Kent → France
Kent to France, document by document
The crossing is the easy part and the familiar part. What decides whether a French move runs to plan is a short list of documents, roughly half of which only you can obtain.
| Document | Provided by | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Inventory | Us, with you | Itemised and valued in French, written as the packing happens and signed by you before it is lodged. |
| Export declaration | Us | Raised before the vehicle leaves Kent, with the transit paperwork that accompanies the load. |
| Address proof | You | The acte de vente for a purchase, or a signed lease in your name for a rental. |
| Residency evidence | You | A work contract, a residency application, or a certificate of change of residence from the consulate. |
| Identity documents | You | Matching the names on everything above, which sounds obvious and is a routine cause of delay. |
The distinction that governs everything
Are you moving to France, or furnishing a house in France? Kent sends plenty of both, and the two are handled completely differently.
Moving means France becomes your primary residence and used household effects enter without duty, provided the file demonstrates it. Furnishing means you remain UK-resident and the goods are a conventional import on declared value. Settle it before the inventory is valued; correcting it afterwards is slow and expensive.
The route beyond the crossing
Out through the Kent terminal, then the choice is made by destination: the A26 south-east for Reims and Burgundy, the A16 along the coast for Normandy, the A28 and A10 through Le Mans and Tours for the Loire, Bordeaux and the south-west, and the long haul beyond that for Provence and the Riviera.
Delivering in France
Two recurring problems, both with standard answers. Rural access — a farmhouse down a track or a gateway built before lorries — is a shuttle with a smaller vehicle. Urban access in Paris and the older city centres is a lift too small for furniture and a staircase with a turn, which usually means a hoist through a window.
Both are planned at survey and priced then. Spain uses the first half of this drive before turning south.
Worth knowing
Kent to France, the practical questions
Who prepares what?
We write the inventory as the packing happens, prepare it in French, and raise the export and transit paperwork. You obtain the French address proof, the residency evidence and any consulate certificate — and you sign the inventory, because it carries your valuation.
Does the second-home question really change much?
It changes the duty position entirely. Transfer-of-residence relief applies where France becomes your primary residence. Furnishing a property you own while remaining UK-resident is a conventional import assessed on declared value.
Which crossing?
The tunnel for most household loads — faster, less weather-dependent and a straightforward booking for a loaded vehicle. The Dover ferry is the alternative from the same county, occasionally better for timing.
How far beyond Calais do you go?
Anywhere in France. Normandy and the Pas-de-Calais are a short run; the Loire and the Dordogne a long one; Provence and the Riviera the length of Britain again. The route is stated on the quote so you can see what you are paying for.
What about a Paris apartment?
Plan it at survey. Courtyard access, a lift sized for people rather than furniture, staircases with turns, and in some arrondissements a permit to stand outside. An external hoist is a standard method there, not an exotic one.
Rural delivery?
Usually a shuttle: a smaller vehicle for the last stretch where a full-size body cannot turn. Photographs of the lane, the gateway and the yard let us plan it rather than discover it.
Can we take part of the household now?
On this route it is practical, because the crossing is short. Each trip is its own customs movement though, so the file has to be right each time rather than once.
Tell us which situation you are in — moving, or furnishing.
That single answer sets the duty position, the document list and half the planning.