Removals to France handled end-to-end from our Lower Dicker depot — ToR1 customs paperwork, Channel Tunnel and ferry routes, premium pad-wrap, fixed-price quotes. BAR Overseas Group member with vetted French destination agents in every region.
Removals to France are the single most-asked-for international service at Mark Ratcliffe Moving. Since founding in 2017 we have moved Sussex families and retirees to every region of mainland France — from Dordogne farmhouses and Charente longeres to Provence holiday homes, Brittany coastal cottages and Cote d’Azur apartments. France is close enough to drive door-to-door (no sea freight required), but the post-Brexit customs work means doing it properly matters more than ever. We are a British Association of Removers (BAR) Overseas Group member and we file every Transfer of Residence (ToR1) claim ourselves so your possessions cross the channel without import VAT, duty or hold-ups at the douanes.
France is the natural first choice for British movers. The climate in the south, the cost of property compared to the south-east of England, the food and wine culture, the slower pace of life, and the simple fact that you can drive home in a day for family events all combine to make it the most-chosen overseas destination for our customers. Post-Brexit it does require a visa or residency permit (the titre de sejour) for stays over 90 days, but for those who have done the paperwork the move itself is one of the easier international relocations — no sea freight, no container vessel scheduling, no customs hold delays of weeks. A typical removal to France from Eastbourne is loaded on Monday and unpacked into your French property by Friday or the following Monday at the latest.
We move retirees, second-home owners, remote-working families, French nationals returning home after years in the UK, and a steady trickle of equestrians taking horse-friendly properties in Normandy and the Limousin. Every move starts the same way: a free survey at your Sussex address (in person across East Sussex, Kent and West Sussex, or by video for outlying postcodes), an itemised volume measurement in cubic metres, and a fixed written quote within 48 hours that includes the customs documentation, the channel crossing, French destination agent fees and door-to-door delivery.
Mark or one of our senior surveyors visits your home for a no-obligation survey. We walk every room, note awkward items (pianos, antiques, anything heavy or fragile), measure access at both ends if known, and discuss timing — particularly important for France because French notaire completion dates can shift at short notice. Within 48 hours you have a written quote, itemised, fixed-price, with French destination agent costs already included. For straightforward smaller moves a video survey is fine; for over a 3-bed or anything with antiques, art or wine collections we always survey in person.
French removals use our standard white-glove pad-wrap protection on every piece of furniture — not blankets thrown over corners, but the lorry pads fitted around each item in your home, taped at the seams, and only removed at the French destination. Fragile items (china, glass, books, mirrors, pictures) go into BAR-spec export double-wall cartons with bubble wrap and packing paper from our Lower Dicker packing shop. Customers who self-pack still get our packing materials delivered; full packing is an optional add-on that most French movers choose because it transfers the risk of customs valuation to us.
Our lorries cross by Eurotunnel Le Shuttle from Folkestone to Calais as standard — the 35-minute crossing is faster, more time-precise, and less affected by winter weather than the ferry. For larger vehicles or when Eurotunnel is fully booked we use the Dover-Calais ferry (DFDS or P&O). Either way the load is sealed for customs clearance at the Sevington inland border facility (just south of Ashford in Kent) before the crossing — typical Sevington wait is 30 to 90 minutes, and we build that into the schedule so the lorry never misses its booked crossing.
Once at Calais the load travels under the EU’s normal road-freight rules. The French customs entry (the DAU, Document Administratif Unique) is filed by our French destination agent against your ToR1 application. For permanent residents with ToR1 approval there is no duty and no import VAT — the goods are released within hours. For second-home owners or those without ToR1 status, the calculation is different and we will explain it during the survey; in most cases ToR1 is the correct route and the paperwork is straightforward when filed by an experienced mover.
Our French destination agent meets the lorry at your property, unpacks furniture into the rooms you agreed in advance, removes the pad-wrap, and reassembles beds and large items. We don’t leave you with a pile of boxes in the hallway. Box-by-box unpacking is an optional add-on; most customers prefer to do that at their own pace once we’ve set the furniture in place.
The classic British retirement triangle: Bergerac, Eymet, Sarlat, Angouleme, Jarnac. Stone farmhouses, vineyards, well-established expat networks. Typical 5–7 day delivery from Eastbourne via the Channel Tunnel and the A10/N10 south.
Avignon, Aix-en-Provence, the Luberon villages, the coast from Cannes to Menton. Longer drive (1,200 km from Calais) so typical 7–10 days. Narrow medieval streets often need a smaller transfer vehicle for final delivery.
Saint-Malo, Dinan, Vannes, Caen, Bayeux. The shortest French removal we do — typically loaded on day one and unpacked on day three or four. Popular with horse owners and coastal-property buyers.
Calais, Boulogne, Arras, Amiens. Often part of a back-and-forth lifestyle — second homes and easy weekend returns. Same-day or next-day delivery; we run these almost every fortnight as part-loads.
Carcassonne, Beziers, Montpellier, Perpignan, Toulouse, Pau. Increasingly popular with younger movers priced out of Provence. Typical 6–8 days.
Central Paris (1st-20th), Versailles, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, La Defense corporate relocations. Tight access often requires a smaller vehicle for the last mile; we coordinate parking permits through our Paris agent.
ToR1 is the customs relief that allows permanent UK-to-EU movers to import household goods into France without paying French import VAT (20%) or duty — potentially a five-figure saving on a 3-bed move. The four conditions are simple but firm:
The cost of skipping ToR1 or filing it incorrectly is typically 20% of the declared value of your goods — a £40,000 household’s worth costs £8,000 in import VAT. We file the ToR1 application for every eligible French mover as part of our standard service and our French agent confirms approval before the lorry leaves the UK. Second-home owners and short-stay relocations don’t qualify for ToR1; for those we structure the move differently and discuss the options at the survey.
French removals attract more than the usual number of special items. Wine cellars are common (and yes, France allows you to bring your wine collection under ToR1 provided it is declared on the inventory). Antiques over 100 years old may need a UK cultural export licence depending on value — we identify those at the survey and prepare the licence application where needed. Pianos travel inside the same lorry with our trained piano-moving crews using a piano dolly and dedicated pad-wrap. Garden furniture, outdoor planters, summer-house contents and ride-on mowers are all fine to ship but need a phyto-sanitary check if there’s soil or living plant material. Cars and motorcycles are usually best handled by a specialist car-shipping partner that we’ve worked with for years; we coordinate the timing so the vehicle and household arrive together.
One thing we will tell you honestly at the survey: a lot of British furniture, particularly fitted kitchens and white goods, is cheaper to replace in France than to ship. UK 13-amp electrical appliances need an adapter to work on French 220V/16A sockets and some don’t meet CE marking requirements. We’ll point out anything that isn’t worth the freight cost so you don’t pay to ship items you’ll discard within a year.
Most of our French removals follow a similar rhythm. Knowing what to expect makes the move feel less like a leap into the unknown:
For Pas-de-Calais and Brittany destinations the whole thing can be done in 3 to 4 working days. For Provence and the Cote d’Azur allow 7 to 10. The timeline only stretches if French paperwork (the notaire’s completion of your house purchase) slips — in that case we store at our Lower Dicker depot in steel strong rooms until you’re ready.
We are a small, owner-managed Sussex firm that has been doing this since 2017. We are not a national franchise selling French moves as a sideline — about a third of our annual workload is European, and France is the single biggest destination. The crews who pad-wrap your furniture in Sussex are the same crews who’ve done it on dozens of French moves before, and the French destination agents we work with are the same ones we’ve worked with for years — not a name pulled from a directory the week before your move.
That matters because French removals are exactly the kind of job where shortcuts show up later. The wrong inventory wording on the DAU and you sit at customs for a week. The wrong vehicle for a Provencal village street and your goods get transhipped (badly) onto a Renault van at the last minute. The wrong French agent and the lorry arrives but nobody has the keys to the property. We’ve seen every variant of those problems on other firms’ moves and we’ve built our process to avoid them.
Read what customers say on our reviews page, browse the gallery for photos of recent moves, or call Mark directly on 01323 848 008 to talk about your move. We’ll give you straight answers about what’s worth shipping and what isn’t, what ToR1 will save you, and what the realistic timeline looks like for your French region.
Door-to-door, a sole-load from Eastbourne to most of France takes 5–8 working days. Brittany, Normandy and the Pas-de-Calais are typically 3–5 days; Dordogne and Charente around 5–7; Provence and the Cote d’Azur 7–10. Part-loads add 3–7 days while we consolidate compatible loads.
Yes if you are moving your main residence permanently. ToR1 (Transfer of Residence relief) lets you import your household goods to France without paying French import VAT or duty, provided you have owned the items for at least 6 months and will live in France for at least 12 months. We file the ToR1 for you and the French douanes accept the resulting DAU declaration via our destination agent.
For most household moves we use the Channel Tunnel from Folkestone to Calais — it is faster (35 minutes crossing), more predictable in winter, and easier to book to a tight time slot. For larger vehicles or when the Eurotunnel is fully booked we use the Dover-Calais ferry. Either way the load is sealed for customs clearance at Sevington before departure.
Yes. Wine for personal use travels with your household goods provided it is declared on the inventory — France allows generous allowances for permanent movers under ToR1. Antiques over 100 years old may need additional cultural export paperwork from the UK side; we will identify these items at the survey and prepare the export licence application where required.
For a typical 3-bed household from Sussex, a sole-load to France is usually £3,500–£6,500 depending on destination region, access at both ends and the season. Part-loads start from around £1,800 for a one-bedroom flat’s contents. Every quote is fixed-price after our free survey — there are no clauses that let us raise the figure later.
Door-to-door delivery into your French property as standard, with our destination agent’s crew. They place furniture in the agreed rooms and remove the pad-wrap so you can unpack at your own pace. Reassembly of beds and large furniture is included; box-by-box unpacking is an optional add-on.
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Read article →Call us today for a free, no-obligation quote — or use our online form. Whether it's a one-room move or a full international relocation, we've handled it before.