Removals to the USA and Canada

Container shipping is the standard route to North America, either a full 20ft or 40ft container of your own, or a shared part load for smaller consignments.

Both US and Canadian customs want a detailed inventory with a value against each line. Vague descriptions cause holds, so we itemise contents properly rather than listing boxes as general household effects. Returning residents and new immigrants can usually import personal belongings duty-free, provided they have owned and used the goods and the paperwork proves it.

Destinations in the Americas

• Removals to the USA: Full and part container loads to the United States, door-to-door, with inland delivery included and CBP Form 3299 handled for you.
• Removals to Canada: Container and part-load shipping to Halifax, Montreal and Vancouver, with the inland leg and your settler paperwork taken care of.
• Removals to Brazil: Full containers and part loads from the UK to Santos, Rio de Janeiro and across Brazil, with the inland leg, the inventory and your customs clearance handled for you.
• Removals to Mexico: Containers and part loads from the UK to Mexico City, Guadalajara and the Riviera Maya, with the menaje de casa certificate arranged at the consulate before you ship.
• Removals to Argentina: Containers and part loads from the UK to Buenos Aires, Cordoba and Mendoza, with the migratory movements certificate and customs clearance arranged for you.
• Removals to ChileContainers and part loads from the UK to Valparaiso, San Antonio and Santiago, with the visa deadline, SAG agricultural inspection and clearance handled for you.
• Removals to Peru: Containers and part loads from the UK to Callao, Lima and across Peru, with the 13-month residency evidence and the arrival window planned around your entry date.
• Removals to Colombia: Containers and part loads from the UK to Cartagena, Bogota and Medellin, with the 24-month residence test and the one shipment per family rule planned around.
• Removals to Panama: Containers and part loads from the UK to Colon and Panama City, with the pensionado exemption, the bank reference letter and clearance arranged for you.
• Removals to Costa Rica: Containers and part loads from the UK to Limón, San José and Guanacaste, with the one-time residency exemption and the Spanish inventory prepared for you.
• Removals to Uruguay: Containers and part loads from the UK to Montevideo and Punta del Este, with the Spanish packing list legalised at the consulate before your goods sail.
• Removals to Paraguay: Containers and part loads from the UK to Asuncion and across Paraguay, with the consular stamp on your paperwork and the six-month residency window planned for.
• Removals to Nicaragua: Containers and part loads from the UK to Corinto, Managua and Granada, with the five-year residence exemption test checked before anything is loaded.
• Removals to Bolivia: Containers and part loads from the UK to La Paz, Santa Cruz and Cochabamba, routed through a Pacific port and overland, with altitude and access planned in.
• Removals to Guatemala: Containers and part loads from the UK to Santo Tomas de Castilla and Guatemala City, with the Atlantic routing and the final leg to Antigua planned in.

The USA and Canada ask for different forms.

Both want the same thing but call it something different, which is where people get stuck.

The United States uses CBP Form 3299, the Declaration for Free Entry of Unaccompanied Articles. Household goods qualify for free entry if you used them abroad for at least one year in a household you lived in.

Canada uses form BSF186, the Personal Effects Accounting Document, and the relief is the settler concession under tariff item 9807.00.00.

Your coordinator prepares whichever applies. The country pages set out the detail.

Bringing a car

Both countries treat vehicles separately from household goods, and both are strict. The United States is the tougher of the two: vehicles under 25 years old must meet all Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, and you won’t receive a car that doesn’t comply; it must be brought into line by a registered specialist. Ask before you book, not after.