Moving to the United Kingdom after Brexit: everything conveniently at a glance

From January 1, 2021, the new rules between the EU and the United Kingdom apply. This includes other customs regulations for the movement of goods. What do you need to know if you are moving to England after Brexit? We have listed it conveniently for you.

On December 24, 2020, the European Union (EU) reached a last-minute agreement with the United Kingdom on how to work together after Brexit. Therefore, from January 1, 2021, new rules will apply between the EU and the United Kingdom, including different customs rules for trade and moving to England after Brexit.

Downside: customs fees and border controls when moving to and from the UK

When you want to take goods into the UK, you will now have to deal with UK border controls for goods. Or vice versa, if you want to take goods with you from the United Kingdom to the Netherlands, you will have to deal with Dutch border controls for goods. For moving from the United Kingdom to the Netherlands, the same conditions now apply as, for example, when moving from Switzerland or moving from overseas to the Netherlands. You therefore have to pay customs costs for customs clearance and take longer waiting times at the border into account.

Advantage: moving to the United Kingdom is now VAT free

Fortunately, there is also good news. Due to the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU, the VAT on relocation costs has been canceled. No longer 21%, but 0% VAT, because relocations to a country outside the EU are free of sales tax. A considerable VAT advantage for the private mover!

Moving privately to the United Kingdom is cheaper on balance

On balance the disadvantage of the customs costs to be paid for customs clearance will not outweigh the obtained VAT advantage. A move to the United Kingdom is therefore in most cases cheaper for the private mover than before Brexit. Especially when it concerns a somewhat larger household move to the United Kingdom.

As an international moving company with many relocations to and from the United Kingdom, we will of course consider the above in your quotation.

What do you have to do yourself?

Two steps are especially crucial before moving from or to the United Kingdom.

Step 1: Request a "Transfer of Residence relief" (ToR) yourself

In the United Kingdom, the transfer of household goods falls under the so-called "Transfer of Residence relief" (ToR). With ToR, individuals can claim tax relief when importing personal belongings from outside the EU.

You must request this yourself and fill it in on HMRC UK Online Application for Transfer of Residence. There are no application fees for this.

Important: Your household goods can only be brought across the border from the date of entry on your Transfer of Residence (TOR). Since our moving truck needs to cross the border before the delivery date, it is important to ensure that the entry date on the TOR is no later than the packing and loading date. This way, you can always be sure that your belongings can be delivered within the agreed-upon period.

When moving from the United Kingdom to the Netherlands or from the Netherlands to the United Kingdom, you will generally receive an exemption from paying import duties when you change your permanent residence and residence to the UK. The customs costs for customs clearance will remain, but the import duties will therefore lapse.

It normally takes about one to two weeks to process the ToR requests. So request it as soon as possible!

Step 2: Forward HMRC email confirmation

When the application is approved, you will receive an email confirmation directly from HMRC with a unique reference number (URN). We ask you to forward this e-mail confirmation with URN directly to your dedicated move coordinator at De Haan relocation.

The approval with the URN is valid for 12 months from the date of issue.

No worries: we will help you with clearance and customs clearance

Don't worry about clearing customs documents for the new border controls. Once the required documents have been provided to us by you, we will prepare your household inventory and complete customs formalities in both countries on your behalf before your moving contents arrive at the UK and EU border.

De Haan's secure certified storage depot

If you unexpectedly do not have all the papers ready for import exemption for your removal goods, you can store them with confidence in our reliable customs warehouse in Alblasserdam. De Haan's secure storage space has had the status of "Authorized Economic Operator" (AEO) by the Dutch Customs since 2011. This allows us to clear customs between EU member states and countries outside the EU, such as now the United Kingdom, with fewer logistical delays. So faster for you!