Overseas · from Hampshire
Moving overseas from Hampshire
European moves leave the county by road: the M3 from the south or the A34 from the north, up to the M25 and across at Folkestone or Dover. The move runs on the same inventory as a local one, with a customs file built on top of it.
One thing stated plainly everywhere on this site: Southampton and Portsmouth are deep-sea freight ports. That is a different trade from road removals.
The four routes we run from Hampshire
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 Hampshire to France
The county's particular pattern: Forest and downland cottage owners buying rural French property, often with outbuildings at both ends.
- Normandy and the Cotentin
- Brittany and the Loire
- Charente and the Dordogne
- Paris and the Île-de-France
Removals from Hampshire to Spain
Retirements to the Costa Blanca and the Costa del Sol dominate. Madrid and Barcelona are work moves and behave quite differently.
- Madrid and the centre
- Catalonia and Barcelona
- Valencia, Alicante and Murcia
- Andalucía and the Costa del Sol
Removals from Hampshire to Italy
Tuscany and Umbria restoration buyers are the Hampshire pattern here. Milan is a work move and behaves like any city relocation.
- Milan, the lakes and Lombardy
- Piedmont and Turin
- Tuscany
- Umbria and Le Marche
Removals from Hampshire to Portugal
The Algarve takes most of the Hampshire 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 an overseas move out of Hampshire runs
It begins exactly as a move to Eastleigh begins: a survey, a measured volume and a written inventory. The difference is that the inventory becomes a customs document, which is why we are particular about it. A customs officer reads "twelve cartons, books" very differently from "boxes".
The vehicle leaves on the M3 or the A34, joins the M25 and runs round to the M20 for the Folkestone shuttle. From Calais the routes diverge: east and south for Italy, straight south for Spain and Portugal, anywhere at all for France. The export declaration is raised before the vehicle reaches the terminal and the import entry is lodged at the far end against the same inventory.
Old house to old house
A pattern particular to this county: a great many Hampshire households moving abroad are leaving a period property for another one. A winder staircase here and a stone spiral there is a real constraint, and it is worth measuring the destination stairs at the viewing rather than discovering the problem after the load has crossed a continent.
Where holding fits
Overseas completions slip, and rural purchases slip further. Rather than hold a removal date hostage to one, we collect on whichever date is genuinely fixed, list the goods and hold them. Once the far end is confirmed, the export file is assembled against the list already in hand. The storage page sets out how that works.
What we will not tell you
A transit time before we know your route, your load and whether you are sharing a vehicle. The genuine range is far too wide to compress into one figure, so what you get is an estimated window on the written quote for your own consignment. The same applies to duty, which depends on your residence status and your paperwork. We also collect from across Hampshire, Wiltshire, Dorset and the Berkshire border, and take loads from London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Bristol when a European run is already scheduled.
Overseas
Questions about moving overseas
01 You are near Southampton — do you ship containers?
No, and it is worth being direct about it. Southampton and Portsmouth handle deep-sea container and cruise traffic, which is a different trade run by different firms. We are a road removals company covering western Europe. If what you actually need is a container to Australia or the States, we will tell you so rather than take the enquiry.
02 Which countries do you cover?
France, Spain, Italy and Portugal as established road routes, each with its own agent and its own page. Elsewhere in western Europe, ask. Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland all ride the same vehicles as the four routes above. Where a country is not routine we say so rather than learn on your move.
03 Will our period furniture survive the journey?
Properly packed, yes. Older furniture travels perfectly well; what it does not enjoy is a sudden change of climate at the far end. On the southern routes we will sometimes advise leaving a particular piece rather than moving it into conditions that will damage it.
04 Dedicated vehicle or shared load?
A dedicated vehicle carries only your goods and leaves when you want. On a shared load your goods travel with others heading the same way. It costs less and it goes when the route is full. Firm dates point to dedicated; flexibility usually makes the shared load better value.
05 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 items outside our reach are the ones attached to you personally: tax numbers, residence registrations and consular certificates. Each country page says which is which.
06 Can goods be held in Hampshire first?
Very commonly, and on a rural purchase abroad it is close to standard. Goods are collected on the date that is fixed, 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.