Most of what goes wrong on a China move is sequencing rather than shipping. Things done in the wrong order cost storage, or a rebooked sailing, or a container sitting at a port. This is the order that works.
One vetted mover from our network handles the shipment, and good movers will tell you the same thing about relocation timing: the earlier items on this list are the ones that decide everything else.
International movers work to twelve to sixteen weeks from decision to delivery, and that is realistic. If you have less than that, the list still applies, you just do several things at once.
Everything on this page depends on getting these right, and they are the ones people leave too late.
Start the residence permit process. Whether you or your employer are handling it, this is the critical path. Chinese customs relief on household goods is tied to it, and no amount of shipping efficiency compensates for a container arriving before a permit does.
Book two or three surveys. Ask each surveyor for a cubic metre figure in writing. That number is what makes quotes comparable and it is what tells you whether you need a container or shared space.
Decide what is not going. Before the survey, not after. Selling, giving away and disposing all take longer than people plan for, and a survey that reflects the real load produces a quote that holds.
Check whether rail serves your destination. If you are heading somewhere inland, ask for rail to be priced against sea. For Chengdu, Chongqing, Xi'an, Wuhan, Kunming or Harbin it frequently wins once the domestic road leg is counted.
Confirm your Chinese address, or at least the district. Quotes vary with the destination city and access at the far end, so the more specific you can be the more accurate the figure.
Identify anything that needs special handling. Pianos, artwork, stone, instruments. And anything you have bought that might be old, since export certification takes weeks.
The shipping quote is the largest line but not the only one. Putting these in from the start is easier than meeting them one at a time.
£250 to £9,500
Depends entirely on volume, mode and destination.
£400 to £1,500
Optional, and it is what makes the first weeks bearable.
10 to 15 per cent
Not always needed, always worth having.
Tell us where you are in this list and when you need to be there. We will work out whether the timing is realistic.
We match you with your vetted mover, which means one team handles the whole relocation. It is free, with no obligation. Get a quote today and hold your dates.
Send your move detailsCall 07551 855 064 or +447551855064. Message us on WhatsApp.
Keep these with you, not in the container. Passport, visa, permit correspondence, the inventory, insurance documents, proof of address and any export certificates. This sounds obvious and it happens every year to someone packing in a hurry on the last day.
Take your first fortnight properly. Whatever is in the air consignment plus the airline allowance should cover two months of ordinary living without the container. Clothes for the season, work things, children's essentials, chargers and medicines.
Have your Chinese address written in Chinese. On your phone and on paper. Drivers, delivery crews and building management will need it, and a romanised version is frequently no use at all.
Confirm the delivery arrangements before you fly. Many Chinese compounds require a booked service lift slot, sometimes weeks ahead, plus the mover's insurance details at the gate. Sort this from the UK if you can.
In your first week. Register your address as required locally, get a Chinese phone number and payment app set up, and start the licence conversion if you intend to drive. All three make the following weeks easier.
When the container lands. Have the permit, passport and inventory available. Be present or represented for the delivery, check the inventory as items come off, and note any damage in writing on the day rather than a week later. Insurance claims are assessed against what was recorded at delivery.
This is the sequence. The corridor and timing pages explain why each stage takes as long as it does.
A move usually means moving money too, whether that is a deposit on a Chinese flat or funds coming back the other way. We have helped customers with currency exchange in any currency through trusted partners for many years, and our partners can help with the money side of your move. Mention it on the form and it gets included.
Experts in currency exchange
No hidden fees
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Competitive exchange rate
Twelve to sixteen weeks from decision to delivery is realistic. If you have less, the same list applies but several things happen at once. The residence permit and the surveys are the two that cannot be compressed much.
Start the residence permit process and book surveys, in that order of importance. The permit is the critical path because Chinese customs relief depends on it, and the survey gives you the cubic metre figure everything else is built on.
Before the survey, not after. Selling and disposing take longer than people plan for, and a survey that reflects the real load produces a quote that holds. Changing the volume on packing day changes the price.
Whatever you would miss most in the two months before the container lands. Clothes for the season, work equipment, children's essentials, chargers and medicines. Plan it six weeks out rather than adding it in a panic.
Passport, visa, permit correspondence, the inventory, insurance documents and any export certificates. It sounds obvious and it happens every year to somebody packing in a hurry on the last day.
Yes, and keep it on your phone and on paper. Drivers, delivery crews and building management will need it, and a romanised version is frequently no use at all in the moment you need it.
The delivery arrangements. Many Chinese compounds require a booked service lift slot, sometimes weeks ahead, plus the mover's insurance details at the gate. Arranging that from the UK is far easier than doing it on arrival.
Be present or represented, have the permit, passport and inventory available, check items against the inventory as they come off, and note any damage in writing on the day. Insurance claims are assessed against what was recorded at delivery.
Register your address as required locally, set up a Chinese phone number and payment app, and start the driving licence conversion if you intend to drive. All three make everything in the following weeks considerably easier.
Send your collection address, your Chinese destination, a rough idea of the volume and your date. A vetted mover from our network checks the route, the paperwork and the access, then comes back to you with the price.
Send your move detailsWe match international moving enquiries with vetted moving companies in the AGM Group network, each holding FIDI FAIM certification and BAR Overseas membership.
We are not a removal firm ourselves. We find you the one that suits your route, and you deal with them directly from there.