Moving Overseas: How Shipping Household Goods Works

Shipping your belongings to another country comes down to three choices: how much to take, how to send it, and how much risk you are prepared to carry. Most household moves overseas travel by sea in a container, with air freight kept for a few boxes you need quickly. The sections below compare the options and point out where international moves most often go wrong.

Decide what is worth shipping

Every item you send has to be packed, listed, cleared through customs and insured, so the cheapest box to ship is the one you leave behind. Before asking for quotes, sort your home into four groups:

Group	Typical items	Questions to ask
Ship	Furniture you love, books, tools, sentimental pieces	Will it fit the new home and suit the climate?
Sell or give away	Cheap furniture, large appliances, worn bedding	Is it easier to replace locally than to send?
Store	Heirlooms you may want back if you return	How long, and who will check on it?
Carry in luggage	Documents, medicines, laptops, a few days of clothes	What do you need before the shipment lands?

Electrical appliances deserve a second look. Voltage, plug types and broadcast standards differ between regions, and adapters do not suit every device.

Sea or air?

Full container

A whole container, usually 20 or 40 feet long, is reserved for your belongings. It is loaded at your door, sealed and opened again at the destination. You pay for the space whether or not you fill it, so it suits larger households.

Shared container

Often called groupage or less-than-container load, this option combines your goods with other shipments and charges by volume. It suits smaller moves, but waiting for a container to fill and sharing handling at both ends can add time.

Air freight

Fast and priced by weight and volume, which makes it expensive for furniture. It is mainly used for a small batch of essentials that should arrive before the sea shipment.

Extra luggage

For a light move, paying the airline for extra bags can be the simplest route. Check the weight limits and fees well before the flight.

Door to door or port to port

A door-to-door service covers packing, transport to the port, the sea or air leg, customs clearance and delivery to your new address. Port-to-port covers only the crossing itself, leaving you to arrange collection, customs and onward transport yourself. The lower price of port-to-port can disappear once those local services are added, especially in a country where you do not yet speak the language.

Getting quotes you can compare

• Ask for a survey, in person or by video, so the volume estimate is based on what you actually own.
• Request a written inventory and a written quote that names the service level.
• Check which destination charges are included, such as port fees, customs clearance, delivery and unpacking; these are sometimes priced separately.
• Confirm how long storage is included if your new home is not ready.
• Compare like with like: the same volume, service level and insurance basis.

Customs and paperwork

Many countries relieve people who are transferring their residence from import duties on used household goods, but only under conditions. Common ones include having owned and used the items for some time, shipping them within a set period of your arrival, and showing a visa or residence permit. A detailed inventory, passport copies and proof of your new address are usually part of the file. The destination's customs authority publishes the current rules, and your mover should know them well.

Certain things are restricted or banned almost everywhere, or need special permits:

• food, plants, seeds and soil
• alcohol, tobacco and some medicines
• weapons, ammunition and replicas
• flammables such as paint, aerosols and gas canisters
• loose lithium batteries

Cars, motorbikes and boats usually follow separate import rules with their own taxes, so treat them as a project of their own.

Insurance

A mover's basic liability is often limited and may pay only a small amount per item or per kilo. Separate cargo insurance can cover loss and damage more fully, but read the terms: items you pack yourself may be covered for total loss only, and high-value pieces often need to be listed individually. Photograph valuables and keep receipts before the van arrives.

Packing for a long trip

Sea shipments spend weeks in transit and pass through humid ports and several rounds of handling. Clean and dry everything before it goes into a box, take furniture apart where possible, number each carton to match the inventory, and keep screws and fittings in labelled bags. Loading heavy items low and spreading the weight evenly matters just as much here as in our guide to loading rental containers safely.

Plan to live without your shipment for a while. A suitcase of essentials and a basic workspace go a long way; our tips on setting up a home office that works help if you need to work from a half-empty flat. The shipment is just one stage of a relocation, and our guide to moving abroad in a sensible order shows where it sits among the other tasks.