Gillingham → France
Removals from Gillingham to France
Of the four routes we run, France is the one where Medway's geography genuinely helps. You are on the M20 within half an hour of leaving ME7, and on the other side before the day has properly started.
A UK to France removal splits into two very different jobs depending on where in the country you are going. Anything in Nord, Pas-de-Calais, Picardy or upper Normandy is close — the crossing is the longest part of the day. Anything past the Loire is a proper haul, and the planning changes accordingly: driver hours, an overnight, and a delivery slot that has to be realistic rather than optimistic.
We do both, as full loads on a dedicated vehicle and as part loads consolidated with other moves going the same way. Which is right for you comes down to volume and how fixed your dates are.
Who we move to France
More second homes than you might think. Medway is close enough to the Channel that a house in the Pas-de-Calais or the Somme is a weekend rather than an expedition, and a fair share of our France loads are part-furnishing a property rather than emptying one. After that: retirements to the south-west and Occitanie, families following work to Paris, Lyon and Toulouse, and the long-running Brittany and Dordogne contingent who have been going for thirty years and show no sign of stopping.
What we move
Everything a household contains, with the usual exclusions. Furniture blanketed, kitchens packed by us if you want, pictures and mirrors in purpose-made cartons, garden furniture and tools where the fuel is out. Pianos and other heavy items are possible but get looked at separately, because the staircase at the French end is usually the deciding factor and nobody has measured it.
The route, leg by leg
- Gillingham to the M20
- M2 at junction 3 or 4, across to Maidstone, onto the M20. Twenty-odd miles of motorway before anything else happens.
- The crossing
- Eurotunnel from Cheriton or the ferry out of Dover. Tunnel for most household loads — the vehicle stays loaded and nothing is handled.
- Calais and the A26
- The autoroute network opens up immediately. North-east for Champagne and Alsace, south for everywhere else.
- South on the A26 and A6
- Reims, Dijon, Lyon. The long middle of the drive, and the part that decides whether a load needs an overnight.
- Into the region
- A9 for Languedoc and the Mediterranean, A62 for the south-west and the Dordogne, A11 and N165 for Brittany and the Loire.
French customs and the paperwork
Moving to France is now an import, and French customs want to see that you are transferring your residence rather than shipping goods in to sell. In practice that means four things: a detailed inventory with values, a certificate of change of residence — usually from the mairie of your new commune or from the French consulate — proof of your address in France, and identification.
Get those right and household goods you have owned and used come in under transfer of residence relief. Get the inventory wrong and the load sits while somebody asks questions. We build the declaration from the survey inventory for exactly that reason, and we chase your documents before the vehicle is loaded rather than after.
We do not quote clearance times. That is not our decision to make and any firm giving you a fixed figure is guessing at somebody else's process.
Regions we deliver to most
Hauts-de-France and Normandy — the close ones. Second homes, holiday properties, and people who have worked out that Calais to Canterbury is shorter than Canterbury to London.
Brittany and the Pays de la Loire — long-established British communities around Dinan, Vannes and the Morbihan coast. Stone houses, narrow lanes, and a shuttle more often than not.
Nouvelle-Aquitaine — the Dordogne, the Charente, and down towards the Landes. Retirement moves, renovation projects, and the largest average load size of any French region we serve.
Occitanie and Provence — the long run. Toulouse, Montpellier, the Hérault villages, and the Var. Hot in summer, which matters when you are unloading.
Île-de-France and the cities — work moves. Smaller loads, harder access, delivery windows that have to be booked with the building.
Before you book
Two things save more grief than anything else. First, start the paperwork early — the certificate of change of residence is the one that takes longest to obtain. Second, measure the doors and the staircase at the French end, or send us photographs. A farmhouse staircase in the Dordogne will not take a modern king-size divan, and the time to discover that is now.
If Spain, Italy or Portugal is on the list too, the European removals hub compares the four routes. Moving within Medway instead? Start with house removals in Gillingham.
Moving to France from Medway — your questions
How does a removal from Gillingham to France actually work?
We survey and inventory in ME7 or ME8, prepare the customs documentation, load at your address, and drive out via the M2, M20 and the Channel. From Calais it is autoroute to your region. We deliver to the property, position the furniture and clear the packaging, the same as a local move.
Do I need a customs declaration to move to France?
Yes. Since Brexit, household goods entering France are a customs import. You will need a detailed inventory, a certificate of change of residence from your new mairie or consulate, proof of your French address, and identification. We compile and lodge the declaration; you supply the personal documents.
Will I pay duty on my furniture?
Normally no, because a genuine transfer of residence qualifies for relief on household goods you have owned and used. The relief depends on the paperwork being right, which is exactly why the inventory matters. New or recently bought items can be treated differently.
Full load or part load to France?
A full house usually takes a dedicated vehicle. A flat, a part-furnished property or a second home is often better as a part load sharing the route with other moves — less cost, less flexibility on dates. We price both so you can see the difference.
Can you collect from more than one address before we leave?
Yes, and it is common — the house in Gillingham plus a storage unit, or a relative's place holding the furniture. Tell us at survey so the pickups are built into the route.
What about the wine, the tools, the garden equipment?
Tools and garden equipment travel fine if fuel is drained and nothing is pressurised. Wine in ordinary domestic quantities is usually treated as part of the household, but large cellars have their own rules and we will flag it if yours qualifies.
Do you deliver into narrow village streets?
Often we cannot get a long vehicle in, and rural France has plenty of streets like that. We check the delivery address on satellite beforehand and arrange a shuttle where one is needed. Better to plan it than to arrive and improvise.
Can you move us back later?
Yes. Return moves from France to Kent are a regular part of the work, and the paperwork runs the other way — a UK customs declaration on the way in.
Getting a quote for France
Send the Gillingham address, the French one, and a rough room list. The survey and the paperwork start from there.