Abroad
Every route has a first attempt
People send boxes ahead. They start the paperwork themselves. They assume a status category that turns out to be the wrong one. They accept a figure without knowing whether it is for a shared container or a sole-use one.
All four are reasonable things to have done, and all four are where the conversation usually starts.
Four routes, four common first attempts
The Philippines, where boxes go ahead for years and the furniture is what is left. Argentina, where the file is begun at home and stalls on certification. Israel, where the status category is assumed rather than confirmed. Egypt, where almost every figure is for a shared container and hardly any says so.
Removals from the UK to Philippines
Boxes are the carloads of an international move. They work beautifully until only the wardrobe is left.
- Metro Manila
- Laguna and Cavite
- Cebu
- The Visayas and Mindanao
Removals from the UK to Argentina
There is no shame in having started the file yourself. It is simply a longer job than it looks.
- Buenos Aires city
- The northern suburbs
- Córdoba and Rosario
- Mendoza
Removals from the UK to Israel
Ask the proper authority which category you are in before you ask anybody for a shipping figure.
- Tel Aviv and Gush Dan
- Jerusalem
- Haifa
- The coastal plain
Removals from the UK to Egypt
Ask any firm quoting you whether the figure is for a shared or a sole-use container. It is the whole difference.
- Cairo
- New Cairo and the compounds
- Alexandria
- The Red Sea coast
The same pattern, further away
Domestically, people hire a van or do carloads and then ring when the furniture is what remains. Internationally they send boxes, or begin the paperwork, or take the cheapest figure without asking what it is for — and then ring at the same point.
So these pages are written the same way round as the rest of the site: starting from the thing that was already attempted, rather than from a description of the destination.
Boxes are the carloads of an international move
They move everything light and nothing heavy, and they work well for years. What they will never move is the wardrobe, the sofa and the washing machine.
The useful consequence is that a furniture-only consignment is a different shape from a whole household, and on a shared container it frequently occupies less space than people assume.
The two questions to ask any international quotation
Is this for a shared container or a sole-use one, and are destination charges included. Those two account for most of the difference between figures that look wildly apart for the same household.
We answer both on every quotation without being asked, and we would encourage anybody to put them to every firm they approach.
Where we collect from
Anywhere on the UK mainland, including London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Bristol. Where a consignment is consolidated with others before departure we say so, because it changes how the goods are handled.
Abroad
Questions about moving abroad
- 01
We have already sent boxes. Do we still need a removals firm?
For the furniture and the appliances, almost certainly. Boxes move everything light and nothing heavy, which is the same split as a domestic carloads move — and it usually makes the shipment smaller and cheaper than people expect.
- 02
We started the customs paperwork ourselves. Was that wrong?
Not at all. It stalls because certification cannot begin while the inventory is still changing, which is a sequencing problem rather than a competence one. Survey, finalise once, translate, certify.
- 03
How do we know whether a quote is for a shared container?
Ask, in those words. It is the single largest reason two international figures for the same household differ, and it is almost never stated on the document. We quote both.
- 04
Which countries do you cover?
France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Poland and Czechia by road; Egypt, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa, Argentina, the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand by sea and air.
- 05
Can goods be held here while things settle?
Yes, and on an international move it is frequently the sensible answer. It is a planned arrangement with a written list rather than a unit you rent and stop thinking about.
- 06
Do you advise on visas, tax or status?
No. Nothing on this site is immigration, tax or legal advice. On several of these routes the status category genuinely changes the answer, and that is a question for the proper authority.
Where is it going?
Both addresses, roughly what is left after whatever you have already sent or arranged, and how firm the dates are.