Into Europe
European removals, four routes
Every international move has one thing that genuinely constrains it, and it is rarely the distance. On these four routes it is the packing specification, the document sequence, the arrival, and a single piece of consular paper — one each.
A move abroad begins the way a move across town does: somebody walks the property, measures the volume properly, and decides what each item needs. The route, the vehicle and the customs entry all follow from that inventory.
What differs between the four is not really the driving. It is what has to be true before the vehicle can leave, and what the journey does to the contents once it has.
France
The constraint: the packing spec
The shortest of the four, so the driving is the least of it. What changes against a domestic move is the export packing specification — and it is where a cheap quote usually hides.
Read the route →Spain
The constraint: sequence and heat
The Spanish documents must be obtained in a particular order or the move waits, and summer trailer temperatures matter to a specific list of contents.
Read the route →Italy
The constraint: the arrival
Limited traffic zones and hill towns mean a permit and a transfer plan are often needed before a vehicle is even booked — plus what altitude does to a load.
Read the route →Portugal
The constraint: one document
A consular certificate must exist before the goods travel. It sets the whole timetable, and it is why storage is usually part of the plan.
Read the route →Export packing is a different specification
This is the difference most quotes do not mention. A handling decision that is right for a move across a county is frequently wrong for a multi-day motorway run, because vibration is cumulative and the load may be opened for inspection at a border.
- Heavier cartons and more edge and corner protection
- Moisture protection on upholstery and mattresses, not just dust covers
- Purpose-made cases for framed work and mirrors
- Crating for stone and glass tops
- An inventory specific enough that an opened carton matches the paperwork
If you are weighing two quotes, check whether the other prices export or domestic packing. It is the commonest reason two numbers differ on a European move.
Dedicated vehicle or shared space
Dedicated
Your load, your vehicle, your dates, and the fewest possible handlings. Right for a full household with firm dates at both ends, and right whenever the contents mean handling count is itself a risk.
Shared space, or groupage
Your goods travel with other consignments going the same way and you pay for the space you occupy. It suits smaller loads, second homes being furnished, and dates that can bend. It involves more handlings, and we will point that out rather than selling the cheaper option quietly.
Customs, since Brexit
A household move into the EU is a formal customs movement. It needs a detailed inventory doubling as a packing list, evidence you are transferring your normal residence rather than importing commercially, and the destination country's own relief process.
That last part is where the four genuinely differ — which is why each route page sets out its own sequence rather than repeating a generic paragraph. We prepare what is ours and mark plainly which items only you can obtain, on day one rather than in the final fortnight.
Collecting across Britain
The Kent crossings are the common point, so the first leg of any European move is a domestic run whose length depends entirely on where you are starting. It is priced as the real distance rather than averaged. We collect from 7 broad regions covering mainland Britain — London and the South East, the South West, the Midlands and the Peak District, East Anglia, the North West and North East, Scotland and the Borders, and Wales and the Marches.
Households split across two addresses are common and should be mentioned in the brief so the route is costed from the start. See coverage for how distance is treated.
What to send us
Both addresses, a sense of the volume, rough dates, whether shared space is an option, and how far along you are with any residence paperwork. Start on the quote page; the domestic side is on house removals.
Moving abroad
European move questions
Do you run the vehicles yourselves?
We survey, pack and load. The load travels with a vehicle and crew we have arranged, and on shared space it travels alongside other consignments going the same way. That is what groupage is, and we say it plainly rather than implying a private lorry.
What is the real difference between dedicated and shared?
Cost, dates and handling count. A dedicated vehicle goes when you say, arrives on a known day, and is handled the fewest possible times. Shared space costs less, gives a window rather than a day, and is handled more. For a valuable household that last point matters most.
How does packing change on a European move?
The handling classes set at survey get revised upward. More road hours and a possible border inspection mean cases and crates where a domestic move would use blankets, and an inventory specific enough that an opened carton matches the paperwork.
How long will it take?
That depends on the route, the clearance and, on shared space, when the vehicle fills. The quote gives an expected window. We will not give you a day count we cannot stand behind.
Where in the UK do you collect from?
Anywhere in mainland Britain — London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Bristol, Glasgow and Edinburgh come up most, but the collection point is wherever your household currently is. Two addresses is common and should be mentioned in the brief.
Can the load wait in store first?
Frequently necessary, because sales rarely line up with residence paperwork. Goods are packed, wrapped and inventoried here, and travel once the documents exist.
Next step
Planning a move to Europe?
Send both addresses, rough dates and a sense of the volume. We will come back with the route, the options and what has to be true before the vehicle can leave.