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In short: Since Brexit, moving from Great Britain to Ireland is an EU import. Transfer of Residence relief on Form C&E 1076, via Revenue, can remove import duty and the 23% Irish VAT on used belongings.
You generally need to have owned and used the goods for at least six months and be moving your main home. Check revenue.ie before goods travel.
Before Brexit, moving from the UK to the Republic of Ireland was an intra-EU move and attracted no customs duties on personal belongings. Since 1 January 2021, it is different. The UK left the EU, but Ireland did not. A move from Great Britain into the Republic is now an import into the EU customs union.
That means your household goods need a customs declaration when they arrive at Dublin Port or Rosslare. Without one, Revenue can apply Customs Duty and the 23% Irish VAT to your belongings. For a full houseful of goods, that could be a substantial charge.
The relief that removes those charges is Transfer of Residence relief, run by Revenue. It exists specifically for people moving their home to Ireland from outside the EU. It removes Customs Duty and the 23% VAT on used personal belongings if you meet the qualifying conditions. Your FIDI-certified partner mover files the claim on your behalf using Form C&E 1076, usually about two weeks before your goods arrive.
The Common Travel Area is often misunderstood here. It covers the right to live and work freely between the UK and Ireland. It does not affect customs on your goods. You still need the Transfer of Residence relief even though you can enter Ireland without a visa.
Revenue applies these conditions to every Transfer of Residence claim. Your mover checks them with you before filing Form C&E 1076. If any condition is not met, you may be partially or fully excluded from the relief.
You must have had your normal place of residence outside the EU for at least 12 consecutive months before your move to Ireland. The UK counts as outside the EU since Brexit. Evidence: utility bills, bank statements or a tenancy agreement at your UK address over those 12 months.
Each item must have been owned and used by you for at least six months before the move. Items bought new specifically for the move, or bought in the six months before, do not qualify. Revenue may query items that appear unused or recently acquired.
The relief is for people genuinely moving their main home to Ireland. Holiday home furnishing, second-home moves and temporary relocations are treated differently. Revenue looks for evidence that Ireland is becoming your permanent country of residence.
All goods must be imported into Ireland within 12 months of you establishing Irish residence. If you move to Ireland but leave your goods in UK storage beyond 12 months, you may lose the relief. This is the condition that most often catches people who delay their move.
After importing under Transfer of Residence relief, you must keep the goods in Ireland for at least 12 months. You cannot sell, give away, loan or transfer them to someone else during this period. Breaching this condition can trigger a retrospective duty and VAT charge.
Transfer of Residence relief covers personal household goods, not commercial stock, business equipment or items intended for resale. If you are also moving business equipment to Ireland, that part of the shipment is handled separately under commercial customs procedures.
The PPS number, Personal Public Service number, is the Irish equivalent of the National Insurance number. It is a seven-character identifier used by Revenue, the Department of Social Protection, the HSE, and almost every official body in Ireland. You will need it for tax registration, banking, employment, accessing public services and much more.
Apply at your local Intreo centre or DEASP Social Welfare office as soon as you arrive in Ireland. Bring your passport, proof of your Irish address and evidence of why you need a PPS number (such as starting work or registering with Revenue). Processing is usually prompt.
The PPS number is not always required for the customs declaration itself, but Revenue may ask for it in connection with your Transfer of Residence application. Get it early to avoid delays on any Irish official matter after you move.
The Republic of Ireland uses the euro (EUR). If you are moving from the UK, you are moving from sterling into a euro economy. That affects deposits, any charges you pay at the Irish end, and your day-to-day spending after you arrive.
International Removals Companies works with currency exchange partners. We do not provide currency exchange ourselves, but if you need to convert sterling to euro for your move, we can connect you with a partner who can help. This is entirely separate from the removals service and carries no obligation.
Northern Ireland uses the pound, not the euro. If you are moving to Northern Ireland rather than the Republic, currency exchange is not relevant to your move.
The main ferry from the UK to Ireland is Holyhead to Dublin Port, run by Irish Ferries and Stena Line. The crossing takes about 3 hours 15 minutes. For customs, Transfer of Residence relief on Form C&E 1076 removes import duty and the 23% Irish VAT on used belongings if you qualify. The Common Travel Area covers people, not goods. Your belongings still go through the customs process even though you can travel freely between the UK and Ireland.
After arriving in Ireland, you will need a PPS number. PPS stands for Personal Public Service number. You use it for Revenue, banking, employment and most official matters. Apply at your local Intreo centre when you arrive.
Have the Eircode for your Irish address ready too. An Eircode is the Irish postcode. It is a seven-character code, unique to each address. Rural townland addresses have no street number. The Eircode is how the mover finds your door. Georgian flats in central Dublin have narrow stairs and no lifts. Medieval town-centre streets in Galway and Kilkenny can be too tight for a large van. Give access notes when you enquire.
We do not send your enquiry to a list of firms. We connect you with one suitable FIDI-certified partner mover for your specific route. They check your move and confirm the price. You are not committed to anything.
FIDI FAIM is the main quality standard for international removal companies. Partner movers are audited by Ernst and Young every three years. The audit covers more than 200 quality checks. For a move with customs paperwork, that standard matters.
Transfer of Residence relief is a Revenue concession that removes Customs Duty and the 23% Irish VAT on used personal belongings when you move your home to the Republic of Ireland from outside the EU. Because the UK left the EU, a move from Great Britain to Ireland is now an EU import. Without the relief, your household goods could be subject to customs duty and the full 23% VAT on arrival.
Revenue's main conditions are: you must have lived outside the EU for at least 12 consecutive months; you must have owned and used the goods for at least six months; you must establish permanent residence in Ireland; you must import the goods within 12 months of your move to Ireland; you must keep the goods in Ireland for at least 12 months after arrival; and the goods must be for personal use, not commercial resale.
Form C&E 1076 is the official Revenue document for claiming Transfer of Residence relief. It lists all the goods in the shipment with an estimated value. Your FIDI-certified partner mover prepares and files the form on your behalf, typically about two weeks before your goods arrive at the Irish port. You are responsible for confirming that the information is accurate and that you qualify.
A PPS number is the Personal Public Service number, the Irish tax and identity reference used for Revenue, social welfare, employment and most official matters. It is not always required to complete the customs entry itself, but Revenue and other Irish authorities will ask for it frequently after you arrive. Apply at your local Intreo centre or Social Welfare office on arrival in Ireland.
The Common Travel Area covers people, not goods. It lets UK and Irish citizens live and work freely in each other's country without a visa. Your household belongings still go through the customs process when they move from Great Britain to the Republic. The Transfer of Residence relief, not the Common Travel Area, is what removes the duty and VAT.
The form should be filed about two weeks before your goods arrive. If it is filed late, Revenue may still process it, but your goods may be held at the Irish port pending clearance. Delays at the port can add demurrage charges. If you do not file at all, the 23% Irish VAT and applicable Customs Duty apply to the shipment. Your mover advises on the exact filing deadline for your move date.
Alcohol, tobacco, commercial goods, vehicles (which have a separate VRT charge), and items purchased specifically for the move after you decided to move are typically excluded or treated differently. Revenue may query any item that appears new or purchased recently. Used, personally owned household goods that you have had for at least six months are what the relief is designed for.
Goods already in UK storage can still qualify for Transfer of Residence relief, but the 12-month EU residence and 12-month import window conditions still apply based on when you are establishing Irish residence, not when the goods were put into storage. The mover handles the customs documentation for stored goods in the same way as goods collected from a home. Confirm your specific position with Revenue for storage that has been in place for a long time.
International Removals Companies is not a removal company. We are a free matching service operated by DATACONTEXT (UK) LTD (company 07425576). You send one enquiry and we connect you with one FIDI-certified partner mover who handles the C&E 1076 customs documentation and the UK to Ireland route. The service is free and there is no obligation to book.
This guide is written and maintained by Darren Benjamin, founder of International Removals Companies (DATACONTEXT (UK) LTD, Companies House 07425576). Darren has worked in international removals and logistics for over 20 years and has been a director of a UK removals company since 2013.
Partner movers hold FIDI FAIM Certified, BAR Overseas, IAM, EUROMOVERS and FEDEMAC accreditations. Only FIDI FAIM is an audited certification, checked by Ernst and Young.
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Send your details, both addresses, your room list and your preferred date. One FIDI-certified partner mover handles the Transfer of Residence paperwork and confirms the price. The service is free.
Get a Free Ireland Removals QuoteFree. One FIDI-certified partner mover. DATACONTEXT (UK) LTD, operating since 2010.
International Removals Companies connects removals to Ireland enquiries with one suitable vetted partner mover. Partner movers hold FIDI FAIM, BAR Overseas, IAM, EUROMOVERS and FEDEMAC accreditations where confirmed. Working Member of AGM Group since 2010.
Prices, transit times, insurance cover and customs paperwork must be confirmed by the partner mover before booking.