Container shipping, customs paperwork, FIDI-network partners and the practical reality of moving a household overseas from East Sussex.
International removals from Sussex are one of our specialist categories. We handle around 100–150 overseas moves a year through our international removals service, covering everything from small baggage shipments to full 40-foot container moves. The destinations span Europe, North America, Australia, New Zealand, and increasingly the Middle East and Southeast Asia. This guide is for customers planning their first international move.
The fundamental principle: international removals are 30% logistics and 70% paperwork. The lorry-to-port-to-ship-to-destination chain is well-established. What varies and demands attention is the customs paperwork, the destination country’s import regulations, the timing windows, and the practical reality of arriving in a new country with a household’s contents arriving at a different time. The detail below walks through the categories.
International moves divide into three shipping methods. Full container load (FCL) — a 20-foot or 40-foot container exclusively for one household. The container is loaded at our Lower Dicker depot, sealed with the customer’s seal, and shipped via established lines to the destination port. Best for moves over 35 cubic metres (roughly a 3-bed house).
Groupage (LCL — less than container load) — the customer’s contents share a container with other households heading to the same destination region. Cheaper than a full container but slower (the container waits to fill), and the shipping schedule is less flexible. Best for moves of 10–35 cubic metres.
Baggage shipping — small consignments under 10 cubic metres, typically a few cartons and a couple of pieces of furniture. Sea-freight is the cost-effective option; air-freight is faster but significantly more expensive. Best for student moves, baggage shipments, and small downsizing transitions.
Every country has its own import regulations for household goods. The paperwork categories: inventory list (every item in the shipment, in the importing country’s language where required), customs declaration (the destination country’s specific form), proof of residence (the customer’s entitlement to import household goods, varies by destination), biosecurity certifications (Australia, New Zealand and increasingly other countries inspect wooden items for pest contamination).
For European destinations, the paperwork has simplified post-Brexit but still requires more attention than pre-2020 EU moves. UK contents entering EU countries need a T1 transit document for the journey across other EU countries and a customs declaration at the destination. We handle the paperwork through FIDI-network partners; the customer’s job is to provide the supporting documents promptly.
For non-EU destinations (Australia, New Zealand, US, Canada, Middle East, Asia), the destination country’s requirements set the standard. Some (Australia, NZ) are particularly strict on biosecurity; wooden items need fumigation certificates. Others (US, Canada) focus on duty calculations; the inventory’s declared values matter. We’ll walk through the specific paperwork at survey based on the destination.
European destinations: typical door-to-door time is 2–4 weeks. UK pack and load (1–2 days), customs processing (3–5 days), road transport across Europe (3–7 days), destination customs (2–5 days), destination unload (1 day).
Transatlantic destinations (US, Canada): 4–8 weeks. UK pack and load (1–2 days), customs processing (5–7 days), sea shipping (10–21 days depending on the route), destination port handling (5–10 days), destination unload (1–2 days).
Pacific destinations (Australia, NZ): 6–12 weeks. The sea shipping alone is 4–6 weeks one-way; combined with paperwork at both ends and the customs inspection processes, the total typically lands at 8–10 weeks for well-planned moves. For customers planning to be in the destination country before their contents arrive, this timing matters — serviced accommodation or a furnished rental bridges the gap.
Costs vary substantially by destination, shipping method, and inventory size. Ballpark figures for 2026: UK to Spain or France (FCL 40-foot) — £6,000–£9,000. UK to Australia or New Zealand (FCL 40-foot) — £10,000–£14,000. UK to US or Canada (FCL 40-foot) — £8,000–£12,000. UK to Middle East (FCL 40-foot) — £7,000–£11,000.
Groupage rates are roughly 60–70% of equivalent full-container rates per cubic metre but with longer transit times. Baggage shipping rates are higher per cubic metre but the total cost is lower for small consignments.
The wider cost-of-moving guide covers UK-domestic pricing; international is meaningfully different in structure. The fixed costs (paperwork, customs handling, biosecurity certificates) are roughly constant regardless of shipment size; the variable costs scale with cubic metres. This is why small international moves can feel disproportionately expensive per cubic metre.
FIDI (the International Federation of International Movers) is the global trade body for international removals. Member firms operate to defined standards, undergo regular audits, and offer cross-border partnership arrangements. We’re a FIDI-network member through our international division; this gives our customers access to FIDI-member partners at every major destination.
The practical benefit: the customer deals with us at the UK end. We coordinate with the FIDI-member partner at the destination end. The partner handles local customs, local delivery, and any in-country issues. The customer doesn’t need to manage a foreign-language conversation with an unfamiliar firm.
For genuinely remote destinations (small islands, restricted-access countries) the FIDI network doesn’t always have member firms; we then arrange via the next-best agency network. This is the minority of moves but worth flagging at survey if your destination is unusual.
The first weeks in a new country are when the planning either works or doesn’t. The standard pattern: customer arrives at the destination 2–6 weeks before the contents arrive, stays in serviced accommodation or a furnished rental during the gap, sets up local utilities and bank accounts, then receives the shipment.
Contents arrival is a separate event with its own paperwork. Customs inspection may be physical (Australia, NZ, some Middle East countries) or documentary only. Biosecurity inspection happens at port for sensitive destinations. Damage on arrival is documented at the unload and handled through standard goods-in-transit insurance on the FIDI-network partner’s policy.
Post-arrival, the customer has 30–90 days (depending on the destination) to register the import properly and pay any duties owed. For genuinely settled emigration moves this is usually duty-free; for temporary residence moves, the duty calculation matters. The FIDI-network partner walks the customer through this on arrival.
We've been a family-run Sussex remover since 1982 — the same name on the lorry as the name on the paperwork. Mark personally surveys the high-value and overseas moves; our crews are directly employed (not casual day labour) and trained at our own staff training centre, one of only a handful of UK removers with that facility on site.
Standard inclusions on every full removal: pad-wrap protection for every freestanding piece of furniture, removal-grade cartons, a written and itemised fixed-price quote with no surprises on the day, and the British Association of Removers' Advance Payment Guarantee protecting every deposit. The result, over forty years and tens of thousands of moves, is a 4.9/5 review average across 120+ independent Google reviews.
Booking the survey takes ten minutes. Whether it's a one-bedroom flat across Eastbourne or a country house to overseas, the process is the same: in-home or video survey, written quote within 48 hours, deposit-protected booking, and a calm move day.
Free in-home or video survey, written fixed-price quote, BAR-protected deposit. Sussex’s family-run remover since 1982.
International removals are one of our specialist categories — we run them several times a week and the FIDI-network partnerships at every major destination are established relationships. For your specific overseas move, the planning starts with the destination country’s import rules and works backwards from there. Talk to us at survey as early as you can; international moves benefit more than any other category from longer lead times.
If you’re weighing this move and want a second view, the free survey takes ten minutes and we’ll come back within 48 hours with a fixed-price quote and a clear plan for your specific situation. Forty years of Sussex moves behind every survey.
For first-time international movers the temptation is to over-pack — everything from home goes in the container. The result is high shipping costs, a bigger customs paperwork burden, and a destination property full of things that don’t actually suit the new climate or lifestyle. The better approach: aggressive decluttering before the survey, and a survey conversation about what makes sense to take versus replace at the destination. The downsizing guide covers the principles.
Europe: 2–4 weeks door-to-door. Transatlantic: 4–8 weeks. Pacific (Australia/NZ): 6–12 weeks. The variation is in shipping time and customs processing; the UK pack and load is always 1–2 days.
Ballpark: UK to Europe £6,000–£9,000 for a full 40-foot container; UK to Australia/NZ £10,000–£14,000; UK to US/Canada £8,000–£12,000. Groupage is roughly 60–70% of these figures per cubic metre.
We handle it through FIDI-network partners. The customer provides supporting documents promptly (passport, proof of address, visa documentation as needed). The destination customs declaration is filed by the partner firm.
For Australia and New Zealand, yes — fumigation certificates needed for wooden items. For some other destinations (Brazil, parts of Asia) similar inspections apply. We arrange the certification at the UK end.
Documented at the unload, handled through goods-in-transit insurance on the FIDI-network partner's policy. The standard claim process is fairly efficient for FIDI-member work; non-FIDI arrangements are slower.