Moving overseas is certainly an exciting experience, but when the move involves transporting your entire life from Britain to the Continent, proper planning is essential. This kind of move cannot be rushed through last-minute arrangements; it must follow a well-planned schedule involving visa applications, house hunting, and meticulous inventory management. By setting clear monthly objectives, all the stress involved in crossing the Channel can be eliminated.
If you are currently sorting your relocation steps, we have compiled the ultimate guide to organising your schedule. This clear timeline ensures that your house removals to France are completely seamless, predictable, and stress-free.
Months 6 to 4: Visas, Foundations, and Volumetric Surveys
Even before you set foot on your trip, there is a crucial legal requirement that you must follow to begin your adventure. As the result of the recent Brexit agreement, all UK citizens should now have a Visa de Long Séjour (VLS-TS) if they want to spend over 90 days out of 180 in France.
During this initial phase, you should also accomplish the following:
Secure your French long-stay visa: Gather your proof of income, health insurance, and accommodation details for the official application.
Book a home removal survey: Get in touch with the dedicated crew at Movers International for an extensive volume survey that calculates your total cubic volume of items. We can then offer you a fair quote.
Establish a documentation folder: Collect copies of your birth certificate, marriage certificate, finances, and property. You'll need several copies of all these documents after arriving there.
Months 3 to 2: Downsizing, Decluttering, and Customs Preparation
It is about two months away from the departure date, and this is when you should begin taking a good look at all your things. The French laws that deal with the duty-free importation of personal effects can be pretty stringent. In order to enjoy tax relief on the import of personal property through the Déclaration d'Entrée en Franchise (Cerfa No. 10070), you must have owned them for six months.
This is the perfect window to streamline your home:
Categorise your goods: Sort your belongings into items to keep, items to donate, and items to sell. This directly reduces your total shipping volume and lowers your overall transit costs.
Draft your detailed inventory: French border authorities require an itemised packing list written in French, showing the estimated second-hand value of every single box and item in Euros (€).
Plan your transit type: Decide whether your volume requires a dedicated sole-use 20ft or 40ft container, or if you can take advantage of our highly economical part-load (groupage) service, where you only pay for the specific space you occupy on our weekly continental trucks.
Month 1 to Moving Day: Export Wrapping and Setting Off
The time crunch begins as we move into the last few weeks. Now it is time for practical preparations. In regard to moving furniture to France without a hitch, quality packing services go a long way. As per our highly qualified BAR-accredited packing crews, export-specific packing methods will keep any furniture safe from the vibrations of long-distance travel by road.
In the final fortnight, make sure you complete these tasks:
Notify utilities and HMRC: Inform your UK energy suppliers, local council, and tax authorities of your official departure date.
Check property access rules: If your new French home is in a historic village centre or a rural region with tight lanes (routes communales), let us know. We can easily arrange a local shuttle vehicle (transhipment) to ferry your goods safely to your front door.
Finalise the inventory: Hand over your completed declarations to our logistics managers so we can clear your goods through the Calais or Caen ports without any border delays.
Let Movers International Bear the Load
Movers International has been operating for more than three decades, and we have extensive experience handling the transportation of weekly road-trains in all parts of France, from the countryside hamlets of the Dordogne to the sunny streets of Nice. We know how valuable your belongings are, and every box is handled with the utmost professionalism.
Are you prepared to make your dream of a French way of life a reality without having to suffer any stress? For scheduling purposes or just for chatting with one of our professional relocation experts, all that is required is a call to us today.
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