Route · Hampshire to France
Removals from Hampshire to France
More Hampshire households move to France than to the other three routes combined, and a striking number of them are leaving one old house for another. That pairing is the thing worth planning around: a winder staircase at this end and a stone spiral at the other is a genuine constraint, not a detail.
The county's particular pattern: Forest and downland cottage owners buying rural French property, often with outbuildings at both ends.
Who moves this route from Hampshire
- Owners of period Hampshire property buying rural houses in Normandy, Brittany and the Charente — old house to old house, frequently with barns at both ends.
- Families relocating to Paris and the Île-de-France on a fixed start date, usually leaving a suburban house for a considerably smaller flat.
- Retirements to the Dordogne and the south-west, where the Hampshire house sells and a good deal of the furniture does not go.
The route out of the county
Up the M3 from the south of the county, or the A34 from the Basingstoke and Andover side, to the M25 and round to the M20 for the Eurotunnel shuttle at Folkestone. Dover is the alternative. Hampshire has two great ports on its own coast, but those handle deep-sea container freight — a different service from a road removal, and we say so plainly rather than trading on the proximity.
From Calais the A16 runs west along the coast towards Normandy and the A26 drops south-east towards Reims. For Brittany and the west it is the A16 then the A28 through Rouen and Le Mans. For the south-west, on down through Tours and Bordeaux; for the Mediterranean, the A26 to the A6 and the long run down the Rhône on the A7.
Where we deliver
Customs and paperwork
France is outside the UK customs union, so a household move is an export from Britain and an import into France even though every item in it is used. Transfer of residence relief is what keeps it duty-free for somebody genuinely moving, and it turns on the inventory describing what is actually in the vehicle.
The file, and who builds it
| Document | Obtained by | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Detailed inventory (valued) | Us | Written at the survey and checked at loading. This is the document customs reads, so it names contents rather than counting boxes. |
| Proof the Hampshire address has ended | You | Closing council tax bill, an ending tenancy, or completion paperwork on the property. |
| Proof of the French address | You | Deeds, a lease, or an attestation from the mairie once you are registered. |
| Passport and residence status | You | Copies for the file. Your status decides whether the relief applies at all. |
| Export declaration | Us | Raised on the UK side against the inventory before the vehicle reaches the terminal. |
| Import entry and relief claim | Us | Lodged with French customs through our agent against the same inventory. |
Everything marked You is yours to obtain, and those are the items that hold loads up — start them early. Everything marked Us we prepare and lodge against the inventory written at your property.
Old house to old house
The thing that catches Hampshire buyers out on this route is symmetry. They have spent years learning what fits up their own winder staircase, and then buy a French house with a stone spiral that is tighter still. Measure the destination stairs at the viewing. It is the single most useful thing you can do before we quote.
The second is that French rural property frequently cannot take a full-size vehicle, for exactly the reasons a Forest track cannot — width, surface and a gateway built before lorries. That is solvable by shuttling, and it needs identifying before the load leaves rather than at the end of a lane in the Manche.
The third is fittings. French houses are commonly sold or let without kitchens, wardrobes or light fittings, which is the opposite of what a modern Hampshire house does. If your inventory looks light because you assumed those would be there, say so at survey and we will plan the volume properly.
Hampshire to France
Questions on this route
01 Will our furniture fit a French farmhouse?
Some of it may not, and the constraint is usually the staircase rather than the door. If you are moving from a period Hampshire house you already know this problem; a French stone spiral is frequently tighter. Measure it at the viewing and send us the numbers.
02 Can you do a part-load?
Yes, and for a second home it is normally right. A part-load shares a vehicle with other consignments on the route: lower cost, and departure when the route fills rather than on a date you choose.
03 You are near Southampton — do you ship by sea?
No. Southampton is a container and cruise port, and deep-sea household shipping is a different service run by different firms. We are a road removals company. If sea freight is genuinely what you need we will tell you rather than take the job.
04 Do we pay duty on our own furniture?
Not where you qualify for transfer of residence relief and the file is right. The relief exists precisely so that people moving home are not taxed on their own belongings, and it is conditional on your status and an accurate inventory.
05 Can you empty outbuildings at both ends?
At this end certainly, and it needs to be on the inventory. At the French end we deliver to wherever you direct on the property, barns included, subject to the vehicle being able to reach them.
06 Can you hold our things in Hampshire first?
Frequently, and on a French purchase it is common — those chains slip. Goods are collected, listed and held, and the export file is built against that same inventory once the French date is real.
Moving from Hampshire to France?
Tell us the two addresses, what is going, and whether the far end has a date. We will come back with the route, the documents to start, and a written quote.