International · from Kent
Moving abroad from Kent
Kent has an advantage on European moves that no other county has: the crossings are here. A load from Maidstone, Ashford or Canterbury reaches Folkestone or Dover without touching the M25, which takes the least predictable hour out of the journey before it has begun.
Four routes are run regularly enough to have their own pages. The rest of western Europe is on enquiry, and we will say plainly when a country is not routine.
The four routes we run from Kent
These are the destinations where we hold agents, know the entry formalities and run vehicles often enough to quote them properly. Each page sets out the road route, the regions we deliver to, and a document list split between what you obtain and what we obtain.
Removals from Kent to France
A large share of our France work is second homes in the west and north — part-loads rather than whole households.
- Paris and the Île-de-France
- Normandy and the north
- Brittany and the Loire
- Charente, Dordogne and the Lot
Removals from Kent to Spain
Andalucía and the Costa Blanca take most of the volume. Madrid and Barcelona are usually work moves and behave differently.
- Madrid and the centre
- Catalonia and Barcelona
- Valencia, Alicante and Murcia
- Andalucía and the Costa del Sol
Removals from Kent to Italy
Tuscany and Umbria are restoration buyers. Milan is a work move and behaves like a city relocation anywhere.
- Milan, the lakes and Lombardy
- Piedmont and Turin
- Tuscany
- Umbria and Le Marche
Removals from Kent to Portugal
The Algarve takes most of the volume, with the Silver Coast growing. Lisbon and Cascais behave like city moves.
- Lisbon and Cascais
- The Silver Coast
- The Algarve
- Porto and the north
How a European move out of Kent runs
It begins exactly as a move to Maidstone begins: a survey, a measured volume and a written inventory. What changes is the status of the inventory — it stops being a working list and becomes a document an official will read. A customs officer reads "twelve cartons, books" very differently from "boxes".
From there the county does the rest of the work. The M20 runs to Folkestone and the A20 to Dover, and a load from almost anywhere in Kent reaches one of them without joining the M25. The export declaration is raised before the vehicle reaches the terminal and the import entry is lodged by an agent at the far end against the same inventory. See crossings and routes for how the choice is made.
Where holding fits
Overseas completions slip, and crossing bookings are not entirely yours to control. So instead of letting one uncertain date govern the whole job, we work to the date that is certain: collect, list, and hold. Once the destination firms up, the export paperwork is assembled from the list that already exists. The storage page sets out how that works.
Picking up beyond Kent
A vehicle heading for a Kent crossing can pick up almost anywhere in the south-east on the way, because the whole region is upstream of the port. We also take consignments from London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Bristol when a European run is already scheduled. If you are moving from one of those cities rather than from Kent, say so and we will tell you honestly whether we are the right firm.
What we will not tell you
A transit time before we know your route, your load and whether you are sharing a vehicle. The truthful range is very wide, and a figure we cannot stand behind is worth nothing to you — so the written quote carries an estimated window for your particular consignment instead. The same applies to duty, which depends on your residence status and your paperwork.
International
Questions about moving abroad
- Is a Kent firm actually better for a European move?
- For a load that starts in Kent, yes, and for a practical reason. The hour between the M25 and the coast is the least predictable part of a European move from the south-east, and a Kent load never spends it. That is the whole of the claim — we are not suggesting the French end goes any differently.
- Tunnel or ferry?
- Usually the tunnel for a loaded removals vehicle: short crossing, vehicle sealed, driver stays with it. Dover is a genuine alternative and is sometimes the better call depending on sailings and on what else is booked. It is our decision to make and it does not change your price.
- Which countries do you cover?
- France, Spain, Italy and Portugal as established road routes, each with its own agent and its own page. Ask about anywhere else in western Europe. Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland all travel on the same vehicles as these four. Where a country is not routine we say so rather than learn on your move.
- What happens if the port is disrupted?
- We plan around it rather than pretending it will not happen — this is Kent, and disruption is an operating condition. Where a load can sensibly be held rather than sent into a queue, holding it is usually better, and we will tell you when we think so.
- Who does the customs paperwork?
- We do, working from the inventory written at your property and with a clearing agent at the far end. The paperwork we cannot get hold of is the paperwork tied to you as a person: tax numbers, registrations, consular certificates. Each country page says which is which.
- Can goods be held in Kent before they go?
- Yes, and it is common on this side of the country because so much depends on a crossing booking. Goods are collected on the fixed date, listed and held, and the export file is built against that same inventory when the far end is real.
Tell us where it is going
Two addresses, a rough volume, and whether the far end has a date yet. We will come back with the route, the document list and a written quote.