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International Removals Home After a US Assignment

✓ Returning After an Assignment ✓ End of Assignment ✓ Return Leg ✓ Employer Cover ✓ Transfer of Residence ✓ Household Goods Shipping ✓ UK Customs Paperwork ✓ Free Enquiry Match
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Corporate relocation policies often stop at the outbound leg

Assignments end, sometimes on schedule and sometimes at three weeks' notice. Either way the return leg gets less planning than the outbound one did, and it usually needs more.

We connect your enquiry with a vetted international moving company from our network that runs the route home as routinely as the route out.

Two questions decide most of it. Does the policy cover the return, and have you started the Transfer of Residence application, which has to happen before the goods arrive rather than with them.

the shipping is straightforward and the two things that catch people are the relief application, which has to start early, and whether the employer is covering the return at all.

Assignments that end early leave the least time and the most confusion. If there is any chance of that, establish the return position with your employer while things are calm rather than in the final fortnight.

Returning After an Assignment for a UK to USA move
The short version
  • 💼 First question: Whether the policy covers the return leg
  • 📄 Second question: Whether the relief application has started
  • Timing: The relief comes before the shipping, not with it
  • 📦 Also grown: Things bought in America over the assignment
  • 🏪 Often needed: Storage while UK housing is arranged
  • 💰 Currency: Exchange help included with your move
💼 What is different about the leg home

What is different about the leg home

The shipment is usually larger than the one that came out. Assignments last years, families acquire furniture and equipment, and what returns is rarely what left.

The customs side reverses entirely. Instead of a declaration prepared by the mover and travelling with the shipment, there is a relief application made by you in advance of it.

And the housing sequence is often worse. Returning to Britain frequently means arriving before a home is arranged, which makes storage a normal part of the plan rather than a contingency.

🚢 Three things to establish

Establish the return cover early

Ideally at the start of the assignment, and certainly before the end date is announced.

Start the relief application first

It is the item with the longest lead time and the one most often left too late.

Decide what goes home and what is sold

Households grow over an assignment, and shipping everything back rarely makes sense.

Questions worth answering early

Do employers usually cover the return move?

Some do and some do not, and policies frequently detail the outbound leg far more thoroughly than the return. Establish it early rather than at the end.

What is the most common mistake?

Leaving the Transfer of Residence application until the shipping is booked. It has to be applied for before the goods arrive.

Is the shipment usually bigger going home?

Often, yes. Assignments last years and households accumulate, so what returns is rarely what came out.

Should I ship everything back?

Not necessarily. American appliances will not suit a UK home, and furniture bought locally may be worth selling rather than shipping.

What if the assignment ends suddenly?

That is the hardest version, because everything compresses. Establish the return position while there is time rather than in the final fortnight.

Will I need storage in the UK?

Frequently, because returning often happens before permanent housing is arranged. Price it alongside the shipping.

What about the car we bought there?

A US vehicle returning to Britain has its own requirements. Raise it separately and early.

How long does the return take?

From the east coast, roughly two weeks at sea plus the usual collection, clearance and delivery stages either side.

Should I ship American appliances back?

Generally not. The voltage and frequency differ in the other direction too, and they are rarely worth the freight.

Ready to price your move?

Send your US collection address, your UK delivery area, the assignment end date and a rough inventory. A moving company from our network quotes the return and any storage.

Send your move details

07551 855 064  |  WhatsApp: +44 7551 855 064

International Removals Companies

A Working Member of AGM Group. Enquiries are connected with vetted FIDI FAIM certified and BAR Overseas accredited international moving companies from the network.

We are an enquiry service rather than a relocation management company. Policy terms are between you and your employer, and UK relief is administered by HMRC.

Written by Darren Benjamin, Founder.