European removals
Removals from London to Europe
Four destinations by road, out through the Channel. The driving is the straightforward half — what decides a European move is whether the paperwork was built properly and filed before the vehicle left.
The four routes
London to France
M25 → M20 → Eurotunnel or Dover
The shortest crossing from London and the longest range of destinations beyond it — the Pas-de-Calais is barely past the terminal, Provence is most of a country away.
Read the route →London to Spain
Through France, in at Irun or Le Perthus
Which border the vehicle uses depends on the destination — Irun for Madrid and the west, Le Perthus for Catalonia and the Mediterranean coast.
Read the route →London to Italy
Alpine tunnels, or the Ligurian coast
Two ways over the mountains, and a second question at the far end: whether a removals vehicle is permitted anywhere near a historic-centre address.
Read the route →London to Portugal
The length of France, across northern Spain
The longest road route we run. It is the one that most rewards starting the paperwork early, because a long journey absorbs a late document badly.
Read the route →How a European move is built
What we will not do is quote you a clearance time. That decision belongs to the authorities at the far end, and a firm giving you a fixed figure for it is guessing.
- 01
Survey and inventory
The inventory written at survey is not just a packing list — it is the document the customs declaration is built from. That is why it describes contents rather than counting cartons.
- 02
Your documentation
A tax or identification reference for the destination, proof of your address there, evidence you are transferring residence rather than importing goods to sell, and identification. We tell you exactly what each looks like and chase what is missing.
- 03
Declaration lodged
Compiled from the inventory and filed before the vehicle travels. The load and the paperwork have to describe the same thing, which is the whole argument for building one from the other.
- 04
Load, cross, deliver
Out of London on the orbital, down to the Channel, then the destination motorways. Delivered into the rooms at the far end by the crew who loaded it, not by an agent you have never spoken to.
Leaving from London
Most of our European work departs the capital, and a London departure has its own first hour: the permit, the lift booking, the loading window, the crawl out to the orbital. All of that is planned like any other London move — the European part starts once the vehicle is on the M20.
Collections elsewhere in the UK are perfectly normal too. Once the load is heading for the Channel, the journey is identical wherever it began.
- Manchester collections, delivered to France, Spain, Italy or Portugal
- Birmingham collections, delivered to France, Spain, Italy or Portugal
- Leeds collections, delivered to France, Spain, Italy or Portugal
- Glasgow collections, delivered to France, Spain, Italy or Portugal
- Edinburgh collections, delivered to France, Spain, Italy or Portugal
- Bristol collections, delivered to France, Spain, Italy or Portugal
Moving back the other way
Return moves run the same road with the paperwork pointing the other direction. They are also how shared vehicles stay affordable, so if your timing has any flexibility in it, that is worth telling us early.
What we will not claim
That we cover the whole world. Four countries by road, done properly, is a more useful thing to be than a list of fifty destinations serviced through agents we have never met.
European removals — the questions worth asking
Which countries do you move to?
France, Spain, Italy and Portugal. Those four are what we run regularly and whose paperwork we know. We would rather be straight about the limit than list twenty countries and learn one of them on your move.
Do you collect from outside London?
Yes — this site is London-led because most of our European work departs the capital, but the vehicle can collect anywhere in the UK. Once it is heading for the Channel the rest of the journey is the same wherever it started.
What changed after Brexit?
Moving household goods into the EU is now a customs movement. It needs a detailed inventory, a declaration, evidence you are transferring residence rather than importing to sell, and proof you have owned the items long enough to qualify for relief. None of it is difficult; all of it has to be right before the vehicle travels.
Will I pay duty on my own furniture?
Transfer-of-residence relief exists so that people moving home do not pay duty on their own used household goods. It has conditions, and it has to be claimed properly on the declaration. That part is ours.
Dedicated vehicle or shared load?
A whole house usually wants its own vehicle. A flat, a second home or a part-furnished property is often better sharing the route — less cost, less flexibility on dates. We quote both so the trade-off is visible rather than decided for you.
How long does it take?
It depends on the route, on dedicated versus shared scheduling, and on how clearance runs at the far end. Your written quote sets out an expected window for your move rather than a figure chosen because it sounds reassuring.
What cannot travel?
Anything flammable or pressurised, most plants, perishable food, and whatever the destination restricts. Fuel has to be drained from garden machinery, and alcohol in quantity attracts duty — a few bottles in a box is not the concern, a cellar is.
Moving abroad from London?
Send both addresses and a rough inventory. We will come back about a survey and set out exactly what the paperwork needs.