The short version
- The real decision is not how to ship your furniture. It is which furniture is worth shipping at all.
- Sea freight is the default for household goods. A sole use container gives you a fixed schedule, a shared container costs less and takes longer.
- Transit times run from a couple of weeks for Europe by road to three months or more for Australia and New Zealand.
- Customs wants a detailed inventory, not a vague list. “Box 14: kitchen” will hold up your shipment.
- Biosecurity, not customs duty, is what usually causes delays. Anything that has touched soil is the problem.
Start with what is genuinely worth shipping
Shipping is priced by volume, so every cubic foot on the vessel costs the same whether it holds something irreplaceable or a flat pack bookcase you bought three years ago. The single biggest saving available on an international move is deciding what not to take.
Work through your household in four categories rather than room by room. It is a faster process and it produces better decisions.
| Category | Examples | Usual answer |
|---|---|---|
| Irreplaceable | Family pieces, artwork, anything with history | Ship it, and insure it properly |
| Expensive to replace, ships well | Solid wood furniture, quality sofas, good rugs, tools | Usually worth shipping |
| Cheap to replace, bulky | Flat pack furniture, mattresses, garden furniture | Usually not worth the volume |
| Will not work or fit | UK appliances on different voltage, fitted units | Leave, sell or donate |
The category people get wrong is the third. Flat pack furniture rarely survives being dismantled and reassembled more than once, and it occupies real volume on the vessel. A wardrobe that cost very little new can easily take up more shipping space than a piece of solid furniture worth ten times as much.
Appliances deserve their own thought. Voltage and frequency differ across destinations, plugs differ, and a washing machine built for a UK water supply may not perform elsewhere. Even where an appliance will work, the volume it occupies is substantial. Most people who ship white goods abroad regret it.
Mattresses are the other consistent mistake. They are bulky, they are cheap to replace almost everywhere, and some destinations have restrictions on importing used bedding. If you are shipping a bed, consider shipping the frame and buying the mattress at the other end.
Sole use container, shared container, or air freight
Three methods cover almost all household moves abroad. A sole use container carries only your goods. A shared container, often called groupage or LCL, combines your consignment with others going the same way. Air freight is fast and volume-limited, and is normally used for a small number of essentials rather than a household.
| Method | Typical use | Schedule | Main drawback |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sole use 20ft container | Two to three bedroom household | Fixed sailing, you control loading | You pay for the space whether you fill it or not |
| Sole use 40ft container | Four bedrooms and upward | Fixed sailing | Rarely justified below a full house |
| Shared container | Part household, one or two rooms | Waits for the container to fill | Departure and arrival dates are estimates |
| Air freight | Essentials, documents, a few boxes | Days rather than weeks | Charged by weight, so only for light items |
A 20ft container holds roughly 1,100 cubic feet and a 40ft roughly 2,200. Those numbers matter because the jump between them is not gradual: you either need the larger box or you do not, and a household that spills just over the smaller one is in an awkward and expensive position. This is exactly why a proper survey beats an estimate on an international move.
The common and sensible pattern is to combine methods. Send the household by sea, and take or air freight a small quantity of things you cannot be without for two or three months. Working out what belongs in that second category is worth real thought, because the sea shipment is genuinely gone for the duration.
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How long each destination actually takes
Transit time is the part people underestimate most. Sea freight to the far side of the world is measured in months, and the clock does not start until the container is loaded and the vessel sails, which may be some days after collection.
| Destination | Usual method | Indicative transit |
|---|---|---|
| Spain, France, Germany | Road | One to two weeks |
| United States, east coast | Sea | Around four to six weeks |
| Canada | Sea | Around six to eight weeks |
| United Arab Emirates | Sea | Around four to six weeks |
| Australia | Sea | Around eight to twelve weeks |
| New Zealand | Sea | Around ten to fourteen weeks |
These are indicative ranges rather than promises, and they exclude time spent in customs or quarantine at the far end, which can add weeks on its own. A shared container adds further time at the start, because it does not sail until it is full.
Plan your first months at the destination on the assumption that you will not have your furniture. That means either furnished accommodation to begin with, or a willingness to buy basics on arrival. Households that plan around an optimistic arrival date are the ones sleeping on air beds in an empty house for six weeks.
What customs actually wants from you
Every destination requires a detailed inventory of what is in the shipment, plus identity and residence documentation. The inventory is the part that causes problems, because customs authorities want itemised contents and most people write down room names.
A usable inventory lists what is actually in each box. “Box 22: kitchen, four saucepans, two frying pans, utensils, chopping boards” is what is wanted. “Box 22: kitchen stuff” invites an inspection, and an inspection means your container is opened, unpacked and repacked at your cost and on their timetable.
Beyond the inventory, expect to provide some combination of:
- Passport, and visa or residence permit for the destination
- Proof that you are relocating rather than importing goods commercially
- Evidence of how long you have owned the goods, in some jurisdictions
- A valuation for insurance and duty purposes
- Destination-specific forms, which your shipping agent should supply
Many countries allow used personal effects to enter free of duty when you are moving permanently, provided you have owned them for a qualifying period beforehand. The qualifying period and the conditions vary considerably between countries, and new or recently purchased items are frequently excluded. Check the specific rules for your destination rather than assuming, and do it before you decide what to ship, not after.
If you are shipping from Glasgow, our international removals page covers how the documentation side normally works.
Biosecurity is the thing that actually delays shipments
Customs duty causes less trouble than biosecurity. Australia and New Zealand in particular inspect for soil, seeds, plant material and insects, and anything that has been outdoors is a candidate for quarantine, cleaning charges or destruction.
The items that repeatedly cause problems:
- Garden tools. Spades, forks and lawnmowers with soil on them. Clean them to a standard that looks excessive, then clean them again.
- Bicycles. Tyres and frames carry mud. Wash thoroughly, including the underside of the mudguards.
- Vacuum cleaners. Empty them completely. A full bag counts as organic material.
- Outdoor furniture. Wicker, cane and untreated timber attract particular attention.
- Walking and hiking boots. The classic one. Soil in the tread is exactly what inspectors look for.
- Anything wooden. Some destinations require treatment or certification for timber items.
- Plants, seeds and food. Simply do not, anywhere.
The cost of getting this wrong is not just the cleaning charge. It is the delay, because a container held for inspection sits until the authority gets to it, and you continue paying storage at the port while it waits.
Tell us the destination, roughly what you plan to ship and your timescale and we will come back with a written quote.
Get a quotePacking for sea freight is a different job
A container crosses an ocean. It moves constantly, it experiences large temperature and humidity swings, and nobody opens it for weeks. Packing that is perfectly adequate for a van journey across Glasgow is not adequate for that.
What changes:
- Everything must be boxed or crated. Loose items shift and damage each other over thousands of miles.
- Boxes are filled completely. Voids collapse when the load settles, and a collapsed column damages everything under it.
- Condensation is the hidden enemy. Containers sweat as temperatures change. Anything that can rust or grow mould needs protecting accordingly.
- Fragile items may need custom crating. Mirrors, glass tops, artwork and marble should not travel in cardboard on a sea voyage.
- Furniture is dismantled where possible. This reduces volume, which directly reduces what you pay, and reduces the risk of stress damage.
- Nothing damp goes in. Ever. A single damp item can affect a whole consignment over eight weeks.
Professionally packed shipments also matter for insurance. Many marine policies limit or exclude cover for items the owner packed themselves, on the reasonable basis that the insurer cannot verify how it was done. If you plan to insure the shipment properly, check what the policy requires before deciding to pack it yourself. Our packing service page sets out what export packing involves.
Insurance for goods crossing an ocean
Marine transit insurance is a separate product from your home contents policy, and it works differently. It typically requires a declared valuation, item by item for anything of significant value, prepared before the shipment leaves.
Preparing that valuation is tedious and it is the right time to do it, because it doubles as your customs inventory and as your record if something is lost. Photograph valuable items before they are packed, and keep receipts where you have them.
Read what is excluded. Common exclusions include owner-packed cartons, items of unusual value not separately declared, mechanical or electrical failure not caused by external damage, and gradual deterioration. Ask specifically what happens if the whole container is lost, which is rare but not unknown, and what the claims process involves from the far end of the world.
What to do with everything that stays
Deciding what not to ship creates a second problem: disposing of it, usually to a deadline, while you are also organising an international move.
Start earlier than feels necessary. Selling furniture takes weeks, not days, and the last fortnight before an international move is fully occupied with other things.
- Sell early. Anything with real resale value should be listed six to eight weeks out, with collection arranged for the final week.
- Donate the middle tier. Charities that collect furniture generally need notice and will not take everything. Book collection ahead.
- Store what you are unsure about. If you may return within a couple of years, storing a small quantity in the UK can be more sensible than shipping it twice.
- Dispose of the rest properly. Council uplift services need booking and can have waiting times, particularly at month ends.
The storage option is worth genuine thought for anyone moving abroad on a fixed term contract. Shipping a household to Dubai and back inside three years costs considerably more than storing part of it here. Our guide to furniture storage between moves covers what drives that decision.
When shipping your furniture is the wrong call
There are situations where shipping a household abroad simply does not make sense, and a firm that will not tell you so is selling you volume rather than advising you.
Think hard before shipping if:
- You are going for under two years. Two shipments plus the time without your belongings rarely beats storing here and furnishing there.
- Your destination has cheap furniture and expensive freight. Parts of south east Asia and the Gulf fall into this category.
- Your accommodation is furnished. A great deal of expatriate housing is, and shipping a household into it creates a storage problem at the other end.
- Most of what you own is flat pack. It will not survive the second reassembly, and it is occupying volume that costs real money.
- You do not yet have a confirmed address. Shipping into port storage while you find somewhere is an expensive way to wait.
The honest position is that many international moves are better done with a part shipment than a full one. Ship what is irreplaceable and what genuinely does not exist at the destination, and buy the rest there.
Tell us the destination and roughly what you plan to ship and we will come back with a written quote.
Get a quoteCommon questions about moving furniture abroad
Is it cheaper to ship furniture or buy new at the destination?
It depends on the destination and on what the furniture is. Solid, quality or irreplaceable pieces usually justify the freight. Flat pack, mattresses, garden furniture and appliances usually do not, because they take substantial volume and are inexpensive to replace almost anywhere. The calculation is per item rather than per household.
How detailed does my customs inventory need to be?
More detailed than most people expect. Listing contents item by item per box is what is wanted, rather than naming rooms. A vague inventory is a common trigger for physical inspection, which means your container is opened, unpacked and repacked at your cost.
Can I ship my appliances abroad?
Physically yes, usefully often no. Voltage, frequency and plug standards vary, and even where an appliance will run it occupies significant volume. Some destinations also restrict used electrical goods. Check the destination standards before deciding, and be realistic about whether the machine is worth its cubic footage.
Why do shipments get held in quarantine?
Almost always because of organic material. Soil on garden tools, boots or bicycles, seeds in outdoor equipment, food in kitchen boxes, or untreated timber. Australia and New Zealand inspect particularly rigorously. Cleaning everything that has been outdoors to an obsessive standard is the single best thing you can do to avoid delay.
How do I get a quote for an international move?
Send your Glasgow address, the destination country and city, roughly what you plan to ship and your intended timescale through the quote form. For anything larger than a few boxes a survey is worth doing, because the difference between a container that just fits and one that just does not is a significant one.
More guides are collected in our moving guides.
