The shipping from London to China is the same as from anywhere in Britain. The collection is not. London adds parking, emissions charges, narrow streets and staircases that were built before anybody imagined a container.
One vetted mover from our network handles it. International movers who collect in London regularly know which boroughs are slow with suspensions and which streets need a shuttle, and that saves a day.
Plan the relocation around the permit rather than the sailing. Goods leave through Felixstowe, London Gateway or Tilbury on most services. Which one is used depends on the shipping line rather than on where in London you live.
The parking suspension. Almost every London residential street is a controlled parking zone. Reserving space means applying to the borough, usually several working days ahead, with a fee. Boroughs vary in how quickly they process it, which is one reason to book the move earlier than you would elsewhere.
Vehicle access. Where a street will not take an articulated vehicle, the crew loads into a smaller lorry and transfers into the container at a depot. Normal, adds a modest cost, and should be in the quote.
Emissions charges apply to removal vehicles operating in London. Reputable movers include them. Check they are in the figure.
Stairs. Period conversions dominate London flats. Narrow staircases, half landings, tight turns and no lift. Getting a wardrobe down three floors takes longer than getting it up, and it is worth telling the surveyor exactly what floor you are on and what the turns are like.
Loading time. All of this means a London collection frequently takes longer than the same volume elsewhere. A two bedroom flat that would load in a morning in Reading can take most of a day in Islington.
What you can do. Book early, arrange the suspension, tell the surveyor the truth about access, and clear the hallway and stairs before the crew arrives.
Freight is identical to any UK departure. What London adds is collection labour, the suspension, the emissions charge and often a shuttle. It is a real addition rather than a rounding error.
£300 to £1,200
Plus the London collection element.
£1,300 to £4,300
The common London departure.
£3,700 to £9,500
Family households, with access charges on top.
Tell us the postcode, the floor and whether the street takes a lorry. Those three decide the London half of the quote.
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.
The residence permit comes first. Chinese customs relief on household goods is tied to it, and a container arriving in China without a permit behind it sits at a port accruing charges. Start it before you book anything.
Confirm the destination district, not just the city. Chinese compounds control service lift access, often requiring a booked slot weeks ahead plus the mover's insurance details at the gate. Arranging that from London is far easier than doing it on arrival.
Get the address in Chinese. On your phone and on paper. A romanised version is frequently no use to a delivery crew.
Ask about rail if your Chinese destination is inland. Chengdu, Chongqing, Xi'an, Wuhan, Kunming and Harbin are all served by European rail freight, which removes a very long domestic road leg.
Plan an air consignment. Whatever you need for the first fortnight. It is what makes the two month wait for a sea shipment bearable, and deciding it early stops it becoming an expensive afterthought.
Keep documents with you. Passport, visa, permit correspondence, inventory and insurance papers. Not in the container. It happens to somebody every year.
The wider UK to China page covers the sequencing. This one is about what London adds to the collection.
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
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Competitive exchange rate
Parking suspensions, emissions charges, streets needing a shuttle vehicle and period conversions with no lift. It is all crew hours. A two bedroom flat that loads in a morning in Reading can take most of a day in Islington.
An application to your borough to reserve street space for the removal vehicle, usually needed several working days ahead with a fee. Boroughs vary in processing speed, which is a reason to book a London move earlier than you would elsewhere.
Often not. Where a street will not take an articulated vehicle, the crew loads into a smaller lorry and transfers into the container at a depot. It adds a modest cost and it should be in the quote rather than a surprise.
Felixstowe, London Gateway or Tilbury on most services. The shipping line decides rather than your postcode, and it rarely changes the price. Your mover collects from your address regardless of which is used.
No, and this is the most expensive mistake on the route. Chinese relief on household goods is tied to the permit, so a container arriving without one behind it sits at a Chinese port accruing charges.
Twelve to sixteen weeks from deciding to move to delivery in China. The shipping is six to ten weeks of that, and most of the rest sits before the container sails: surveys, quotes, permit and packing.
They should be. London emissions charging applies to removal vehicles and reputable movers price it in. Confirm it is in the figure you were given rather than something that appears on the invoice afterwards.
The Chinese compound service lift slot, which often needs booking weeks ahead with the mover's insurance details. Also get your delivery address written in Chinese, because a romanised version is frequently no use to a local crew.
Worth pricing. Chengdu, Chongqing, Xi'an, Wuhan, Kunming and Harbin are all served by European rail freight, which lands your goods in the city and removes a domestic road leg that can run to well over a thousand kilometres.
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.