Moving Abroad: Boxes by Courier or a Removal Company?

Moving abroad does not have to mean a removal company and a lorry. If what you are taking is mostly clothes, books and a few boxes of belongings, a courier costs a fraction of the price. With furniture and a washing machine it no longer does. In between sit two options that few people know about, and that is exactly where the price tips.

Four ways to move your belongings abroad

Belongings can be moved abroad as boxes by courier, on a pallet, in a dedicated van or with a removal company. The four differ in price, in how much of the work stays with you and in what they can carry.

Boxes by courier: cheapest when you have no furniture

Boxes by courier pay off up to about ten boxes, and only when you are not moving furniture. Each box is a separate parcel with its own label. The courier collects them from your home and delivers them to the door of the new address. Inside the EU that means no customs and no paperwork.

The limit is 30 kg per box on ordinary services, and heavy-parcel services take up to 70 kg. I would stay under 20 kg all the same. Somebody will carry that box up a staircase, and overloaded cardboard tears at exactly the moment you least need it to. Split books across several small boxes; duvets and clothes can go in big ones. But watch the volume there, because a large, light box is billed by volumetric weight.

The price is friendly. A 15 kg box on a longer route across Europe costs around €25 as a rough guide, and less between neighbouring countries. Ten boxes therefore come to roughly €250–370 depending on the country and the dimensions. Eurosender has a separate relocation service, and you can enter several boxes in a single booking. Sending suitcases works in a similar way, which we cover in the article on how to ship luggage by courier.

The downside? Each box travels on its own through the ordinary parcel network, so fragile things need proper packing, and one box in ten may turn up a day after the rest. Packing advice is in the article on how to pack fragile items.

A pallet: the break-even point is around six to eight boxes

A pallet breaks even with individual boxes at roughly six to eight boxes. Eurosender quotes pallet transport between European countries from €206.89 including VAT. These are base prices from May 2023, and a real quote may be higher.

On one Euro pallet stacked to 220 cm you can easily fit twenty moving boxes with a microwave on top. Everything travels together, strapped and wrapped in film, so one box out of ten cannot wander off. But you need a pallet, collection is from the ground floor only, and at the other end the pallet is set down at the kerb. From there it is up to you. The details are in the guide on how to ship a pallet as a private person.

A van or a removal company: when you are moving furniture

Furniture, a washing machine and a whole household are moved by a dedicated van or by a removal company. The difference is who packs and who carries. With a dedicated van you pack and carry everything yourself, and a vehicle with a driver travels with your load alone, with no transhipment. Eurosender lists a box van with 13 m³ of space and a 1,000 kg capacity, or a larger curtain-side van (19 m³), and delivery across Europe in 24 to 48 hours.

A removal company does everything, from packing to reassembling the wardrobes in the new flat. It also charges for it: quotes for international moves typically run into the thousands of euros. Nobody will give you an exact price without a survey or an inventory, so get at least two quotes and compare what exactly they include. The biggest differences are in insurance and in surcharges for a floor with no lift.

Plenty of people end up combining things anyway. They sell the furniture or leave it behind, send the boxes by courier or on a pallet, and buy what they need on arrival. For a stay of a year or two that tends to be the most sensible option and, frankly, the cheapest.

Moving outside the EU: customs and an inventory

On a move outside the EU, which includes the UK, Switzerland and Norway, every box goes through customs clearance. Personal belongings moved on a transfer of residence can be exempt from duty and tax. It is not automatic, though. The destination country usually wants an inventory with values and proof that you really are relocating, and the application often has to be made in advance.

The conditions differ from one country to the next. For the UK, read the guide on sending parcels to the UK after Brexit; the general rules are in the guide to customs and VAT. The same applies in the other direction: anyone returning to the EU from a non-EU country deals with import in much the same way.

What not to put in moving boxes and how to label them

Documents, cash, jewellery, medicines and anything you cannot do without in the first week do not belong in moving boxes. Take those with you. Couriers will not carry flammables, aerosols or loose lithium batteries either: see the overview of prohibited items in parcels.

• Number the boxes and keep a list of what is in each. In case of a loss or a claim it is priceless.
• Weigh every box and put the real weight in the booking. Underdeclaring brings a surcharge.
• Photograph the contents and the sealed box.
• Add insurance if you are sending electronics. The basic cover included in the price is not enough; more in the guide to parcel insurance.

A word on timing: send the boxes so that they arrive a day or two after you do, not before. A courier will not leave a shipment at an empty address, and the return trip to where it came from is charged. If a bike is coming with you, it has its own guide: how to ship a bike by courier.