European Delivery & Removals

Moving furniture, boxes or personal effects to or from Europe? Rather than paying one operator's fixed rate, post your job once and compare quotes from transporters who already run European routes. You choose who moves your things.

Where we cover

ChooseYourVan covers cross-border moves in three directions: UK to Europe, Europe to the UK, and Europe to Europe — journeys between two European countries that never touch the UK at all. Transporters on the platform run their own routes and bid on the jobs that fit, so the further your route is from the obvious corridors, the more it pays to post the details and see who comes back.

Common destinations include:

• Spain
  Costa Blanca, Costa del Sol, Alicante, Málaga and inland.
• France
  Northern France, Brittany, the Dordogne and the south.
• Germany
  Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt and the industrial west.
• Netherlands
  Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Eindhoven and the Randstad.
• Belgium
  Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent and the Flemish coast.
• Italy
  Milan, Rome, Tuscany and the northern lakes.
• Portugal
  Lisbon, Porto and the Algarve.
• Poland
  Warsaw, Kraków, Wrocław and the west.
• Ireland
  Dublin, Cork, Galway and across the Republic.

Not on the list? Post the job anyway. Transporters cover far more of the continent than any list can sensibly show, and routes shift with demand.

What people move to and from Europe

European jobs on the platform tend to sit in the gap between an international parcel service, which won't take furniture or bulky household goods, and a full international removals firm, which is priced for whole-house shipments. Typical jobs include:

• Furniture for a second home or holiday property — Sofas, beds, dining sets and garden furniture heading out to a property abroad, often a few pieces at a time rather than a full house.
• Boxes and personal effects for a move abroad — Clothes, books, kitchen equipment and the contents of a flat, for people relocating for work, retirement or family.
• Students relocating — A term's worth of belongings to or from a university city, usually more than airline baggage allows but far less than a removals lorry.
• Expats returning to the UK — Household goods coming back after a spell living in Europe, often on a route a transporter is already running in the other direction.
• Single items bought abroad — A piece of furniture, a bike, an antique or a marketplace purchase that needs collecting from a European seller.
• Small business goods — Stock, equipment, trade show materials or tools moving between a UK business and a European supplier or customer.

How it works

• Post your job — Describe what's moving, the pickup and delivery addresses, your rough dates, and any access details at both ends. For European jobs, an idea of the contents and their value helps transporters price the customs side properly.
• Compare bids — Transporters running your route bid on the job. Compare prices, read reviews, and use the message thread to ask about paperwork, timing and insurance before you commit.
• Book and pay — Accept the quote that suits you and pay a deposit through the website to secure it. You're never automatically assigned a driver.

Customs and paperwork since Brexit

This is the part that worries most people, so it's worth explaining plainly. Since the UK left the EU, moves between the UK and EU countries are no longer domestic movements — they cross a customs border, and that means a customs declaration has to be made for the goods travelling in the van. This applies whether you're sending a single wardrobe or the contents of a flat.

Customs treats personal effects and household goods differently from commercial goods. Belongings you already own and are moving for your own use are handled under a different route from stock, samples or anything being sold. It matters that your shipment is described accurately, because the category shapes what paperwork applies and what, if anything, is charged.

In practice you'll normally be asked for an itemised inventory — a list of what's in the load, with a realistic value against each entry. Vague summaries like "household items" tend to cause delays at the border, so it's worth taking the time to do this properly. Photographs and box-by-box lists help.

Several European countries operate relief schemes for people relocating permanently, which can reduce or remove import charges on belongings you've owned for a period before the move. Eligibility conditions, the evidence required and the deadlines involved differ from country to country.

The transporter usually prepares and submits the declaration as part of the job — but they can only work from what you give them, and an inaccurate or incomplete inventory is the most common cause of problems at the border. Supplying good information early is the single most useful thing you can do.

One important caveat: this is a general description of how the process works, not legal or customs advice, and the rules change. Always check the current requirements for your destination country — and for bringing goods into the UK on a return journey — before you book, and raise anything unusual with your transporter in the message thread first.

Part loads and shared routes

Here's where a marketplace genuinely helps. A transporter driving from the UK to Spain with a half-empty van has space they'd rather sell than drive empty — and a job that fills it is worth taking at a keener price than a dedicated trip. That's a part load: your items travel as part of a larger consignment, sharing the cost of the journey with other customers' goods.

Because transporters on ChooseYourVan bid against each other, drivers with spare capacity on a route you need have a direct reason to quote competitively for it. A single operator quoting from a rate card has no such incentive. The trade-off is timing: a part load may wait for the vehicle to fill or fit around other drops, whereas a dedicated van goes when you want it to. If your dates are flexible, say so in your listing — it's often what unlocks the better price.

What affects the cost

European quotes reflect the real cost of the journey rather than a fixed tariff. The main factors are:

• Distance and route — how far the load travels, and whether your route is one transporters already run regularly.
• Part load or dedicated van — sharing a vehicle costs less than booking one exclusively for your job.
• Volume and weight — how much space your items take up, and whether the load needs a larger vehicle.
• Ferry or tunnel crossing — the crossing itself is a real cost, and it varies with vehicle size and time of year.
• Access at both ends — stairs, lifts, narrow streets, parking restrictions and rural approaches all take time.
• Date flexibility — a fixed date costs more than a window; flexibility is what makes part loads work.
• Customs complexity — a clean inventory of personal effects is more straightforward than a mixed or commercial consignment.

How long it takes

Honestly, it depends — and anyone quoting you a firm figure before seeing the job is guessing. Three things drive it. First, the route: a run to northern France is a different proposition from southern Portugal or eastern Poland. Second, whether you've booked a dedicated van or a part load — a dedicated vehicle leaves when you agree it should, while a part load may wait to fill or fit around other collections and drops along the way. Third, border processing, which is usually routine but can add time if paperwork needs clarifying.

The practical answer: ask for an estimated schedule in the message thread before you accept a quote, and agree how the transporter will keep you updated en route. A transporter who knows the corridor will give you a realistic window and tell you what could move it.

FAQ

Related services

• Single item delivery — moving one bulky piece rather than a full load.
• All services — furniture, house removals, vehicles, pianos and more.
• Man and van guide — how van transport is priced and what to check before booking.
• Post a listing — get free quotes for your European job.

Ready to get quotes for your European move?

Post your job once and let transporters who already run your route bid for it. It's free to post, and you're under no obligation to accept a quote.