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People come back from Thailand for all sorts of reasons: a contract ending, family, healthcare, or simply that the experiment ran its course. The move home is not the outbound move in reverse. Different paperwork, a different deadline, and usually a much smaller shipment.
Packing is usually done by the crew in Thailand rather than by you, for the same insurance reasons as the outbound leg. The single thing that decides how smoothly a return relocation goes is Transfer of Residence. Apply for ToR1 before the goods leave Thailand, not after they reach the UK, or the container sits at the port accruing storage while HMRC works through the form.
Transfer of Residence relieves duty and VAT on used personal belongings when you move your normal place of residence to Great Britain. It is claimed on form ToR1 and it is not automatic.
The application goes in before the goods leave Thailand. Approval takes two to four weeks and stretches to six across June to September. You receive a unique reference number that the shipping company quotes on the entry. No reference, no release.
Used personal belongings and household effects that you have owned and used, for your own continued use in the UK. Not goods for sale, not commercial stock, and not furniture destined for a property you own but do not live in.
Second home furniture does not qualify. Students moving for study use a different code, so say if that is you. And there is no ToR for goods moving from the EU into Northern Ireland, which is a separate arrangement.
Almost everything leaves through Laem Chabang, the deep sea container port in Chonburi, with a smaller number going out via Bangkok Port at Khlong Toei. Arrival is normally Felixstowe, Southampton or London Gateway depending on the service.
Transit runs about six to ten weeks door to door, marginally quicker than the outbound run. As on the way out, a shared load waits for the container to fill and a container to yourself does not, so the range is mostly consolidation rather than sailing time.
The inland leg at the Thai end depends on where you are. Si Racha and Pattaya are inside an hour of the port. Chiang Mai is around eleven hours and Hat Yai fifteen, so collection has to be scheduled well before the sailing rather than against it.
Contract staff at the end of a posting, families returning for schooling, people moving back for healthcare or elderly parents, and a steady number who came to retire and changed their minds. The common thread is that the shipment is smaller than the one that came out.
Return moves price the same way as outbound ones: volume first, then access at both ends. Because most return loads are smaller, shared container space is the usual answer.
| What you are bringing | Volume | Shipped as | Indicative cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal effects and a few pieces | 3 to 8 cbm | Shared container space | £700 to £1,800 |
| A furnished one bedroom | 10 to 15 cbm | Shared container space | £1,900 to £2,900 |
| A full household | 25 to 33 cbm | 20ft container to yourself | £4,200 to £5,000 |
About six to ten weeks door to door by sea. Most goods leave through Laem Chabang and arrive at Felixstowe, Southampton or London Gateway. A shared load sits at the slower end because the container sails when it is full; a container to yourself moves on the schedule.
Transfer of Residence relief, which removes duty and VAT on used personal belongings when you move your normal residence to Great Britain. You need it, and you need to apply before the goods leave Thailand. Approval takes two to four weeks, stretching to six between June and September.
The customs entry cannot be filed, so the container is not released and goes into port storage charged by the day. Two weeks of UK port storage will usually cost more than the relief was worth. Apply first, ship second.
No. Transfer of Residence requires you to be moving your normal place of residence, and the goods must be for your own continued use. Furnishing a second property does not qualify. Students moving for study use a different code.
Personal effects and a few pieces at three to eight cubic metres run about £700 to £1,800. A furnished one bedroom at ten to fifteen cubic metres runs £1,900 to £2,900. A full household in a 20ft container to yourself runs £4,200 to £5,000. Insurance is separate.
Solid teak and rosewood, yes. It is genuinely good, it was bought at Thai prices, and replacing it in the UK would cost several times the freight. Rattan and lightweight outdoor furniture is not worth it: bulky, cheap and poorly suited to a British climate.
Technically yes. Thailand runs 220V at 50Hz, which matches the UK, so appliances will work with a plug change. But warranties do not transfer, servicing is difficult, and the freight on a bulky appliance rarely justifies it.
It changes the timing rather than the cost. Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Lanta all need a ferry leg before the road leg to the port, and ferry space for a loaded vehicle books out between December and February. Allow an extra week in the plan.
Every firm in the network holds FIDI FAIM certification. Ernst and Young audit them against more than two hundred criteria on a three year cycle: financial standing, insurance, customs competence, staff training and how claims get handled. On a route with a sea leg and a clearance in the middle, that audit is what separates a problem being solved from a problem being argued about.
We have run this service since November 2010 and have handled over 850,000 enquiries in that time. We are a Working Member of the AGM Group network, agm.group. We are not a removal company and we do not own a lorry: your details go to one vetted firm and they survey and quote directly.
Send the Thai collection address, the UK delivery postcode, a rough inventory, the access at both ends and your date. One vetted moving company handles the ToR side with you.
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Written by Darren Benjamin, founder of International Removals Companies. Darren has run this service since November 2010 and has overseen more than 850,000 moving enquiries.
Costs were checked in DATE against three published UK sources. ToR1 timings were checked against GOV.UK guidance. Rules and prices change, so confirm your own position before you ship. Questions: 07551 855 064 or WhatsApp. Read our Google reviews.
A free enquiry service run by DATACONTEXT (UK) LTD, and a Working Member of the AGM Group network, agm.group. We are not a removal company.
Use this page to prepare the enquiry, then deal directly with the moving company we introduce before you book anything.