Removals from Hayes to France, the route we know best.

Before the boxes: what should you sort out first?

Start with residence, because everything else hangs off it. UK nationals can visit France without a visa for short stays, but living there means applying for a long-stay visa through France-Visas before you travel. The most common type, the VLS-TS, works as your first residence permit once you validate it online after arrival; renewals are applied for through the ANEF portal and issued as a titre de séjour by the prefecture. The category depends on whether you are working, retiring, studying or joining family, and the consulate sets the documents. It matters to the move because the customs relief assumes you are taking up residence, so the douane can ask for your visa or proof of address when your goods arrive. We don't process visas, but we plan collection and delivery around yours, and storage in Hayes covers the gap if an appointment moves. GOV.UK's Living in France guide and service-public.fr carry the official detail.

Which papers will France ask to see?

Long-stay visa (VLS-TS) · Visa de long séjour valant titre de séjour

UK nationals planning to live in France beyond the visa-free short-stay allowance apply through France-Visas before travelling, then validate the visa online after arrival. Renewals are applied for online through the ANEF portal and issued as a titre de séjour by the prefecture.

Change-of-residence relief · Franchise pour changement de résidence

The French customs relief that lets used household goods enter without duty or import VAT, provided you have owned and used them for a qualifying period. Claimed with the douane; we prepare the declaration.

UK export declaration · Customs export entry

Lodged before the load leaves the UK, usually by the remover or its agent.

Proof of address · Justificatif de domicile

Your French lease, purchase deed or a utility bill. Customs and the prefecture both ask for one, so keep a copy with you rather than in a packed box.

Bilingual inventory · Inventaire détaillé

The itemised list the douane checks your relief claim against, prepared from the surveyor’s notes.

What does the douane need from a household move?

Since Brexit, a household move to France is an export from the UK and an import into the EU, even though nothing is being sold. The UK half is an export declaration lodged before the lorry leaves Hayes; whether you need an EORI number of your own is covered in our FAQ. The French half is the franchise pour changement de résidence, a relief from import duty and VAT for used personal property brought in when you take up residence. To qualify, you generally need to have lived outside the EU for a qualifying period and to have owned and used the goods for a set time beforehand; the douane publishes the current conditions. Because France is where your belongings first enter the EU, the claim is made on arrival at the Channel, using the declaration and bilingual inventory we prepare. Alcohol and tobacco sit outside the relief, so a wine collection goes on the paperwork as a separate line.

ToR1, which you may see mentioned online, is HMRC's relief for belongings coming into the UK (GOV.UK). It plays no part in a move out.

What's in the written quote?

Everything below, as standard.

• Survey and collection in West London

  A surveyor walks the property in Hayes, Yiewsley, West Drayton, Northolt or Southall first. The crew that packs and loads is briefed on the French delivery address before the van leaves.

• Export entry before the Channel

  Lodged before departure, normally by us or our customs agent. If it needs an EORI number in your own name, we say so at survey and point you to the free GOV.UK application.

• The douane declaration

  We prepare the change-of-residence declaration and the bilingual inventory the douane works from, so your belongings enter France as personal property rather than goods for sale.

• Cover from Hayes to the French door

  Goods-in-transit cover from collection to delivery, with the certificate sent alongside your written quote.

• Packing for pianos, art and wine

  Fragile and valuable pieces are itemised at survey and packed to suit, including export wrapping for the longer roads south.

• Storage while the keys catch up

  Storage at the Hayes end between collection and departure, and destination-side storage arranged through our French partners when the keys arrive after the furniture.

• A partner team for the gardien and the mairie

  Our French partner team talks to the gardien, the syndic or the mairie about lift bookings and parking, so you are not making those calls on the day.

Paris flat or Dordogne farmhouse: where do we deliver?

• Paris

  Central arrondissements often need a parking suspension from the mairie and a lift or window hoist for upper floors. Our partners request the permit ahead of delivery.

• Provence

  Aix, Avignon and the Luberon villages: stone steps, narrow lanes and the occasional hoist for an upstairs piano. A smaller vehicle often does the last stretch.

• Dordogne

  Périgord stone houses down rural tracks. We check access from photos you send and plan a shuttle vehicle if the lorry can't reach the door.

• Brittany

  Saint-Malo, Rennes, Vannes. A western ferry from Portsmouth or Plymouth can suit these addresses better than Calais; we choose by address.

• Côte d'Azur

  Nice, Cannes, Antibes. Gated residences with concierge rules and booked delivery slots, which the destination team arranges in advance.

Heading further south than Provence? Loads for Italy and the Mediterranean side of Spain follow the same French motorways for most of the way.

What else do people ask before a French move?