European removals
Removals from Ilford to Europe
Four destinations by road, out via the A406 and the M25. The driving is the predictable half — what decides a European move is whether the paperwork was built properly and filed before the vehicle left.
Four documents to obtain
- The tax or identification reference the destination files the import against
- Proof of your address at the other end
- Evidence you are transferring residence rather than importing goods to sell
- Identification, and any residence paperwork you already hold
We tell you exactly what each looks like, and chase them until all four are in.
Everything else
- The inventory, written at the visit, describing contents rather than counting cartons
- The customs declaration, built from that inventory and lodged before the vehicle travels
- Chasing whatever is outstanding until all of it is in
- The route, the crossing and the access at the far end
What we will not do is quote a clearance time. That belongs to the authorities at the far end.
The four routes
Ilford to France
A406 → M25 → M20 → the tunnel
The shortest crossing and the widest spread beyond it — Nord is barely past the terminal, Provence most of a country further on.
Read the route →Ilford to Spain
Through France, in at Irun or Le Perthus
Which border depends on the destination: western for Madrid and the interior, eastern for Catalonia and the coast.
Read the route →Ilford to Italy
Alpine tunnels, or the Ligurian coast
Two ways over the mountains, then a second question at the far end about whether a vehicle may reach the address.
Read the route →Ilford to Portugal
The length of France, across northern Spain
The longest road route we run, and the one that most rewards starting the paperwork earlier than feels necessary.
Read the route →Leaving from Ilford
A European move from IG1 starts like any other Ilford move: the hall, the stair turn, the permit street. The international part begins once the vehicle is on the A406.
Collections elsewhere in the UK are normal too. Once the load is heading for the tunnel, the journey is the same wherever it began.
- London collections, delivered to France, Spain, Italy or Portugal
- 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 roads with the paperwork pointing the other direction, and they are how shared vehicles stay affordable — so flexible timing is worth mentioning early.
What we will not claim
That we cover the 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 — four we run regularly and whose paperwork we know, rather than twenty we would learn on your move.
Does the move have to start in Ilford?
Usually, because that is where our work is, but the vehicle can collect anywhere in the UK. Past the Channel the journey is identical wherever it began.
What changed after Brexit?
Moving household goods into the EU is now a customs movement: 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.
Will I pay duty on my own furniture?
Transfer-of-residence relief exists so that people moving home do not. It has conditions and has to be claimed properly on the declaration — our side of it.
Dedicated vehicle or shared load?
A whole house usually wants its own. A flat or a second home is often better sharing: less cost, less flexibility on dates. We quote both.
How long does it take?
It depends on route, on dedicated against shared scheduling, and on clearance at the far end. Your written quote sets out an expected window rather than a reassuring figure.
What cannot travel?
Anything flammable or pressurised, most plants, perishable food, and whatever the destination restricts. Fuel drained from garden machinery.
What if the place abroad is not ready?
Common and fixable. Storage here bridges the gap and the load travels when your date is genuinely firm.
Moving abroad from Ilford?
Send both addresses and a rough idea of what is coming. We will come back about a visit and the paperwork.