Customs and paperwork for moving household goods to Europe

Before 2021 a UK-to-EU household move was an internal EU movement: load, drive, unload. It is now an export from Great Britain and an import into the destination country, which means a declaration on both sides and a document trail for the goods themselves.

The good news is that used household effects moving with you to a new primary residence are almost always duty and VAT free under transfer-of-residence relief. The bad news is that the relief has to be claimed correctly and in advance. A load that arrives without the right paperwork is not usually seized — it is delayed, and the delay is charged to you in storage and driver time.

The inventory is a numbered list of every carton and item on the vehicle with a replacement value against each line. Customs use it to assess relief, insurers use it to settle claims, and you use it to check nothing is missing at the far end. It is also the document most people are asked to produce themselves — and produce badly.

We prepare it as part of the job, from the packing labels our crews apply as they load. That means the numbers on your inventory match the numbers on the cartons, which is what an officer at Calais or Irún checks first.

• Numbered cartons matched to labelled contents by room
• Replacement value per line, not a lump-sum total
• High-value items listed individually with photographs
• Two signed copies: one travels, one stays with you

France: Personal effects moving to a French primary residence are duty-free with a signed inventory, proof of the address and a certificate of change of residence. We prepare the inventory as part of the job.

Spain: Household goods entering Spain need a NIE number, padrón or property paperwork and a valued inventory. Vehicles and wine collections are treated separately — tell us early so we quote them properly.

Germany: EU-standard household removal: inventory, proof of the German address and Anmeldung once you arrive. Low-emission Umweltplakette stickers are already fitted to our vehicles.

Portugal: Bagagem de uso pessoal is duty-free with an NIF, a certificate of residence and an inventory stamped by the Portuguese consulate — apply for this before the move, not after.

Ireland: Post-Brexit, GB-to-Ireland moves need a customs declaration and a transfer-of-residence claim even though the goods are used. We file it; you sign it.

Switzerland sits outside the EU customs union, so a Swiss move is cleared twice: out of GB, and into Switzerland on Form 18.44 with your residence permit and inventory. Goods you have owned for more than six months and are keeping are duty free. The load is sealed at the border, which means we cannot open the lorry between clearance and delivery — a good reason to keep your first-night bag in the car rather than the van.

The same discipline applies anywhere outside the union. Plan for the clearance appointment as a fixed point in the schedule, not a formality to squeeze in.

The first is applying for the tax number after the move. NIE in Spain, NIF in Portugal, codice fiscale in Italy — these take days to weeks and the relief claim needs them. Start the application the moment you have a signed lease or completion date.

The second is a mismatch between the inventory and the load. An extra bicycle added on the morning of the move, or a box of wine that was not declared, turns a routine crossing into an inspection. Tell us about late additions before we load; adding a line to the inventory takes a minute, an inspection takes a day.