Removals to Colombia from the UK
Shipping to Colombia
Fast Secure Road & Sea
Full and part load
How do removals to Colombia from the UK work?
Removals to Colombia from the UK go by sea, in a full container or a part load sharing space with other households. We survey, pack and wrap everything, handle the export side here, and a Colombian agent clears the shipment under the national customs authority’s household goods regime.
Colombia runs a specific set of rules for household goods rather than a general exemption, and they are tighter than most people expect. Two of them shape the whole move: a residence test measured over three years, and a limit of one shipment per family.
One coordinator runs the move throughout, and the inventory built at the survey is what the clearance runs on.
How long do removals to Colombia take?
Your transit time is confirmed in writing on your quote, because it depends on the sailing schedule and whether you book a full container or a part load. A shared container waits until it is full before it sails, so it always takes longer than a container of your own.
The arrival window matters more than the crossing here. Guidance indicates your shipment should land no earlier than about a month before you arrive, and within a few months afterwards, so the sailing is planned backwards from your flights.
Do I pay duty on my belongings going into Colombia?
Colombia treats household goods under a specific regime rather than granting a blanket exemption, and published guidance describes a single ad valorem tax applied to them. The qualifying test is a residence one: broadly, having lived abroad for at least twenty-four months within the three years before you arrive to settle.
Two further conditions catch people out. The goods should have been acquired while you were living abroad and come from the country you were resident in, and only one household shipment per family unit is allowed, cleared through a single customs office. Splitting a move across two sailings or two ports is therefore not a workaround, it is a problem.
Restrictions on contents are also specific. Food, drink, alcohol, weapons, ammunition and jewellery or valuables are excluded, and no more than one appliance of each type is permitted.
These conditions come from published customs guidance and mover country guides rather than from a figure we have invented, and the rules for foreign visa holders are less clearly documented than those for returning Colombians. Your coordinator has our Colombian agent confirm your position before anything is loaded.
What documents do I need for removals to Colombia?
You will need your passport showing your entries and exits, your Colombian visa or residence documentation, the transport document, and a detailed inventory with values. Evidence of where you were living during the qualifying period is the piece the whole claim depends on.
That evidence is worth assembling before you leave rather than afterwards. Tenancy agreements, council tax records or utility bills covering the relevant period are the usual proof, and they are far harder to obtain once the property is behind you.
Because only one shipment per family is permitted, decide what is coming before anything is booked. A second container later is not a straightforward option on this route.
Which Colombian port will my shipment arrive at?
Most household shipments from the UK arrive at Cartagena on the Caribbean coast, which is Colombia’s main container port. Barranquilla and Santa Marta also handle traffic, and Buenaventura serves the Pacific side. The inland leg to Bogota or Medellin is substantial from any of them.
Colombia is mountainous and the climb inland is real. Bogota sits at around 2,600 metres and the road from the coast is long, so the inland leg is a meaningful part of both the cost and the schedule rather than an afterthought.
Because clearance must happen through a single customs office, the port choice and the delivery city are decided together rather than separately.
Can I send a part load to Colombia?
Yes. A part load means you pay for the space your belongings actually take inside a shared container rather than hiring a whole one, which suits anything smaller than a full house and is the common choice on this route.
The care is identical. The difference is the schedule, because a shared container sails once it is full, so the date moves with the other households travelling in it.
With a one-shipment limit and an arrival window tied to your own entry, your coordinator will say plainly whether a shared load fits your dates. There is more on our part load removals page.
Which parts of Colombia do you deliver to?
We deliver across Colombia, including Bogota, Medellin, Cali, Barranquilla, Cartagena, Bucaramanga, Pereira, Santa Marta and Manizales, as well as towns reached by road from those cities. The mountain geography means the inland leg from the coast is a longer run than the distance on a map suggests.
City deliveries are usually apartment deliveries, and buildings in Bogota and Medellin commonly have strict delivery windows, lift bookings and administrator approval for a removal. A crew that arrives without the building’s authorisation loses the day.
Where a full-size lorry cannot reach the building, the final leg transfers to a smaller vehicle, which is planned into the quote rather than appearing as an extra on the day.
What sets the price of removals to Colombia?
How much you are sending, whether you book a full container or a part load, how far inland and how high your delivery is, and how much packing you want us to do. The tax applied to household goods is the other real variable, and your quote states what has been allowed for.
Sea freight is priced on the space your belongings occupy rather than their weight, which is why the survey matters more than a guess over the phone, and on a route where the goods are taxed rather than exempt, deciding what to leave behind matters more than usual.
We quote in writing with the inclusions listed, and anything excluded says so.
Moving elsewhere in the region? We also run removals to Peru, Brazil and Panama, and every route is listed on our Americas destinations page. Sending less than a full household? Part load removals explains shared containers.
Why people trust us with a move
These are not our words. They are our customers, on a review site we do not control.
- 4.6 out of 5 from 110 reviews on Trustpilot, rated Excellent
- Over 10,000 moves completed
- Typically replies within 24 hours, as shown on the Trustpilot profile
- Our own yard and storage at Riverside Industrial Estate, Fazeley, Tamworth
- Members of Approved Movers in the UK, and we only work with overseas agents who are members of BAR or FIDI
- Reviewing since October 2020, and still collecting them every month
From contact to collection everything has been really smooth. All emails were answered promptly. The three guys that came and collected our things were super friendly, helpful and extremely careful with our belongings.
Vanessa, May 2026 – verified Trustpilot review
Removals to Colombia: frequently asked questions
Is there really only one shipment allowed?
Published guidance describes one household shipment per family unit, cleared through a single customs office. That means deciding what is coming before anything is booked, because sending the rest later is not a straightforward option on this route.
How long must I have lived abroad?
The test is broadly twenty-four months of residence abroad within the three years immediately before you arrive to settle, and the months do not have to be continuous. Your passport and your tenancy or utility records are what evidence it.
Are my belongings really taxed?
Published guidance describes a single ad valorem tax on household goods rather than a blanket exemption, which is unusual compared with most European destinations. Your agent confirms the current position and your quote states what has been allowed for.
Can I bring two televisions?
Generally no. Guidance limits household shipments to no more than one appliance of each type, so duplicates are the items most likely to be questioned or charged. Flag them at the survey.
What cannot go in the container?
Food, drink, alcohol, weapons, ammunition and jewellery or valuables are excluded from household shipments, alongside the usual sea freight restrictions on aerosols, flammable liquids and gas bottles. Your surveyor will go through the list.
Can you store my things before they sail?
Yes, at our own yard in Staffordshire. With a narrow arrival window tied to your own entry date, holding goods here until your travel is confirmed is often the sensible option rather than risking an early arrival.
Is my shipment insured?
Cover is arranged against the value you declare, and the level of cover depends on that declaration and the terms in our agreement. Our guide to removals insurance explains it in full.