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Sea or air freight · 9-13 weeks by sea

Removals to New Zealand

New Zealand applies the same biosecurity logic as Australia and, if anything, applies it harder. Everything else about the move is routine long-haul sea freight.

✓ One contract, one price, nationwide ✓ £50,000 goods in transit cover ✓ £2m public liability ✓ Companies House 15886470

What actually matters on this route

MPI biosecurityMinistry for Primary Industries inspects arriving effects. Soil, seeds and plant material are the focus. Like the Australia route, it is a mandatory line on every quote - currently £195 - not a possible extra.
Form NZCS 218Unaccompanied personal baggage declaration.
Outdoor equipmentBikes, boots, tents, garden tools and mowers must be immaculate. This is the single most common cause of delay and cost.
Wooden and cane furnitureMay require treatment certificates or fumigation on arrival.
TimingConsolidation to New Zealand is less frequent than to Australia, so the wait for a sailing can be longer.
Customs documentationExport declaration and itemised packing list - £145, added once regardless of destination or volume, never folded into the cost of the vehicle.
Destination terminal handlingPort charges at the other end are itemised separately too - currently £265, quoted at cost - this applies to sea and air shipments, not to our road groupage routes.

Customs rules change. We confirm the current requirements for your date at survey rather than relying on what was true last year.

How the price is worked out

International moves are priced by volume, not by distance. What matters is how many cubic metres you fill and how the shipment travels - a container does not care whether it started in Abingdon or Aberdeen.

  • Survey first. We measure your load in cubic metres, on video or in person.
  • Shared or sole-use. Below roughly 24 m³ sharing is cheaper. Above it, a container of your own usually wins.
  • Route: Auckland, Wellington, Lyttelton or Tauranga.
  • Transit: 9-13 weeks by sea, plus consolidation before and clearance after.
  • Export packing. Every shipment gets export-grade wrap and a customs inventory, itemised as its own line - about 18% added to the shipping cost for packing that has to survive a container and a long transit, not just a van down the road. Full details of our packing service are on its own page.

We are not VAT-registered, so there is no VAT to add to your shipping cost - the figure you see is the figure you pay.

Moving to the UK instead?

If you are bringing a household back to the UK, ask us about Transfer of Residence (ToR1) relief. Applied for correctly and in advance, it lets you import your own used belongings without paying UK duty or VAT. Applied for late, it does not. It is free to apply and we will point you at the form.

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Moving to New Zealand

What does MPI inspect?

Anything that could carry soil, seeds, insects or plant material - outdoor gear especially. We give you a cleaning list at survey and it is worth following to the letter.

Is New Zealand more expensive than Australia?

Slightly, mostly because sailings are less frequent and volumes are lower. Expect around three per cent more for the same load.

How much does it cost to move to New Zealand from the UK?

A three-bedroom household is typically £6,100-£6,925 by sole-use 20ft container - at this volume a shared container rarely applies, the same pattern as Australia.

Other destinations

Where else we ship

IrelandFranceSpainPortugalGermanythe NetherlandsItalySwitzerlandCyprusthe UAEthe USACanadaAustralia

Request a quote for New Zealand

Tell us about your load. Our team will check the details and confirm an itemised price.

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