International removals
Removals from London to France, Italy, Spain and Portugal
We move households from London to four countries: France, Italy, Spain and Portugal. Those four are the only destinations we serve. We pack in London, lodge the UK export paperwork, clear your goods into the EU once, and deliver to the door, either on a vehicle of your own or on a shared load.
Where do we deliver from London?
Each destination gets its own page, because the moves are not alike. Removals from London to France tend to be about getting a sofa into an old Paris stairwell. Moving from London to Italy is often about choosing between a city apartment and a farmhouse. A London to Spain move is frequently arranged by an employer, and a move from London to Portugal is decided by the street outside the building as much as by the building itself. Pick your country for the detail.
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London to France removals
Mostly Paris flats in buildings with a gardien and a lift the size of a phone box, plus second homes in Brittany and the Dordogne.
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London to Italy removals
Two different jobs: a work move into a Milan condominio, or a retirement move to a farmhouse in Puglia or a hill town in Le Marche.
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London to Spain removals
Company relocations to Madrid and Barcelona apartments, where the padrón and the building administrator matter as much as the lorry.
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London to Portugal removals
Lisbon and Porto, where the older buildings rarely have lifts and the streets are paved in polished limestone cobbles.
Full load or shared load: which suits your move?
The choice comes down to how much you are taking and how fixed your dates are. A full load means the vehicle carries your belongings and nothing else. It is collected on the day you agree, it drives directly, and it arrives on the day you agree. A shared load, sometimes called a part load or groupage, puts your consignment on a vehicle with other households heading the same way. You pay for the space you use, which suits a one-bedroom flat, a few rooms of furniture or a second home being furnished. The trade-off is flexibility: the vehicle sets off once the route is filled and drops more than one household along the way, so you get a window rather than a fixed date. Neither option changes the care at either end. The same inventory, the same wrapping and the same customs paperwork apply.
| Full load | Shared load | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | A whole house or a large flat | A smaller flat, part of a home, a second home |
| Dates | Collection and delivery on agreed days | Delivery inside a stated window |
| Vehicle | Yours alone, driven directly | Shared, with several drops on the route |
| Cost basis | The whole vehicle | The space your goods take up |
How does customs work when you move abroad from the UK?
Since the UK left the EU, household goods cross a customs frontier, but they only clear it once. When the vehicle leaves Great Britain an export declaration is lodged against your itemised inventory. When it enters the EU the goods are declared for import, either at the point of entry or under a transit document that carries them to a customs office in the destination country. After that there are no further customs checks: the roads from France into Spain, from Spain into Portugal and from France into Italy cross internal EU borders, so a load bound for Lisbon is not stopped again on the way. What makes the import free of duty and VAT is transfer-of-residence relief, which covers personal belongings you have owned and used for a qualifying period before the move, provided you are setting up your normal home in that country.
- At the survey. We list what is going and flag anything restricted.
- At packing. Every box is numbered and described on the inventory customs will read.
- Leaving the UK. We lodge the export declaration before the vehicle reaches the port.
- Entering the EU. Your relief claim goes in with the inventory, a copy of your passport and proof of your new residence.
- At the door. Unloading, placing furniture room by room and rebuilding what we took apart.
Can you collect from outside London?
Yes. London is where our office and most of our collections are, but a move abroad often has more than one starting point. We collect from Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Bristol as well as from every London borough, and we can combine addresses. A common example is a flat in London plus furniture held at a parent's house in Leeds or Bristol. Removals from Manchester to Spain, or from Edinburgh or Glasgow to France, are planned in exactly the same way as a London move: the same survey, the same inventory and one point of contact. If your belongings are in Birmingham and you are flying out from Heathrow, that is no problem either. The paperwork follows the goods, not you.
Ready to plan yours? Request a written quote and tell us both addresses. If you would like to talk it through first, the contact page has our Marylebone office details.
FAQ
Moving abroad from London: questions we hear most
Which countries do you deliver to from London?
France, Italy, Spain and Portugal, and nowhere else. We would rather be good at four routes than vague about many. If you are moving to a different country we will tell you straight away that we cannot help, instead of quoting and subcontracting the job to someone you have never met. Inside the four countries we cover the mainland, from city apartments to rural addresses at the end of a long track.
Do I pay import duty or VAT on my furniture?
Usually not, if you are moving your main home. Transfer-of-residence relief lets personal belongings you have owned and used for a qualifying period enter the EU free of duty and VAT, provided you are genuinely making the destination your normal residence and the goods are for your own use. New items still in their packaging, goods for resale and anything brought in for a business do not qualify. We go through the conditions with you before anything is packed.
Is a shared load slower than a full load?
It is less predictable rather than slower in a fixed way. A shared load leaves when there is enough space booked on the route, and the vehicle makes more than one delivery, so your collection and delivery dates sit inside a window instead of on a single fixed day. A full load runs straight from your door to the new address. Your written quote states the delivery window that applies, so you can plan around it.
Can you store my things in London before the move abroad?
Yes. Many London moves abroad start with a sale completing before the new home is ready, or a job start date that comes before a lease. We can collect, keep your belongings in storage in London and send them on once the address at the other end is confirmed. The customs inventory is prepared when the goods go into store, so nothing needs repacking later.
What can I not put on the lorry?
Anything flammable or pressurised, such as paint, gas bottles, aerosols in bulk and fuel left in garden machinery. Plants and soil, food other than a small amount of sealed dry goods, and firearms all have their own rules. Valuables like jewellery, passports and important documents should travel with you. We give you a full list at the survey and check items against it when we pack.
Get started
Tell us where you are heading
France, Italy, Spain or Portugal. Send both addresses and a rough idea of what is going, and we will reply with a written quote and the paperwork you will need.