Household removals from the UK to China
A full home packed to export standard in the UK, shipped by sea or air, cleared through Chinese customs by our own office, and delivered and unpacked at your address in China.
A household move from the UK to China is a door-to-door service: we pack your home, handle export and import documentation, ship by sea or air, clear the goods through Chinese customs against your residence permit, and deliver and unpack at the far end. Most UK households ship between 15 m³ and 35 m³ and should plan on eight to fourteen weeks door to door.
The single decision that shapes everything else is how much you take. Shipping a three-bedroom home to China costs several times what shipping the contents of two bedrooms costs, and a good deal of what people ship is cheaper to replace locally than to move.
- Typical volume
- 15–35 m³ for a UK family home
- Door-to-door planning range
- 8–14 weeks by sea
- Collection
- Anywhere in mainland Britain; Northern Ireland on request
- Delivery
- Mainland China and Hong Kong
- Customs clearance
- By our own offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou
- Survey
- Required before a rate is issued — video or in person
What the service includes
- Pre-move survey, by video call or in person, to establish volume, access and anything needing special handling.
- Export packing by trained crews: cartons, wrapping, dismantling of beds and flat-pack furniture, and made-to-measure crating for artwork, mirrors, marble and similar.
- A written inventory of every carton and item, which is also the document Chinese customs works from.
- Export documentation from the UK and import entry in China.
- Freight by shared container, full container or air, whichever the survey shows is right.
- Chinese customs clearance by our own staff, entered against your passport and residence permit.
- Delivery, unpacking and reassembly at your address in China, with packing debris taken away.
What it does not include
- Marine transit insurance — quoted separately, and strongly recommended.
- Any duty or tax assessed by Chinese customs on inspection.
- Storage beyond the period quoted.
- Items on the prohibited or restricted list.
- Disconnecting or reconnecting plumbed and hard-wired appliances.
The honest advice about what to ship
We are paid by the cubic metre, so read the next paragraph with that in mind — and then take it anyway, because a customer who overships and regrets it is not a customer who recommends us.
| Category | Our advice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Beds and mattresses | Usually leave | UK and Chinese bed sizes differ. A UK double mattress in a Chinese flat means importing UK bedding forever. |
| Large white goods | Leave | Mainland China runs on 220V/50Hz so UK appliances will work electrically, but service, parts and fitted-kitchen dimensions rarely match. High volume, low value on arrival. |
| Wardrobes and large storage furniture | Usually leave | The highest volume-to-value ratio in the house, and Chinese rentals are frequently furnished or have fitted storage. |
| Sofas and armchairs | Judgement call | High volume. Worth shipping if genuinely good; not worth shipping if replaceable. |
| Books, papers and personal archives | Ship | Dense, low volume, irreplaceable, and expensive to reacquire. Note that printed matter can attract inspection interest. |
| Children's things | Ship | Low volume and disproportionately important to how a child settles. |
| Kitchen equipment you actually use | Ship | Good knives and pans are compact and cost real money to replace. |
| Anything new and still in its box | Declare it and expect questions | New goods in original packaging are treated differently from used personal effects and can attract duty. |
Electrical note. Mainland China and Hong Kong both use 220–240V at 50Hz, so UK appliances are electrically compatible. Plug types differ — mainland China principally uses types A, C and I, while Hong Kong uses the UK type G. This is about fit and servicing, not voltage.
How the move runs
Survey and written quote
We establish volume and access, and quote with UK charges, freight and China destination charges shown separately.
Booking and dates
We confirm packing dates against your residence permit timeline and book container space.
Packing, typically over one to three days
Crews pack, inventory and load. You keep a copy of the inventory.
Export and sailing
Goods are consolidated, entered for export and loaded. You get the vessel and estimated arrival.
Chinese customs clearance
Our China office lodges the import entry against your documents and manages any inspection.
Delivery and unpacking
Delivery to your address, unpacking, reassembly of what we dismantled, and debris removed.
Questions people ask before booking
How much does a household removal to China cost?
It is priced from volume, service level and destination city. See the cost breakdown for planning ranges by shipment size and a list of the charges most often missing from a headline quote.
Do I have to be in China when the shipment arrives?
In practice, yes for mainland China. Personal effects are cleared against the consignee's passport and residence permit, and clearance normally requires the consignee to have entered China. Shipments arriving before the consignee do not clear and accrue storage. This is the single most common cause of unexpected cost on this lane.
Can I ship my car with my household goods?
Importing a private vehicle into mainland China as personal effects is not routinely permitted and is not a service we offer on this lane. Assume your car stays in the UK.
Can you pack and store, then ship later?
Yes. Storage at the UK end is common when a residence permit is still pending, and it is far cheaper than storage at a Chinese port.
What happens if Chinese customs opens my shipment?
Inspection is routine, not a sign of a problem. Our China office attends, answers queries against the inventory, and repacks. You are told what was opened and what, if anything, was queried.
Get a quote for your household move to China
Five short questions, and a move consultant replies with a written estimate.