International removals
Removals from the UK to France, Italy, Spain and Portugal
Jack Removals moves households from London and the rest of Great Britain to four countries: France, Italy, Spain and Portugal. Those four are the whole list. We collect from your UK door, prepare the export and customs paperwork, and deliver to your new home, either as a full load or as a part load sharing the run with other moves.
Pick a country below for how that route actually works, or read on for the parts every move shares.
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The four countries we deliver to
Each route has its own page, because each one goes wrong in a different place. With France it is the paperwork and the farm lane at the end. On the Spanish coast it is the apartment block and its rules, which is also where shared loads make most sense. In Italy the question is whether a vehicle can get into the old centre at all, and Portugal is simply the longest drive we do.
Removals to France
The shortest crossing we run. Most of the planning goes into the customs inventory and getting a lorry down a farm lane.
Paris, Brittany, Normandy, the Dordogne, Provence
Read the France guideRemovals to Spain
Our busiest shared-load route, built around coastal apartments, community rules and the NIE paperwork.
Costa del Sol, Costa Blanca, Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia
Read the Spain guideRemovals to Italy
An access-first route: restricted traffic zones, narrow centres, shuttle vans and the island ferries.
Rome, Milan, Florence, Tuscany, Sicily, Sardinia
Read the Italy guideRemovals to Portugal
Long-haul to the Atlantic coast, with NIF and residence paperwork sorted before the lorry is booked.
Lisbon, Porto, the Algarve, the Silver Coast
Read the Portugal guideFull load or part load?
Every international move we quote is one of two kinds. A full load is a vehicle given over to one household. It is loaded at your UK address, crosses the Channel and goes directly to your new home, on dates you choose, with the crew who packed it doing the delivery. A part load, which some companies call a shared load or groupage, puts your belongings on a vehicle alongside other moves heading the same way. Each household's goods are wrapped, labelled and listed separately, so nothing gets mixed up, and you pay for the space you use rather than the whole vehicle. The trade is flexibility: a shared run follows a route with several drops, so you agree a delivery window rather than a single date. A one-bedroom flat going to the Costa Blanca is a natural part load. A family house going to rural France, or anyone who needs the keys and the furniture to arrive together, usually wants a full load.
| Full load | Part load (shared load) | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | A whole house, or anything you need moved on your own dates | A flat, a few rooms, or a household that can be flexible on dates |
| How it travels | One vehicle, one household. It is loaded at your UK address and goes directly to your new one. | Your goods are wrapped, labelled and listed, then share a vehicle with other moves heading the same way. |
| Dates | You choose the collection and delivery dates, and the crew who loaded it delivers it. | Collection and delivery fit around the shared run, so you agree a window rather than a fixed date. |
| What you pay for | You pay for the whole vehicle, whether you fill it or not. | You pay for the space your belongings take up, not for the whole vehicle. |
How does customs work for household goods?
Since the UK left the EU, household goods moving from Great Britain to France, Italy, Spain or Portugal cross a customs border. That sounds worse than it is. When you move your home, rather than send goods for sale, the EU lets you bring your personal belongings in without paying import duty or VAT. This is usually called Transfer of Residence relief. To qualify, the belongings must be yours, you must have owned and used them for a qualifying period before the move, and they must arrive within a set window of you taking up residence. Your new country's customs office checks this from a few documents: a detailed inventory of what is in the vehicle, a copy of your passport, and evidence that you now live there, such as a residence permit or a local registration. The British side of that is our job: the itemised list of what is on the vehicle, and the export declaration. The residence evidence is yours, and the country page for your destination says which pieces are asked for there. Alcohol, tobacco and anything you plan to sell are not covered.
The details vary by country, which is why each destination page has its own paperwork section. For the official position on living in each country, see the GOV.UK guides for France, Italy, Spain and Portugal, and the GOV.UK checklist for moving or retiring abroad.
Which parts of the UK do you collect from?
We are a London company, so removals from London to Spain, France, Italy and Portugal are the core of what we do. We also collect across Great Britain. A move from Manchester to Lisbon or from Edinburgh to the Dordogne is planned the same way: survey, inventory, collection, then the drive south to the Channel.
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London
Our base is in Southwark, SE1. Collections from every London borough and the commuter belt.
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Manchester
Greater Manchester and the North West, usually combined with Pennine and Cheshire collections.
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Birmingham
The West Midlands and the towns along the M6 and M42 corridors.
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Leeds
West and North Yorkshire, including Harrogate, York and Wakefield.
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Glasgow
The west of Scotland. Long-haul collections are planned around the route south.
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Edinburgh
Lothian, Fife and the Borders, on the same southbound planning as Glasgow.
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Bristol
Bristol, Bath and the South West, a natural pickup on the way to the Channel ports.
What decides the cost of an international move?
We do not publish prices for international moves. The same three-bedroom house can cost very different amounts depending on what is in it and where it is going. Your written estimate is built from these:
- How much you are moving, measured as volume at the survey
- Whether it travels as a full load or a part load
- The distance from your UK address to the Channel, and from the far side to your new door
- Access at both ends: stairs, lifts, parking, narrow streets, long drives
- How much packing you want us to do, and whether anything needs a crate
- Storage, if your new home is not ready when you leave the old one
- The level of transit cover you choose
How a move runs
- Survey. A video call or home visit to see what is going and spot access problems at both ends.
- Written estimate. Full or part load, what is included, and the documents you need to gather.
- Packing and inventory. Export wrapping, labelled boxes, and the itemised list customs will see.
- Collection and crossing. Loaded at your UK address, export paperwork lodged, then the Channel crossing.
- Delivery. Customs cleared, unloaded, furniture placed and reassembled where you want it.
The full scope of the service, including packing and storage options, is on the international removals service page.
International removals: common questions
Four: France, Italy, Spain and Portugal. Those are the only international destinations we deliver to, and each has its own page on this site explaining how that route works. We collect anywhere in Great Britain, from our base in Southwark, London, to Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Bristol and the towns around them. If you are moving somewhere other than those four countries, we are not the right company and would rather tell you that at the start.
A full load means a vehicle carries only your household, straight from your old door to your new one, on dates you choose. A part load, also called a shared load, means your belongings share a vehicle with other moves going the same way. You pay for the space you use rather than the whole vehicle, in exchange for agreeing a delivery window rather than a single date. Smaller homes and flexible movers usually suit part load; whole houses usually suit full load.
Usually not, if you are genuinely moving your home. The EU offers customs relief on personal belongings when someone transfers their normal residence into it, provided the goods are yours, have been used by you for a qualifying period, and arrive within the permitted window. You will normally need an inventory, your passport and proof of your new residence. We prepare the inventory and the export paperwork, and we tell you exactly which documents to have ready for your destination.
We survey what you are taking, either by video call or in person, and turn that into a volume. The quote then reflects that volume, whether it goes as a full or part load, the distance at both ends, access at your old and new homes, packing, any storage and the transit cover you pick. Every quote is a written estimate covering those items. We do not publish price lists, because two moves of the same size rarely cost the same.
Yes. We are based in Southwark, London, but we collect throughout Great Britain. Regular pickup areas include Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Bristol, along with the towns that surround them. Collections further from the Channel are planned so that the vehicle is not doubling back, which is one reason a part load from the north of England or Scotland can work well. Your quote will say how your collection fits into the route.
We will not carry flammable or pressurised items such as paint, gas bottles, petrol or aerosols in bulk, and we cannot move perishable food, plants with soil, or anything illegal at the destination. Alcohol and tobacco are not covered by customs relief on personal belongings, so they can attract duty. Firearms need specialist permits we do not handle. If you are unsure about something, list it in the notes on the quote form and we will check before your survey.
Tell us where you are going
Put your UK address and your new address in France, Italy, Spain or Portugal into the quote form. We will come back promptly to arrange a survey.