15
Years in international removals
850k+
Verified customer enquiries
3
FIDI-accredited partners
Trusted International Moving Network
Accredited Relocation Specialists
Almost surrounded by Germany, and the road in usually goes through it.
Schaffhausen is the odd one out. Nearly all of it lies north of the Rhine, wrapped on three sides by Germany, and most routes in cross German ground before they reach it. That single geographic fact shapes the whole delivery.
Because the approach so often runs through German territory, people assume the customs step is somehow lighter or already dealt with. It is not. The goods are presented at the Swiss frontier in the ordinary way, on form 18.44. Look at the map and the canton looks detached from the rest of the country, because it very nearly is. It sits north of the Rhine with German territory on three sides, joined to the rest of Switzerland by a comparatively narrow connection to the south.
The practical result is that a lorry heading here often approaches through Germany rather than up through Switzerland, and the crossing it uses may not be the one that would serve Zurich an hour away. Ask which frontier your goods will clear at, because on this route it genuinely varies.
What does not vary is that they clear somewhere. Switzerland sits outside the EU customs union, so household goods are presented at the Swiss frontier however short the German leg before it was.
Schaffhausen also appears as Schaffhouse and Sciaffusa. Whichever version you searched for, this is the same city and the same page. Give the mover the address exactly as it appears on your Swiss lease.
Because the approach so often runs through German territory, people assume the customs step is somehow lighter or already dealt with. It is not. The goods are presented at the Swiss frontier in the ordinary way, on form 18.44, with the same six month rule and the same evidence of transfer of domicile as anywhere else in the country.
What the geography does change is the choice of office. Clearance takes place at a customs office competent for commercial goods, during its opening hours, and up here there are several plausible ones. If the file has been sent ahead for preliminary examination, the vehicle is then committed to crossing at that specific office.
So the route and the paperwork have to be decided together on this delivery, more than on most. Get the mover to tell you which crossing before the file goes anywhere.
Not everything below applies to every Schaffhausen move. These are the three worth reading first. Movers in the region are asked about these three constantly.
Form 18.44 and which office clears your goods.
The UK route and the frontier.
Sharing a lorry on a northern run.
The old town is compact, well preserved and protected, and its most distinctive feature is the projecting bay window built out from the upper floors of the merchant houses. There are a great many of them and they are exactly what a badly judged lorry manoeuvre damages.
Access is therefore worked out address by address rather than by rule, with a reserved bay arranged through the commune. Outside the historic core it becomes ordinary small city delivery, where the age of the building and the size of the lift matter more than the street.
The town is also a watchmaking centre, which brings a steady technical intake and the fixed term arrivals that come with it.
Not moving to Schaffhausen exactly? These sit nearby or on the same run.
Zurich · Winterthur · Frauenfeld · St Gallen · Basel · Lucerne · all Swiss towns
The Rhine Falls sit just downstream at Neuhausen and are the practical southern edge of the built area. Beyond them the canton spreads into small communes and villages that are Swiss but reached, in places, only by roads that dip into Germany and back.
If your address is one of those, say so. It is not a difficulty, but it is worth the mover knowing before the route is planned rather than after.
The Rhine itself matters differently here than at Basel. Downstream at Basel it is a working cargo river and the country's port. Here it is the line the town is built beside, and the thing the canton sits on the wrong side of.
Because Schaffhausen lies north of the Rhine with German territory on three sides, joined to the rest of Switzerland by a narrow connection to the south. Approaching through Germany is frequently the sensible route, and the crossing used may not be the one that would serve Zurich an hour away.
No. Switzerland sits outside the EU customs union, so household goods are presented at the Swiss frontier however short the leg before it. Form 18.44 applies, the six month rule applies, and evidence of transfer of domicile applies, exactly as anywhere else in the country.
That depends on the route, and up here there are several plausible ones. Clearance happens at an office competent for commercial goods during its opening hours. If the relocation file is sent ahead for preliminary examination, the vehicle is then committed to crossing at that specific office, so route and paperwork have to be decided together.
Yes. Schaffhouse is the French name and Sciaffusa the Italian. The town and the canton share the name. Since the canton is German speaking, everything you deal with locally will use Schaffhausen, and that is the form to give a mover.
Only with planning. The historic centre is compact and protected, and it is known for the bay windows projecting from the upper floors of its merchant houses, which are exactly what a badly judged manoeuvre damages. A reserved bay is arranged through the commune in advance.
Yes. Some of the smaller communes in the canton are reached by roads that dip into German territory and back out again, which is ordinary here. It is not a difficulty, but tell the mover the exact address so the route is planned around it rather than after.
Close in kilometres and less close in practice, because the two are separated by the river and by the shape of the border. A vehicle serving both on one run is not necessarily taking the route a map would suggest, which is one more reason a transit time here should be given as a window.
Collection address, the Schaffhausen delivery address, a room by room list and the window you can work with. One vetted moving company from our network checks the route and the access, then comes back to you.
Send your move detailsOperated by DATACONTEXT (UK) LTD, company number 07425576, ICO registration ZB022743, registered at Norman House, Saint Saviours Estate, Abbey Street, London SE1 3DH. Running since 2010. We work with vetted moving companies in the AGM Group network.
Written by Darren Benjamin, founder of International Removals Companies, who has run the business since 2010. Last checked 5 August 2026.