Peckham → France
SE15 to France
The most common European move out of this postcode, and usually the smallest — a flat's worth rather than a household, which changes what kind of vehicle makes sense.
Who goes, from here
Work moves to Paris and Lyon. People whose lease is ending and who have decided that what a one-bed costs here buys something considerably better in Lille, Nantes or the south-west. And a steady trickle of people joining a partner who went first.
What almost all of them have in common is a flat-sized load and a date that is not entirely theirs to choose.
Shared vehicles, and when they make sense
France carries enough British traffic that consolidated vehicles run regularly. If your load is a flat and your date has some give in it, a shared load is usually the right answer: you pay for your share, and you accept a delivery window rather than a fixed day.
If you have a whole house and a fixed handover, take a dedicated vehicle. We will tell you which your job actually suits.
The route
South London to the M25, round the eastern side, out through Kent and across. On the other side the road is chosen by destination: north-east for Reims and Burgundy, along the coast for Normandy, or the long south-western run through Le Mans and Tours to Bordeaux and beyond.
The file
- An itemised, valued inventory in French, signed by you
- Proof of the French address — a deed, or a lease in your name
- Evidence of transferring residence: a work contract, a residency application, or a consulate certificate
- Identity documents matching every name above
We prepare and lodge the export declaration and the transit paperwork. The pieces only you can obtain take the longest, so start those first.
Delivering in France
City apartments will feel familiar after SE15 — a courtyard, a narrow lift, a staircase with a turn. The difference is that in Paris a hoist through a window is routine rather than exceptional, and it is arranged in advance.
Rural deliveries are about the lane rather than the house: send photographs of the approach and the answer is usually a shuttle with a smaller vehicle.
Spain shares the first half of this drive before turning south.
Worth knowing
Peckham to France, the practical questions
Our load is a flat, not a house. Is that a problem?
It is the normal case out of SE15 and it makes a shared load worth considering — you pay for your share of a vehicle going the same way rather than for a lorry of your own. The trade is a delivery window instead of a delivery date.
How does the vehicle get there?
Out of south London to the M25, round to Kent, and across from the tunnel at Folkestone or the port at Dover. Then the French motorway that matches your destination — the A26 for Reims and Burgundy, the A16 for Normandy, the A28 and A10 for the Loire and Bordeaux.
What does France need from us?
An itemised, valued inventory in French, signed by you; proof of the French address through a deed or a signed lease; and evidence you are transferring residence — a work contract, a residency application, or a consulate certificate of change of residence.
We are renting at both ends. Does that change anything?
Not the customs position, which turns on where you are resident rather than whether you own anything. It does change the timing: two tenancy dates that do not meet is the commonest reason a load waits in store here before it exports.
Paris apartments — how bad?
Familiar, if you have moved in SE15. A courtyard, a lift built for people rather than furniture, and a staircase with a turn. The difference is that in Paris a hoist through a window is a standard method rather than a last resort, and it wants arranging in advance.
Can you take part of it now and part later?
On this route it is practical, because the crossing is short. Each trip is its own customs movement though, so the file has to be right each time rather than once.
Who packs?
Export packing is different from domestic packing — more wrapping, more attention to what a customs officer might want to see listed. On an international job we would rather do it, or at least do the fragile half.
Tell us the size of the load and how fixed the date is.
Those two answers decide whether a shared vehicle or a dedicated one is the sensible way to send it.