Pinner to France
The commonest of the four, and often a house that has been in the family for years finally being furnished properly.
Île-de-France · Normandy · Brittany · the Loire · Nouvelle-Aquitaine · Provence
The route and the fileInto Europe
Moves that leave the country
A European move begins exactly as a move to Hatch End does. What changes is a customs file with a valued inventory in it — which, in a house whose contents have been accumulating for decades, is a more considered exercise than people expect.
The first leg, honestly
HA5 is a long way from a port. A load leaving Pinner runs down to the A40 or the M25, round the western and southern sides of London, and out through Kent to the tunnel at Folkestone or the port at Dover.
On a full household the vehicle is loaded the day before it travels, so the crossing booking rather than your street sets the departure. That is an extra step rather than an obstacle, and it appears on the quote as what it is.
Where we go
Pinner to Spain
Retirement to the coast and work moves to Madrid and Barcelona, on a route where the documents rather than the distance set the date.
Madrid · Catalonia · Valencia · Costa Blanca · Andalucía · the Balearics
The route and the filePinner to Italy
Northern cities for work, Tuscany and Umbria for property, and loads that frequently carry older furniture and pictures.
Lombardy · Piedmont · the Lakes · Tuscany · Umbria · Lazio
The route and the filePinner to Portugal
The longest drive of the four, and the one that most rewards loading once and loading correctly.
Lisbon · Cascais · Porto · the Silver Coast · the Algarve
The route and the fileThe valued inventory
Every European move needs an inventory itemised and valued line by line. In most households that is straightforward. In a Pinner house with inherited furniture, pictures and china, it is a genuine exercise — and it matters twice over, because the same valuation governs both the customs position and the cover in transit.
We build it as the packing happens rather than reconstructing it afterwards, and you check and sign it. Where a piece is worth more than the standard per-item limit, it is declared at survey so the right cover exists before the vehicle moves.
Transferring residence, or furnishing a second home
This is the distinction that governs duty, and in HA5 both cases are common. Where the destination becomes your primary residence, used household effects enter without duty and the file exists to demonstrate it. Where you remain resident here and are furnishing a house abroad, the goods are a conventional import assessed on declared value.
Plenty of families genuinely do not know which they are on the first call. It only needs settling before the inventory is valued.
Collecting from more than one place
Households leaving the country are rarely in one building. A storage unit, a relative's house, a flat a grown-up child has been using. London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Bristol are ordinary collection points, consolidated with the Pinner load before the crossing.
Dedicated or shared
A dedicated vehicle carries your household alone and leaves when you are ready — usually the right answer for a full house with valuable contents. A shared load consolidates with other moves going the same way, costs less, and delivers within a window rather than on a date.
Storage before departure
Common on every route. The house completes before the destination is ready, so the household waits in store here and exports when you say — simpler than arranging storage abroad in a language you are still learning.
Worth knowing
Moving abroad from Pinner, questions first
How does a load get from HA5 to Europe?
Down to the A40 or the M25, round the western and southern sides of London, and out through Kent from the tunnel at Folkestone or the port at Dover. On a full household the vehicle is loaded the day before it travels.
What does the customs file contain?
An itemised, valued inventory; transit paperwork raised before the vehicle leaves; and evidence of transfer of residence, which is what allows used household effects to enter without import duty. We prepare and lodge the export side.
What if the destination is a second home?
Then transfer-of-residence relief does not apply and the goods are a conventional import assessed on declared value. It has to be settled before the inventory is valued, because the declaration carries your name.
Dedicated or shared load?
Dedicated carries your household alone and leaves when you are ready. Shared consolidates with other households on the same route — less costly, with a delivery window rather than a date.
Can you collect from more than one address?
Yes, and on a move abroad it is common: a storage unit, a relative's house, a flat a grown-up child has been using. London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Bristol are ordinary collection points.
Can goods wait here until the far end is ready?
Frequently the sensible answer. The UK house completes before the destination is habitable, so the household waits in store and exports when you say.
Start the paperwork before the packing.
The documents have the longest lead time on any European move. Tell us the country and roughly when, and we will tell you what to begin.