Ashford → France
Removals from Ashford to France
The nearest destination of the four and the one where Ashford's geography shows most plainly. The tunnel is a short run down the M20 — the load is across before a firm from the Midlands has reached Kent.
Two different moves wear the same label
Almost everything we take from Ashford to France is one of two things, and they want different handling.
The working move — a job in Paris or Lyon, a flat at the other end, a firm start date. Date-driven, urban delivery access, no flexibility at the far end.
The property move — somewhere in the Lot, the Gers, the Dordogne or the Charente, bought over a couple of years and now being furnished properly. Relaxed about dates, difficult about access, and frequently attached to a renovation that has not finished.
The route, which starts unusually well
From a TN address it is the M20 to junction 11a and the Eurotunnel terminal at Cheriton. That is the whole UK leg. Most firms quoting a French move spend their first half-day getting to where we start.
From Coquelles the roads fan out. The A26 south towards Reims for Paris, Burgundy and the east. The A16 down the coast for Normandy, picking up the A28 and A11 for Brittany and the Loire. The A10 corridor past Tours, Poitiers and Bordeaux for the south-west, then east into the Dordogne. Provence means the A6 and A7 down through Lyon, planned around driver rest periods rather than optimism.
The French paperwork, in order of lead time
- Evidence of transfer of residence. A certificat de changement de résidence or the equivalent your consulate directs you to. Longest lead time — start here.
- Proof of the French address. A bail for a rental; an acte de vente or notaire's attestation for a purchase.
- The inventory. Bilingual or in French, itemised, valued realistically. This is what customs reconciles against the vehicle.
- Transit documentation. Ours to raise, lodged before the vehicle leaves.
The gap nobody plans for
The Ashford house completes on a Friday. The French one is not ready until the following month. This happens constantly and it is the single most common thing that derails a French move.
Because storage is the bigger half of what we do, it is also the easiest thing for us to solve. Goods go into sealed containerised storage here, and export when the French end is genuinely available — including if the house turns out to need another few weeks of building work.
Delivering at the other end
Paris is a city delivery with city problems: narrow streets in the older arrondissements, courtyards behind an archway a large vehicle will not pass, staircases that make an Ashford terrace look generous.
Rural France is the reverse — the property is easy once you are there, and getting there is the issue. Tracks, low branches, a weight-limited bridge, a courtyard entrance built for a cart. Send photographs of the approach at survey.
Weighing the options? Spain and Portugal share the first half of this drive, and the overview explains dedicated versus shared loads.
Good to know
Ashford to France, the practical questions
How quickly does a load actually reach the tunnel?
From a TN address it is a short run down the M20 to junction 11a and the Eurotunnel terminal. That is the shortest approach of any removals firm in the country, and on a route where everything else runs to somebody else's schedule, it is the part we can genuinely make easy.
Tunnel or ferry?
Eurotunnel for most moves — quicker, less weather-dependent, and a straightforward booking for a removals vehicle. Dover to Calais is the alternative and sits on the same road. For Normandy and Brittany the Portsmouth and Poole sailings sometimes win, though from Ashford the drive west partly offsets the saving.
What paperwork does France want?
A detailed inventory, in French or bilingual, valued line by line. Evidence of transfer of residence — normally a certificat de changement de résidence or the equivalent your consulate directs you to. And proof of the French address: a bail for a rental, an acte de vente or a notaire's attestation for a purchase.
We are furnishing a second home rather than moving. Does that matter?
Substantially. Transfer-of-residence relief applies when France becomes your primary residence. Furnishing a holiday house while remaining UK-resident is a conventional import with duty and VAT on declared value. Perfectly normal — it just has to be declared as what it is, and it changes how the inventory is valued.
Can you store things here before they go?
Yes, and on this route it is common. The Ashford property is sold, the French one is not ready, and the gap is weeks. Goods hold in sealed storage here and export when you say — see the storage page for how that works.
Can you deliver to a rural property down a track?
Usually, but tell us at survey. Many south-west French houses sit at the end of an approach a full-size vehicle cannot use. The answer is a smaller vehicle for the final leg or a transfer, and both want planning. Photographs of the approach are genuinely useful.
What about the car?
A vehicle has its own French import process — registration, a quitus fiscal, a contrôle technique if it stays. Separate from the household goods declaration. We can sometimes carry one depending on route and vehicle, but the paperwork is yours and wants starting early.
Moving to France? Tell us where and whether the dates line up.
Region, rough timing, and whether it is a full relocation or a house being furnished. If there is a gap, we will plan the storage into it.