How customs clearance works with MuveOne.
Clearance is included in every cross-border quote. We tell you exactly which documents your route needs, from the transfer of residence declaration to your signed inventory, and then we handle customs at both ends. Here is the whole process, before you book.
Your transfer of residence plan in three steps
Who does what, and when. Two of the steps are ours, so only one is yours.
1 GET YOUR QUOTE
Your deadlines and compliance roadmap come with the price. We then go through the nature of your move with you and instruct your exact document list.
2 SEND US YOUR DOCUMENTS
Your instructed documents are due 7 days before your collection window; your finalised inventory is due 3 calendar days before it opens.
3 WE DEAL WITH CUSTOMS
We lodge the export declaration at one end and the import clearance at the other, so you don't deal with customs yourself.
No generic checklists, and no list framed as final
You supply the documents; we tell you exactly which ones. Instead of a generic checklist you have to decode, we go through the nature of your move with you, then instruct the precise pack for your route and your situation.
Customs authorities always have the final say, and occasionally they request an additional document. When that happens we spot it early, tell you immediately, and manage the request with you. We'd rather tell you that now than pretend any list is ever final.
Once we've gone through the nature of your move with you, we instruct your exact starting pack rather than a generic checklist.
Customs authorities always have the final say, and occasionally request an additional document. When that happens we spot it early, tell you immediately, and manage the request with you.
With your pack complete, we lodge the export declaration at the origin and then the import clearance at the destination, acting as your authorised representative where the route calls for one.
What a transfer of residence pack usually holds on the other EU routes
On the EU destinations without a page of their own, the customs advisor instructs one pack, and these are its three cards. Representative, not final: your own instruction follows your route and your situation, and the lane pages link here for the full wording.
NON-CESSION
The Non-Cession Certificate
A signed declaration that your household goods stay yours after import: not sold, hired out, or passed on. It's part of your document pack, due 7 days before your collection window.
BOTH ENDS
Proof of residence, both ends
Evidence you're leaving one home and setting up another: a utility bill, lease, or council-tax record on the UK side, and on the destination side your rental agreement or recent utility bills, plus your work contract if you have one.
IF YOU'RE STAYING WITH SOMEONE
Staying with family or friends at first?
The property owner's passport copy, a utility bill or ownership document in their name, and a declaration of providing accommodation can stand in. Your instruction covers cases like this, which is why it's personal rather than a printout.
Transfer of residence relief, named correctly for your direction
On a genuine relocation, your own used belongings usually cross without import VAT or duty. The route depends on your direction, so your quote names the one that applies to you.
Transfer of residence (ToR) relief usually means no import VAT or duty on your own used belongings. The conditions are HMRC's, set out in its guidance for moving to Great Britain. Bringing an inheritance into the UK is its own route, with its own document set.
Inheritance to the UK →Each country has its own equivalent relief route: France's Cerfa 10070*03 declaration of transfer of residence, Italy's Libera Importazione. France's customs authority publishes its conditions on douane.gouv.fr, so you can read them before you book. Your quote names the one that applies to you, and we prepare the declaration for it.
Customs by country →We then prepare your declaration for the relief and tell you exactly what evidence it needs. The final decision on transfer of residence relief still sits with the customs authority, and we tell you that up front too.
On some routes you'll also sign an authorisation for the clearance agent to act as your representative. If your route needs one it appears on your document list, and we explain what it is before you're asked to sign anything.
The one thing only you can do
Give us an accurate inventory, because that is what customs checks the van against. If what's on the van doesn't match what was declared, your move can be delayed at the border. Send your list early and ask us about anything you're unsure of, before the deadline, not after.
Everything you send us (passport, proof of residence, tenancy or employment documents) is used only for your customs clearance and protected under UK/EU GDPR.
The quiet part of a transfer of residence, and how we handle it
The quietest part of any cross-border move is customs clearance. Your documents are in, but nothing seems to be happening. We know that's the moment you most want to hear from us, so here is what happens.
When you send a document, a named person confirms it landed. One thread, real people: Iris and the team answer document questions directly, in writing, on the same channel, from first quote until delivery day.
Your move, step by step: booked, documents confirmed, collected, in transit, customs, delivered. You'll know which step you're on, whenever you ask.
A fragment of one customer's instruction, never a complete or generic list. Your pack depends on your route as well as your situation.
How customs works for your route
Pick your corridor for direction-specific relief, representative documents and deadlines.
London and the rest of the UK to any country we serve, customs clearance included in the quote.
All routes →Germany Austria Switzerland Liechtenstein Czechia Slovakia Hungary Poland
Answered in writing
It depends on your route and your situation, which is why we never hand you a generic checklist. After your quote we go through your situation and instruct your exact list, document by document. Any documents named on this page are part of a typical pack, not your full list.
Household goods moved as part of relocating are typically declared under relief from duty; your pack's declaration claims it. The final call is still the authority's, and we manage it with you.
It occasionally happens, and it's the honest part: the authority has the final say, and we cannot overrule a customs officer. What we control, though, is speed and clarity. We spot the request early, tell you what is needed and why in plain words, and manage it with you until it clears. Our guide shows what happens next when customs asks for more documents.