Removals to France

How much do removals to France cost?

Every France move is priced on volume, access at both ends, how much packing you want and when you need it there. As a guide, a part load of boxes and a few items of furniture is usually £600 to £1,150, a two bedroom home is £2,100 to £3,200 and a three bedroom home is £2,900 to £4,300. Larger houses, pianos, vehicles and fine art are quoted individually.

We do not quote by the hour and we do not add fuel or waiting charges on the day. After a free survey by video call or in person you get one written figure covering collection, materials, transport to France, transit through the EU, delivery and placement and goods in transit cover. If your dates move, we move with you.

Sharing a vehicle is the cheapest way to send a smaller load, because you pay only for the space you use. The trade off is timing: a part load runs to a consolidation schedule and takes 5 to 10 days, while a dedicated vehicle leaves when you want it and arrives in 1 to 3 days.

The route: UK to France

Eurotunnel from Folkestone or Dover to Calais then the A16 and A1 to Paris, the A10 for the south west or the A6 and A7 down the Rhone valley to Provence and the Cote d'Azur.

Distance from our base to Paris is around 290 miles. Paris street permits for a furniture lift take around ten working days so a Paris date is best booked two to three weeks ahead in summer.

Drivers are on tachograph hours and we plan legal rest into the schedule rather than pushing a single driver too far which is one of the reasons our delivery dates hold. You get the vehicle's progress by phone or message so you know the day before it arrives.

Customs and paperwork for France

France is inside the EU customs union so there is no duty on household effects. Low emission Crit'Air zones apply in Paris, Lyon and Grenoble and our vehicles carry the correct sticker.

Whatever the destination, we build a full inventory at packing. It is the document that supports your insurance claim if anything is damaged, and it settles any question at a roadside check in seconds.

New residents arrange a numero fiscal for tax and can register with the local mairie and utility transfers need the property's PDL meter reference.

Delivery and access in France

Haussmann buildings in Paris have a beautiful staircase and a lift that takes two people and a suitcase so a monte-meuble furniture lift is standard above the third floor and needs a street permit from the mairie. Rural Dordogne and Brittany properties often have a gravel courtyard and a low gateway arch that decides the vehicle size.

We survey the destination as carefully as the collection address. Lift dimensions, doorway widths, stair turns, height barriers and parking restrictions all change the crew size and the vehicle and finding out on the day is what turns a smooth move into an expensive one.

Delivery does not stop at the front door. Furniture is placed in the room you want, beds and wardrobes are rebuilt and boxes are stacked where you can work through them. Full unpacking with the packing debris taken away is available if you would rather start straight from an empty floor.

Packing, part loads and storage

A long European journey is harder on furniture than a local move so everything is packed to export standard: double walled cartons, wardrobe boxes for hanging clothes, bubble and tissue for glass and china, corner protection on case goods and export wrap over upholstery and mattresses. Televisions, mirrors and artwork travel in purpose made cases.

We collect anywhere in the UK for France so a load can combine your current home with items held elsewhere, such as a family member's garage or a storage unit. Cars, motorcycles and bicycles can travel with the household on the same vehicle where space allows.

Dates rarely line up perfectly across borders. Secure containerised storage in the UK bridges the gap: your goods are inventoried, sealed into containers and held until your France property is ready then delivered without being handled again in between.

Why choose BlueSky for your move to France

Fifteen years of European relocations, our own directly employed crews rather than agency labour, fully branded vehicles and full goods in transit and public liability cover as standard. We are rated 4.9 out of 5 by our customers and the same coordinator handles your move from survey to final placement.

You will get a written quote you can hold us to, honest advice about whether a part load or a dedicated vehicle suits you better and a straight answer about what a France move really involves. Call us or send your inventory and dates and we will price it properly.