Essex → France
Moving to France, made effortless.
A stone farmhouse, blue shutters closed against the afternoon sun. Your boxes, on schedule, in the lane.
A corridor we know by hand.
France is the network's most travelled corridor and the one residents ask for first. Whether the move is to a Paris apartment, a Provençal mas, or a stone village in the Dordogne, the route from Essex runs through the same Channel ports we know by hand.
What changes country-to-country is the paperwork. France runs on the carte de séjour, the avis d'imposition, and a particular tolerance for the right form filled in the right order. We do that part with you.
What's included
Door to door, end to end.
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Door-to-door pickup
A surveyor visits your Essex address; the same crew that loads in Brentwood, Chelmsford, or Southend delivers in France.
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Bilingual coordinator
A French-speaking move coordinator handles destination-side calls — gardiens, syndics, regional couriers.
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EORI and customs filing
Post-Brexit transfer-of-residence (ToR1) filing handled in full; HMRC C1331 and French douanes paperwork included.
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Goods-in-transit cover
Underwritten cover from collection to delivery, with all-risks options for fragile and high-value items.
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Storage either side
Indoor, climate-controlled storage at the Essex departure end and at strategic French depots if your dates don't align.
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Custom packing
Mirror crates, piano cradles, art-grade wrapping for canvases and antiques. Pack-and-go service if you prefer to keep some items in your own hands.
What you'll need
Paperwork, in plain English.
France runs on the carte de séjour, the avis d'imposition, and a particular tolerance for the right form filled in the right order. Below is what you'll meet — what we file is in the previous section.
- Carte de séjour · French residency permit
- Required if staying more than 90 days in any 180. Apply via the prefecture for your destination département. We hold off the move until your appointment is confirmed if needed.
- EORI number · Economic Operator Registration
- Issued by HMRC for any UK-to-EU goods movement. Free to obtain; we handle the application if you don't already have one.
- Avis d'imposition · French tax notice
- Required by some long-let landlords and notaries. Newcomers won't have one yet — your French solicitor (notaire) can advise on the substitute documentation.
- ToR1 declaration · Transfer of Residence
- UK departure relief — most household goods owned more than six months can move duty-free. We file it on your behalf.
- Inventory in two languages · Customs inventory
- A bilingual inventory speeds the douanes check at the French entry point. We prepare it from the survey notes.
Where we go
5 regions, one corridor.
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Paris
The 75 to 78 départements; small-truck access for the Marais and Le Marais; we work parking permits with the mairie if needed.
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Provence
Aix, Avignon, Lubéron villages — narrow lanes, stone steps, occasional crane lifts for heavy upstairs pieces.
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Dordogne
Périgord stone houses; rural pickup points; we carry our own kit — generator, lift, ramps — for properties off the mains.
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Brittany
Saint-Malo, Rennes, Vannes; ferry routing through Portsmouth or Plymouth; coastal salt-air packing for canvas and leather.
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Côte d'Azur
Nice, Cannes, Antibes; gated developments; concierge/syndic clearance handled directly by the destination crew.
How quotes work
How quotes work
Every France quote is fixed in writing — one figure that covers transit, customs, insurance, and door-to-door handling. The variables are the volume of your move, distance to the French address, access at both ends, and whether your dates allow consolidated routing or need a dedicated load. The Essex surveyor walks the property before any figures are written down.
"We had imagined a French move would be wine and lavender; it was forms and timing for the first six weeks. Essex Removals carried the timing part. The same crew that loaded our Brentwood place was on the lane in Aix when our boxes arrived. Their French coordinator spoke to the gardien for us. We unpacked into a stone house instead of a problem."
France questions
The questions we hear most.
Specific to the France corridor. General questions are on the FAQ page.
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Transit times depend on route, volume, customs clearance, and consolidation scheduling. Your written quote will include an indicative window for your specific move. Coastal Brittany is shorter than Provence simply because of distance, but customs throughput is the larger variable.
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No — that's your application to make through the French prefecture, and the timing is a personal matter. What we do is align the move so your goods arrive after your appointment confirmation, not before.
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Most household goods owned for more than six months qualify for the EU's transfer-of-residence relief and move duty-free. We file the ToR1 with HMRC and the French equivalent. Items outside that scope — recently-purchased electronics, vehicles — are flagged at survey.
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Yes. We hold goods in our French partner depots — Lille, Lyon, Marseille — until your notaire signs off on the keys. Storage is billed separately to the move itself.
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It's common in old village centres. The crew uses smaller delivery vehicles — usually 7.5-tonne or transit vans for the final mile — staging from the larger truck on the village outskirts. We flag this at survey.
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Pianos travel in dedicated cradles with specialist movers; wine moves under climate-controlled conditions and customs-clean documentation; art ships in custom crates with art-grade wrapping. All three are quoted as line items so you see exactly what cover applies to each.
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The destination coordinator does, and the French depot crew operates in French. The Essex office handles the English side; nothing is lost in handoff.
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No, that's outside our scope. We can recommend bilingual relocation consultants in Paris, Lyon, and Provence — they handle schooling, healthcare registration, and the practical-life parts of your first month.
Provence will keep. Your move shouldn't.
Get your France-specific quote