Serving international removals, relocation and shipping from the UK to every province of South Africa. Internasionale verhuising na Suid-Afrika vanaf die Verenigde Koninkryk.
South Africa is a sea freight country. Almost everything sent from the UK travels in a container, clears at Durban or Cape Town, then goes inland by road. That one fact sets the cost, the timing and the paperwork, and it is why a moving company that already runs the route quotes differently from one that does not.
The distances inland are the part people underestimate. Durban to Johannesburg is close to six hundred kilometres up the N3, and a Cape Town container bound for Pretoria is a longer haul again. Port congestion, inland transfer and the customs queue all sit between the ship arriving and your furniture reaching the door. International movers who work this route build that into the plan rather than discovering it afterwards.
International Removals Companies is a free enquiry matching service operated by DATACONTEXT (UK) LTD (company 07425576). It does not carry out removals and does not operate vehicles. Rather than ringing round international movers yourself, you tell us once and your enquiry goes to one vetted mover from our network who covers your route. They contact you, survey the move and confirm the quote. Where that firm is at capacity on your dates, a second network mover picks the enquiry up instead.
The busiest container port in Africa and the default arrival point for anything heading to Gauteng. Goods clear here and run up the N3 national road through Pietermaritzburg and Harrismith. If your delivery address is in Johannesburg, Sandton, Pretoria or Centurion, this is almost certainly your port.
Serves the Western Cape, the Winelands and the start of the Garden Route. The N2 east from Cape Town carries deliveries through Somerset West, Hermanus and on to George and Knysna. Table Bay is exposed and the south easter closes working windows in summer, which occasionally shifts berthing by a day or two. Moving companies that run the Cape regularly build that slack into the schedule rather than promising a date they cannot hold.
The Eastern Cape ports, still commonly called Port Elizabeth by anyone shipping from the UK. Useful for deliveries around Gqeberha itself and along the eastern end of the Garden Route. Sailings are less frequent than to Durban or Cape Town, so timing needs more slack. Fewer moving companies treat it as a regular route, which is worth knowing before you commit to a delivery week.
Tell us your UK collection address, your South African delivery address with the suburb, any estate or complex access rules, and a rough inventory. Your enquiry goes to one vetted mover from our network who already covers the route. They contact you, survey the move and confirm the quote. It is free, with no obligation.
Get your free South Africa removals quoteGoods entering South Africa need customs clearance through the South African Revenue Service. The standard rate of VAT is 15 per cent, unchanged after the increases announced in the March 2025 Budget were reversed, so the relief available on household effects is worth claiming carefully.
Rebate item 407.06 of Schedule No 4 to the Customs and Excise Act allows people making a permanent change of residence to bring household effects in free of both duty and VAT. Motor vehicles, alcoholic drinks and tobacco are excluded. Returning South African residents must be able to show at least six months abroad for reasons other than touring or studying.
The entry is supported by form DA 304 together with form P1.160, and a specified inventory of the container contents is required at clearance. Goods should ideally arrive after you do. If they land first they go into storage at your own cost, which is an avoidable expense. International moving companies handling this route will normally advise on sailing dates with that in mind.
Source: SARS Schedule No 4 to the Customs and Excise Act 91 of 1964, published version dated 12 June 2026, and the SARS value added tax guidance page. Verify current requirements at sars.gov.za before you ship.
You send one enquiry. It goes to a single vetted mover from our network who already handles South African routes, and they contact you directly to survey the move and price it. If they cannot take your dates, it passes to another mover in the network rather than back to you.
Every firm in the network is FIDI FAIM certified. That certification is audited by Ernst & Young against more than two hundred separate criteria, and it sits alongside BAR Overseas, IAM, EUROMOVERS and FEDEMAC membership. We are a Working Member of AGM Group.
Currency exchange comes as part of the service through our partners. They are experts in currency exchange, charge no hidden fees, hold five star consumer ratings and offer competitive exchange rates. Worth arranging early, since rand transfers usually need to be in place before completion.
Residence permits and visas run through the Department of Home Affairs, and the permit is what most other arrangements depend on. Banking, a vehicle registration and a lease all tend to want proof of address and proof of status before they will proceed, so the order you do things in matters more than the speed. Experienced movers will time the container against your permit rather than against your flight.
Gated estates and security complexes are a normal part of South African housing and they set their own delivery rules. Many require advance notice, restrict vehicle sizes at the boom, or limit weekend access. Tell your mover the estate name at survey stage rather than on delivery day.
Three areas take most of the UK inbound traffic. The Western Cape draws retirees and remote workers to Cape Town, the Winelands and the coast towards Hermanus. Gauteng takes the corporate moves, concentrated around Sandton and Centurion rather than central Johannesburg. The KwaZulu-Natal north coast, Umhlanga and Ballito, has grown quickly on internal migration as well as returning families. Relocation patterns here have shifted noticeably over the past decade, and a moving company that works the region knows which suburbs mean estate access rules.
Where do most foreigners live in South Africa? goes through each region in more detail.
Pick your destination for the detail that actually matters there: which port your container clears, how far inland the road leg runs, and what the access is like when the lorry arrives. Gated estates, boomed suburbs and high rise complexes all set their own terms, and a moving company that works the area will know them before the lorry arrives.
Not if you qualify for relief. Rebate item 407.06 of Schedule No 4 to the Customs and Excise Act lets people making a permanent change of residence bring household effects in free of both import duty and VAT. The standard rate of South African VAT is 15 per cent, so the relief is worth claiming properly rather than casually. Motor vehicles, alcoholic drinks and tobacco are all excluded from it.
The entry has to be supported by a completed form DA 304 together with form P1.160. A specified inventory of everything in the container is required, along with proof that you have changed your residence. Returning South African residents must also be able to show they were abroad for at least six months for reasons other than touring or studying. Your passport and the supporting papers are needed at clearance.
Not for six months. Goods brought in under the rebate are for your own use, and if you sell or otherwise dispose of any of them within six months of clearance the duty becomes payable. It is the condition people most often miss, because it is easy to assume relief is unconditional once the container has been released. Plan around it before you decide what to ship.
Only if you qualify, and most people do not. South Africa restricts used vehicle imports to protect its domestic motor industry. You need an import permit from ITAC, applied for on form IE462, and a Letter of Authority from the NRCS. Both must be in hand before the vehicle ships. Permits go mainly to returning nationals and immigrants with permanent residence, and the car cannot be sold for two years.
Usually Durban or Cape Town. Durban is the busiest container port in Africa and handles most inland traffic to Gauteng, so a Johannesburg or Pretoria delivery normally clears there and travels up by road. Cape Town serves the Western Cape and the Winelands. Gqeberha, still widely called Port Elizabeth, and neighbouring Ngqura cover the Eastern Cape. The port your mover chooses affects both cost and timing.
It depends on volume, on whether you take a part load or a container to yourself, on access at both addresses and on how far inland the delivery goes. We do not publish a price, because a figure produced before anyone has seen your inventory is a guess rather than a quote. The moving company matched to your enquiry confirms the cost after surveying your goods and both addresses.
No. International Removals Companies is a free enquiry matching service operated by DATACONTEXT (UK) LTD. It is not an international moving company, it owns no vehicles and it carries out no removals. Each enquiry goes to one vetted mover from our network who covers the route, and that firm contacts you directly. If they cannot take your dates, the enquiry passes to another mover in the network.
DATACONTEXT (UK) LTD, company 07425576, ICO ZB022743. Norman House, Saint Saviours Estate, Abbey Street, London, SE1 3DH. Founded November 2010. Working Member of AGM Group since 2010.
International Removals Companies is a free enquiry matching service. It does not carry out removals. Each enquiry is connected with one vetted mover from our network. Network movers hold FIDI FAIM certification, audited by Ernst & Young against more than two hundred criteria, alongside memberships including BAR Overseas, IAM, EUROMOVERS and FEDEMAC.
Reviewed by Darren Benjamin, Founder, International Removals Companies. Customs and registration requirements change. Confirm current rules with SARS and the Department of Home Affairs before you ship.