Storage for a move to China
For the gap between leaving your UK home and having somewhere in China to deliver to — which, on this route, is a gap that catches almost everyone.
Store in the UK, not in China. If your residence permit or your Chinese housing is not settled, holding the shipment at the UK end costs a fraction of what it costs once the goods have arrived at a Chinese port without a consignee who can clear them. Port storage and demurrage accrue daily and are not negotiable.
This is the single most expensive avoidable mistake on the UK–China lane, and it is entirely a scheduling problem. Tell us your permit timeline honestly and we will plan around it.
- Where to store
- The UK, in almost every case
- UK storage charged
- Monthly
- Chinese port storage charged
- Daily, plus demurrage — the expensive mistake
- Minimum period
- From a few weeks; no upper limit
- Condition stored in
- Packed to full export standard and inventoried
- Insurance
- Storage cover is separate from transit cover — ask for it
When you will need storage
- Your UK tenancy or sale completes before your visa does. Extremely common. Pack, store in the UK, ship when the permit is issued.
- You are arriving into temporary accommodation. Serviced apartments rarely take a household shipment. Store until the permanent flat is signed.
- Your China housing is not finalised. Chinese leases are often signed close to the move-in date, well after you would need to have shipped.
- You are shipping in two phases. Some now, some when you know how much space you actually have.
Why UK storage beats China storage
| UK storage | Storage at a Chinese port | Storage at destination in China | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charged as | Monthly warehouse rate | Daily storage plus demurrage | Monthly warehouse rate |
| Relative cost | Lowest | By far the highest | Moderate |
| Access to goods | Possible with notice | None | Possible with notice |
| Customs status | Not yet exported — fully flexible | In bond, clock running | Cleared |
| Can you change your mind? | Yes — reduce, add, redirect | No | Limited |
| Typical trigger | Permit or housing pending | Shipment outran the paperwork | Housing not ready on arrival |
The second column is what happens when a move is booked to a date rather than to a document. The first is what happens when it is planned properly.
How stored goods are handled
- Packed to the same export standard as goods shipping immediately — storage is not a reason to pack more lightly.
- Inventoried, so you know precisely what is in store.
- Held in containerised or racked warehouse storage depending on volume and duration.
- Released to the shipment when you confirm, without repacking.
Insurance during storage is separate from transit insurance. If goods will be stored for any meaningful period, ask for storage cover explicitly. Transit cover does not automatically extend to a warehouse.
Questions people ask before booking
How long can you store my things?
From a few weeks to as long as you need. Rates are monthly, so short storage is genuinely cheap relative to the cost of getting the timing wrong at the China end.
Can I access my things while they are stored?
In UK warehouse storage, yes with notice, though containerised storage makes retrieving one item disproportionately awkward. Tell us at packing if you expect to need access and we will pack with that in mind.
Is it cheaper to store or to ship and store in China?
UK storage, in almost every case. Goods sitting at a Chinese port unable to clear are the worst outcome; goods cleared and stored at destination are better but still cost more than holding them in the UK before export.
Ask about storage for your move
Five short questions, and a move consultant replies with a written estimate.