UK and drive straight to your delivery address in Europe, taking only a few days. If your removal is less than a van load it will be sent on one of the scheduled road services (which is also considerably cheaper!). But this method can take up to 5 weeks for the loads to be taken to a central depot and grouped together before being transported.
Locations such as Cyprus, Greece and Malta are served by sea freight and consignments can take up to 7 weeks to arrive.
Worldwide Services
Consignments travelling to the rest of the world can take up to 3 months to reach their destination by ship. Any longer than this, and you should be asking for a discount! Shipments are sent in sea freight metal containers which range from a 'fruit box' (about 800 cubic feet) to a 40ft 'high cube' container (about 2400 cubic feet volume). Some examples of the size of everyday items can be found at the bottom of the page. Container share removals will be loaded at a central depot before going to the port, which all adds to the shipping time.
Some popular desinations:
| Country | Port | Time taken for container share (weeks) |
Time taken for full container load (FCL) (weeks) |
| Australia | Freemantle (Perth) | 5 to 9 |
5 |
| Adelaide | 6 to 9 |
7 to 8 | |
| Brisbane | 7 to 10 |
5 to 6 | |
| New Zealand | Auckland | 8 to 12 |
6 to 7 |
| Canada | Toronto | 4 to 7 |
2 |
| Vancouver | 6 to 9 |
3 | |
| Edmonton | 7 to 11 |
3 to 4 | |
| USA | Los Angeles | 5 to 8 |
4 |
| Miami | 3 to 7 |
2 | |
| New York | 3 to 5 |
2 | |
| South Africa | Cape Town | 5 to 8 |
3 to 4 |
How much will it cost?
One thing to remember is that there are very few set costs in shipping - so haggle! It is not unknown for a rep to actually try for a 100% profit margin on some consignments if they think they can get away with it. The more you send the cheaper per cubic foot it is.
Europe
Europe is surprisingly expensive, especially if you pay for a lorry with only your removal on board. A full lorry to Spain can cost £5000. A part load will be considerably cheaper, but will take much longer to reach its destination. Another downside on part loads is that you cannot usually choose a delivery date - there will be a delivery window and you will be told the date on which the lorry will deliver your belongings. You can send several pieces of furniture to Europe for about £500 - £700.
Most large companies will have regular services to Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland etc. but if you want to go to e.g. Poland, or even Finland, there will be additional costs for either a special trip to be made or for a local company to collect at a convenient site and deliver. If you have a full lorry load, there is also no harm in asking your local removals company if they would drive it straight to somewhere as near as France as it is as easy for them as delivering to say, Glasgow from Brighton. They may well be cheaper than a national company.
See below for estimating the cubic feet of everyday items.
Worldwide
To give an idea of the budget you may need, following are some very approximate prices for shipping. Don't forget to haggle and of course get more than one quote.
| Country | Port | 40ft container |
20ft container |
500 cubic feet |
100 cubic feet |
| Australia | Brisbane | £6500 |
£3500 |
£2300 |
£850 |
| Freemantle (Perth) | £6500 |
£3800 |
£2300 |
£850 | |
| New Zealand | Auckland | £4600 |
£3400 |
£2300 |
£730 |
| Christchurch | £5000 |
£3100 |
£2300 |
£750 | |
| Canada | Vancouver | £6000 |
£3800 |
£2500 |
£1050 |
| Toronto | £4900 |
£3600 |
£2500 |
£920 | |
| USA | Los Angeles | £5900 |
£4300 |
£3200 |
£1150 |
| New York | £5900 |
£4400 |
£2500 |
£1150 | |
| South Africa | Cape Town | £4800 |
£3000 |
£2500 |
£800 |
| Hong Kong | £4400 |
£3200 |
£2500 |
£850 | |
| Greece | Athens | £5200 |
£3800 |
£2300 |
£750 |
| Cyrpus | Limassol | £3800 |
£2800 |
£2300 |
£750 |
Additional costs are common, for example:
- access at collection or delivery may be difficult so a smaller van has to be brought in or hired.
- collection or delivery may have to be made on a floor higher than one storey, with or without a lift, which will require extra men.
- there may be a piano - more than two men will be required.
- parking permits may be required at collection or delivery addresses (customer usually has to arrange these - local council will advise if they are necessary).
- delivery may be made to several hundred miles from the port at the destination country.
Insurance - your international removal company will probably offer you some form of transit insurance - check with your home insurance company to see if your property will still be insured whilst in transit as they will be much cheaper! It is very advisable to make sure items that are breakable or can be damaged (eg. furniture that might be scratched) is insured as damage does sometimes occur. Sometimes the odd box may also go missing, and also mould or mildew damage can occur on items travelling some distance as they are sealed in the metal freight container with any moisture from, eg. a washing machine that has not dried out properly, before travelling through temperature zones for up to three months. Mould and mildew insurance is usually available.
Other additional charges you may have which would not usually be paid for through your removals company are Australian Quarantine Inspections Charges (AQIS) should your shipment be inspected, South African Cargo Dues payable on all shipments to South Africa, and also duties and taxes payable on cars, alcohol etc. taken abroad. For example, Australia and Cyprus can be very expensive for cars - check first with a customs agent or the relevant Consulate. Do not take alcohol into the United Arab Emirates!
What documents will I need to supply?
Make sure your shipping company advise you in advance of all the documents they need for clearing your unaccompanied effects through customs, or they may hold your shipment up while they wait for you to complete them. These are some of the common requirements:
Europe: inventory of effects in the shipment (should be made by the shipping company when they pack your effects - if you are sending self-packed boxes, make an inventory yourself and give a copy to the removal company). Malta and Cyprus also require passport copies.
Switzerland: document 18.44 in German or French depending on the part of Switzerland the goods are going to, copy of your passport, residents visa, work visa, inventory and house deeds or lease.
Norway: social security card number, copy passport, inventory.
New Zealand: copy of your passport and visa, inventory.
Australia: copy of your passport and visa, completed AQIS form, inventory.
Canada, South Africa, Singapore and most other countries: copy passport and inventory.
Hong Kong: copy passport, inventory and customs declaration form.
USA: copy passport, visa, social security number, customs document 3299, supplemental declaration, power of attorny, inventory.
The USA are particularly strict on customs requirements and goods will be impounded at great expense if they do not arrive with the correct paperwork. Most companies will not send shipments without it.
Cubic feet - estimating everyday items
| Item | cubic feet (approx) |
| cardboard box 45cm cubed | 5 |
| 3 seater settee/double wardrobe | 60 |
| living room chair | 20 |
| wardrobe 3' wide | 30 |
| chest of drawers | 15 |
| dining table (medium) | 50 |
| dining chair | 10 |
| bookcase (medium) | 25 |
| TV | 30 |
| video/DVD player | 5 |
| stereo | 10 |
| double bed | 60 |
| cooker/fridge/washing machine | 30 |
| computer | 15 |
| saloon car eg. VW Passat | 600 |
We hope you have found this advice useful. If you would like to get in touch, contact us on info@gettingoutofhere.net. For any problems with the website email contact@allthezs.co.uk.
Links
Expats Abroad - the expats network where expatriots living, working or studying abroad can keep in touch.
Other Countries - practical advice on living abroad from expats, with Spain and France in more detail.