How to Ship Your Life Overseas: Container Costs, Customs Traps & What to Leave Behind

You've decided to move abroad. Congratulations. Now comes the question that nobody finds exciting but everybody gets wrong: what do you do with all your stuff?

The romanticized version is two suitcases and a fresh start. The reality, for most people, involves at least some shipping — whether it's a few boxes of books and kitchen equipment or an entire household. And the logistics of international shipping are filled with hidden costs, customs surprises, and decisions that seem small but cost thousands.

Here's everything you need to know.

Sea freight: the numbers

Sea freight is the most common and cost-effective method for shipping household goods internationally. You're essentially renting space in a shipping container.

Quick answer: A 20ft container costs £1,500–£3,000 ($1,900–$3,800) and fits a 1-2 bedroom apartment's contents. A 40ft container costs £2,500–£5,000 ($3,200–$6,400) for a full house. Transit time: 4–12 weeks depending on route.

Typical costs by route (20ft container, 2026 prices):

• US East Coast → UK/Northern Europe: $2,000–$3,500
• US West Coast → Southeast Asia: $1,800–$3,000
• UK → Australia/New Zealand: £2,500–£4,000
• UK → Spain/Portugal: £1,200–£2,000
• US → Central/South America: $1,500–$2,800
• Europe → Middle East: €1,800–€3,200

These are port-to-port prices. Door-to-door service — where the shipping company picks up from your home and delivers to your new address — adds £500–£1,500 on each end for packing, loading, customs clearance, and local delivery.

Shared container (groupage): If you don't have enough to fill a whole container, you can share space with other shipments. This costs 30–50% less but takes 2–4 weeks longer because the container waits until it's full.

Air freight: fast but expensive

Air freight makes sense for essentials you need immediately — documents, electronics, a few weeks of clothing, medications, and items with sentimental value that you can't risk losing at sea.

Cost: £4–£8 per kilogram ($5–$10/kg), with most companies requiring a minimum of 50 kg. A typical 200 kg shipment costs £800–£1,600.

Transit time: 3–10 days door-to-door, depending on origin and destination.

Best used for:

• Electronics (laptop, monitors — bubble-wrapped)
• Important documents and records
• Medications (with prescriptions)
• Children's comfort items (favorite toys, blankets)
• Professional equipment you need immediately

Don't air-freight: Furniture, kitchen equipment, books (heavy!), or anything you can live without for 6–8 weeks. The per-kilo cost makes heavy items prohibitively expensive.

Customs duties: the trap nobody warns you about

Here's where international shipping gets expensive in ways you didn't budget for. Every country has different customs rules for personal belongings, and the term "personal effects" has a very specific (and often narrow) legal definition.

Countries with generous personal effects exemptions:

• Portugal: Household goods are duty-free if you've owned them 6+ months and are transferring your residence. Must apply for Certificado de Bagagem before shipping.
• Spain: Similar rules — goods must be owned 12+ months, and you must have been resident abroad for 12+ months.
• Australia: Used personal effects are generally duty-free. New items over AUD 900 may attract GST (10%).
• Thailand: Personal effects are duty-free if accompanying the owner. Unaccompanied shipments may face 20–80% duties on individual items.

Countries with painful customs:

• Brazil: Duties of 60% on items not clearly classified as used personal effects. Electronics are closely scrutinized.
• India: Used personal effects are duty-free for returning residents, but definitions are strict. Electronics less than 1 year old may attract 28% GST.
• Indonesia: Customs duties range from 0–40% depending on category. Used items aren't automatically exempt.
• Mexico: Personal effects are exempt if you have a temporary or permanent resident visa. Tourist visa holders face duties on everything.

Prohibited items (commonly caught):

• Prescription medications without documentation (almost everywhere)
• Food products, seeds, and plant material (Australia, New Zealand, US — very strict)
• Weapons including decorative/antique weapons (most countries)
• Drones (require import permits in many countries)
• Certain electronics with encryption (some Middle Eastern countries)

The brutal math: ship vs. sell

This is the calculation that most people avoid but should do first. The basic formula:

If the replacement cost at destination < shipping cost + customs duties + insurance + hassle → sell it.

Items that are almost never worth shipping:

• Furniture: A sofa that cost £800 will cost £400–£600 to ship and may not fit your new apartment. IKEA exists everywhere.
• Kitchen appliances: Voltage differences (110V vs 220V) mean your US appliances won't work in Europe without transformers. Converters are unreliable for high-wattage items. Buy new.
• Books: Heavy. Ship one box of irreplaceable favorites. Leave the rest. The weight cost will shock you.
• Cheap electronics: If it cost less than £200, it costs more to ship than replace.

Items worth shipping:

• High-quality tools and specialized equipment — expensive to replace, no voltage issues
• Art and irreplaceable personal items — sentimental value transcends shipping costs
• Children's items — continuity matters for kids adjusting to a new country
• Musical instruments — quality instruments are expensive worldwide
• Professional equipment — cameras, specialized monitors, ergonomic chairs

Timeline: how long everything takes

Most people underestimate how long international shipping takes:

• Getting quotes and booking: 2–4 weeks (start early, get 3+ quotes)
• Packing and pickup: 1–3 days (professional packers recommended for insurance purposes)
• Sea freight transit: 4–12 weeks depending on route
• Customs clearance at destination: 3–14 days (can be longer with complications)
• Local delivery: 2–5 days after customs clearance

Total realistic timeline: 6–16 weeks from door to door.

This means you should ship 2–3 months before you need items. Pack a "survival kit" of essentials for air freight or carry-on: 2–4 weeks of clothing, electronics, documents, medications, and anything you can't live without.

Insurance: don't skip it

International shipping insurance typically costs 1–3% of the declared value of your goods. A shipment valued at £10,000 would cost £100–£300 to insure.

Always get transit insurance. Containers fall off ships (rare but real). Items get damaged in transit. Customs warehouses aren't gentle. Without insurance, you have zero recourse.

Choose "all-risk" coverage over "named-peril" coverage. The price difference is small, and named-peril policies have extensive exclusion lists.

Recommended companies

These international movers consistently receive good reviews from expats:

• Seven Seas Worldwide — excellent for UK→anywhere, competitive groupage rates
• AGS International Movers — strong European and African network
• Crown Relocations — premium service, good for corporate relocations
• Asian Tigers — specialist in Asia-Pacific moves
• Movinga — budget-friendly European moves

Get at least three quotes. Prices vary 30–50% between companies for the same route.

Take the expat quiz → | Moving from the UK → | Moving from the US →

How much does it cost to ship a container overseas?

A 20-foot container (enough for a 1-2 bedroom apartment) costs $2,500–$6,000 for ocean freight depending on the route. US East Coast to Northern Europe runs approximately $3,000–$4,500, while US West Coast to Southeast Asia costs $2,800–$5,500. A 40-foot container (full house) doubles those rates. But ocean freight is only part of the bill — add customs duties (0–25% of declared value depending on the destination country), insurance (1.5–3% of shipment value), port handling fees ($300–$800), and last-mile delivery ($200–$500). Total all-in cost for a typical household shipment to Portugal or Thailand: $5,000–$15,000. For Mexico, shorter transit times mean lower costs, typically $3,000–$8,000. Always get at least three quotes and confirm whether the quote includes door-to-door or port-to-port service.

Should I ship my furniture or sell it?

The honest answer for most expats: sell it. The math rarely works in favor of shipping unless you own high-value or sentimental pieces. A typical 2-bedroom apartment's furniture might be worth $5,000–$10,000 used — but shipping it overseas costs $5,000–$15,000 plus the risk of damage. You can furnish an apartment in most expat destinations for $2,000–$5,000 buying locally. The exceptions: if you have heirloom furniture, a baby grand piano, or designer pieces worth $20,000+, shipping makes financial sense. For everything else, sell domestically and buy new abroad. Use our cost of living comparison tool to see how far your furniture budget goes in your destination city, and check our calculator for a full budget breakdown.

Key Takeaways

1. 20ft container: £1,500–£3,000 — fits a 1-2 bedroom apartment, transit 4–12 weeks
2. Air freight: £4–£8/kg — use only for essentials you need within days
3. Customs duties vary wildly — Portugal and Spain are generous, Brazil and Indonesia are painful
4. Furniture is rarely worth shipping — replacement cost at destination is usually lower than shipping
5. Insurance costs 1–3% of value — always get all-risk coverage
6. Start 3 months before your move — door-to-door takes 6–16 weeks realistically

Last updated: March 19, 2026