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You apply online using the ToR1 form and HMRC issues a Unique Reference Number. Your mover quotes it on the import declaration, and without a valid one your goods can be billed for duty and administration charges, or held at the border.
Serving international removals, relocation and shipping between the UK and Austria. A move back from Austria runs the same road in reverse, two to four days on a dedicated vehicle. The difference is the paperwork: you must apply to HMRC for ToR relief and hold the reference number before your goods ship, not after.
We match you with one vetted moving company for your route, free. We are not a removal company and we are not a quote comparison service, so you get one mover, not ten sales calls.
Moving back from the country is not the outbound job in reverse. The transport is the same road and much the same price, often a little cheaper because vehicles returning to the UK have space to fill. The customs side is completely different, and it is where return moves go wrong.
the country to UK removals are used by returning residents, families, students finishing a course, seasonal workers coming off a ski contract, corporate transfers ending and people clearing a property after a sale or a bereavement. Volumes range from a few boxes to a full house.
Whatever the size, the sequence matters more than anything else on this route. Apply for relief, get the reference number, then ship. Doing it the other way round is how people end up paying 20 per cent import VAT on their own furniture.
Send your collection town, the delivery address, move date and rough volume. One vetted moving company checks the route and comes back with a real figure.
Send your move detailsTransfer of Residence relief is how HMRC lets people moving their main home to the UK bring belongings in without customs duty or the 20 per cent import VAT. You apply online using the ToR1 form, which replaced the old C3 paper system in 2017, and HMRC issues a Unique Reference Number.
That number is the whole point. Your mover quotes it on the import declaration, and without a valid one your goods can be billed for duty and administration charges, or held at the border while you sort it out. Processing usually takes two to four weeks and can stretch to six in the summer peak between June and September, so apply as soon as the move is confirmed.
The reference is valid for six months before your move and twelve months after arrival, and one approval covers several shipments provided everything was listed in the original inventory. There is no advantage to leaving it late and a real cost to doing so.
Relief applies to personal belongings you are bringing to your new main home. It does not cover alcohol and tobacco, and it does not cover anything brand new. The exclusion that surprises most people is furniture intended for a second home: if you are keeping a place in Austria and furnishing a UK property, that is not a transfer of residence and the relief does not apply.
Students coming to the UK for full-time study do not complete a ToR1 at all. Their goods are declared under a different customs procedure code, and the mover needs proof of study instead. Tell them which category you are in at the first conversation, because it changes the paperwork entirely.
One geographic point worth knowing: goods moving from the EU into Northern Ireland do not need ToR relief, because Northern Ireland operates under a different customs arrangement. If your delivery address is in Belfast rather than Birmingham, say so early.
Estate and property clearances are a large share of this route, and they need more planning than a normal move. Decide what is shipping, what is being sold and what is being disposed of before the survey, because a crew standing in a house full of undecided items is expensive.
Seasonal returns are the opposite problem: small volumes, tight timing, and everyone leaving in the same fortnight in April. Book the return leg when you book the outbound one if you can, because that is the busiest departure window in the Alpine resorts.
One enquiry, one vetted moving company, no obligation to book. Send your collection postcode, the delivery address, your date and a rough inventory.
This guide is maintained by Darren Benjamin, who has run International Removals Companies since it launched in 2010 and has over 20 years in the logistics industry. Since 2013 he has also been Secretary and Manager of a UK removal company, a role verifiable on Companies House.
The movers we match you with hold the industry's recognised credentials, including FIDI FAIM Certified (audited by Ernst and Young), BAR Overseas, IAM, EUROMOVERS and FEDEMAC membership. Read more on our about us page.
Cost ranges compiled August 2026 from published competitor route rates and reviewed annually. Customs rules checked against UK and Austrian government guidance in August 2026. Read our Google reviews.
Transfer of Residence relief is HMRC's mechanism for letting people moving their main home to the UK bring personal belongings in without customs duty or the 20 per cent import VAT. If you are returning to the UK after living in Austria and shipping a household, yes, you need it. British citizenship does not exempt you.
As soon as the move is confirmed, and always before the goods ship. Processing usually takes two to four weeks and can stretch to six during the summer peak between June and September. The reference number is valid for six months before your move and twelve months after arrival, so there is no downside to applying early.
You may be billed for import duty, the 20 per cent VAT and administration charges, and the shipment can be held while it is resolved. Once a consignment is in transit or sitting at a UK port without a valid number, your options narrow and get more expensive. This is the single most avoidable cost on the route.
Yes. A single approval covers multiple consignments provided everything was listed in the original inventory and all of it is imported within twelve months of your arrival. If you find items after approval, contact HMRC to update the record rather than start a fresh application.
Not for furnishing a second home. ToR relief is for transferring your main residence to the UK, and furniture intended for a second home is specifically excluded. If you are keeping a place there and moving goods to a UK property you also own, expect to declare and pay. Worth confirming with your mover before you ship.
Broadly the same as the outbound leg and often slightly less, because vehicles returning to the UK have space to fill. Plan on about 850 to 1,400 pounds for 5 cubic metres and 3,500 to 5,400 pounds for a 30 cubic metre dedicated vehicle, with the exact figure depending on your Austrian collection point and UK delivery postcode.
Only if you are coming to the UK for full-time study rather than returning permanently. Students coming to the UK to study do not complete a ToR1; their goods are declared under a separate customs procedure code and the mover needs proof of study. If you are returning home after studying there, the standard ToR route applies.
Yes, and it is one of the more common jobs on this route. The useful thing is to decide before the survey what is shipping, what is being sold locally and what is being disposed of. A crew working through a house of undecided items costs considerably more than a crew loading a settled inventory.
Yes. Currency exchange is included in what we help with, and works in both directions. We have done this for customers for many years through trusted partners who are experts in currency exchange, charge no hidden fees, hold five star consumer ratings and offer competitive exchange. Mention it on the quote form.
Send your collection address, the delivery address, move date, inventory and service type. One vetted moving company checks the route, access, paperwork and price range, then contacts you with the quote. Free, with no obligation to book.
Send your move detailsWe match removal enquiries with one vetted, FIDI FAIM and BAR Overseas certified international moving company from the AGM Group network, free of charge. We are not a removal company.
All costs shown are planning ranges. Prices, transit times, customs and insurance are confirmed by the mover before booking.