REMOVALS TO GERMANY FROM THE UK
Bi-weekly service to Germany UK to Germany Removals Part loads and full house moves, door to door, with customs handled
Moving to Germany from the UK is rarely a retirement-in-the-sun story. It's a job in Frankfurt, a research post in Munich, an engineering role around Stuttgart, a start-up in Berlin, or a family heading home after years abroad. That changes what matters: delivery around a start date, city-centre access, and a rental system with a few surprises for British movers (the missing kitchen is the famous one).
Gentlevan Removals is a family-run firm moving households since 2011, with a bi-weekly service to Germany. We collect from anywhere in the UK and run the load across through Belgium and the Netherlands on our own fleet, from vans up to a 36-tonne road train. Where the German address needs it, the final delivery goes in a smaller transhipment vehicle.
Part loads from £1,200, dedicated moves for whole houses, every item QR labelled and tracked, and 2 months free UK storage on European moves. Move Assured and AIM accredited.
How Much Do Removals to Germany Cost?
Nobody can quote a Germany move from a postcode alone, but three things explain almost the whole spread:
- How far east you're going. Cologne and Düsseldorf are just past the Dutch border, Frankfurt is the middle, and Berlin, Munich, Dresden and Leipzig add hundreds of motorway miles.
- How much is coming. The honest measure is cubic feet, not bedrooms, and German moves are often bigger because people take their whole kitchen.
- What the far end looks like. A ground-floor flat with parking outside is a very different day from a fourth-floor Altbau with no lift.
| Move size | Typical service | Guide price |
|---|---|---|
| A room or two / studio | Part load | £1,200 to £2,800 |
| 1 to 2 bed flat | Part load | £2,600 to £4,600 |
| 3-bed home | Part load or dedicated | £4,400 to £7,000 |
| 4+ bed / large house | Dedicated vehicle | £6,500 to £8,500+ |
Guide figures for 2026, covering UK collection, transport, customs paperwork and door delivery. Packing, export wrapping and crates are optional and priced at the survey. Get your own figure.
Three Levels of Protection for Your Germany Move
A move to Germany is a long journey, so you choose how much protection your furniture gets. The level is agreed when we prepare your quotation, so nothing is added on the day.
Packing is optional too: our crew can pack the whole home, pack just the fragile items, or you pack your own boxes and we wrap the furniture and load. See our packing service for how we pack.
Essential
Furniture wrapped in quilted blankets, with sofa and mattress covers, on every European move.
Enhanced
Your fragile pieces export wrapped: glass-fronted cabinets, polished tables, mirrors and artwork.
Premier
All of your furniture export wrapped. Maximum protection, and export-wrapped items load tighter and more securely.
Wooden crates
Made to measure for chandeliers, paintings, statues, glass and marble tops. Priced per item.
How export wrapping works and which items it suits: export wrapping.
Every item QR labelled. Each box and piece of furniture gets its own QR label. Our crew scans it at loading and again at delivery in Germany, so we can see that everything that left your UK home has arrived.
Reaching the Door in a German City
A large vehicle is the efficient way to cover the miles across Europe, but not every German address can take one: a one-way old-town lane, a low-emission Umweltzone, or a tram-lined street with nowhere to stop. So where the address needs it, we transfer your load into one of our smaller transhipment vehicles for the final delivery.
- Umweltzone access. Most German cities restrict vehicles in their centres by emissions sticker; a compliant smaller vehicle gets in.
- Old-town and tram streets. The narrow streets of an Altstadt that a large vehicle cannot enter.
- Buildings with no loading bay. Older apartment blocks where a smaller vehicle can pull up close to the door.
You tell us the German address at the survey, and we plan there and then whether the final leg needs a smaller vehicle, a furniture lift, or both.
The German Kitchen, and Other Things Brits Don't See Coming
If one thing catches British movers off guard, it's this: German rental flats often come with no kitchen at all. Not "no fridge", no kitchen: bare walls, a couple of pipe stubs and an electrical connection where the cooker should be. A flat that does include one is advertised with an Einbauküche (EBK), and you pay more rent for it.
Because tenants buy their own kitchens, they take them when they leave, units, worktops, sink, oven and hob, or sell them to the next tenant in a side deal called an Ablöse. The old joke about taking "everything but the kitchen sink" is, in Germany, slightly wrong: they take that too.
So a German move often includes a whole kitchen as freight. We're movers, not kitchen fitters, so the take-down and refit are for you or a kitchen specialist to arrange. What we do is transport it safely: once it's dismantled, we wrap the units, worktops and appliances and carry them with the rest of your move. Tell us at the survey so it's counted in the volume.
A few other German habits worth knowing before moving day:
- Halteverbotszone. Most central addresses need a temporary no-parking zone so the vehicle has space outside. You arrange it with the local authority, usually with a couple of weeks' notice. We tell you at the survey whether one is needed, and we can book it for you for a small extra fee.
- Möbelaufzug. The external furniture lift that takes wardrobes and sofas through an upper window when the stairwell won't. If the survey shows your address needs one, we arrange it and it's included in your quotation.
- Sperrmüll. The council bulky-waste collection, handy for decluttering before you move. Book early, as slots fill up.
- Leaving the old place. German tenancies often expect the flat handed back freshly decorated, so build that into your timing.
Removals to Berlin, Munich, Hamburg and Across Germany
We deliver everywhere in Germany. A few notes on the cities British movers ask about most:
Removals to Berlin
Sprawling and largely low-rise, with many Altbau blocks built around rear courtyards and few lifts. Book your Anmeldung appointment the moment you have an address.
Removals to Munich
Germany's most expensive city, with tight parking and a low-emission zone in the centre, so the smaller-vehicle approach often makes sense for central deliveries.
Removals to Hamburg
Handsome Altbau flats and modern new-builds by the water. Tell us the building type at the survey and we plan the access.
Removals to Frankfurt
Germany's high-rise city, with more apartment blocks with lifts, and often booking slots and building rules for moving day.
Removals to Düsseldorf & Cologne
The closest German cities to the UK, just past the Dutch border. Karneval and the big trade fairs are worth planning around.
Stuttgart, Leipzig & beyond
Hilly Stuttgart, and Leipzig and Dresden in the east, the longest hauls and well suited to a planned part load.
Still deciding where to land? Our guide to the best cities to live in Germany compares them for cost, jobs and lifestyle.
Storage Before Your Germany Move
If your German flat isn't ready when your UK home completes, we keep your belongings in sealed, numbered wooden containers at our UK yard, free for the first two months on European moves. When you're ready, they go on the next run to Germany. See containerised storage.
Moving to Germany from the UK: Customs, Transfer of Residence & the Anmeldung
Since Brexit, every UK to Germany removal goes through customs, but it's routine for us. Your household goods normally enter duty-free under Transfer of Residence relief when you're moving your main home and meet the conditions: broadly, that you've lived outside the EU for at least a year, have owned and used the goods for six months, and import them within twelve months of moving. We prepare and lodge the paperwork: an inventory, passport copy, proof of your new German address and the declaration itself.
Then there's one piece of German admin that isn't ours to do but trips up nearly everyone: the Anmeldung. Within two weeks of moving in you must register your address at the local Bürgeramt, and the certificate you receive (the Meldebescheinigung) unlocks everything else: bank account, tax ID, mobile contract and broadband. In the big cities appointments are scarce, so book one as early as you can.
Germany to UK Removals: Coming Home
Plenty of our German work runs the other way: contracts end, postings finish, and families decide to be home for the new school year. Because our vehicles return from Germany on every run, a Germany to UK removal can often travel on a return journey, which helps keep the price down.
The paperwork flips direction: an export declaration on the German side, and on the UK side ToR1 Transfer of Residence relief, which HMRC must approve before your goods arrive, so start it four to six weeks ahead. We collect from anywhere in Germany and deliver to any UK address.
Germany shares the road with our Belgium, Netherlands and Switzerland services, so a move that touches more than one country can usually be planned as one trip. See all European removals, or our France, Spain and Italy services.
Removals to Germany: Your Questions Answered
As a guide, a room or two on a part load starts from around £1,200, a one or two-bed flat runs £2,600 to £4,600, and a three-bed home £4,400 to £7,000, with larger houses above that. The price depends on how far east you are going, how much you are taking and the access at the German end. We price from a video survey and confirm it in writing.
We run a bi-weekly service to Germany, collecting from anywhere in the UK. Dedicated moves travel on the dates you choose; part loads travel on our scheduled runs.
Yes. If you are not filling a vehicle, your belongings share the run with other Germany-bound moves and you pay for the space you use, typically 40 to 60% less than a dedicated move. Part loads to Germany start from £1,200 and travel on our scheduled runs, so they suit moves with some flexibility on dates.
Quilted blankets are included on every European move (Essential). Export wrapping is optional: Enhanced export wraps your fragile items and Premier export wraps all your furniture. Made-to-measure wooden crates can be added to any level and are priced per item. You choose the level when we prepare your quotation. See export wrapping.
The long haul is done by one of our larger vehicles, and where the German address calls for it the load is transferred into a smaller transhipment vehicle for the final delivery, so narrow old-town streets, low-emission zones and buildings with no loading bay are not a dead end.
We will transport one. We are movers rather than kitchen fitters, so the take-down and refit are for you or a kitchen specialist to arrange, but once it is dismantled we wrap and carry the units, worktops and appliances with the rest of your move. Mention it at the survey so it is counted in the volume.
Yes. If the survey shows the address needs an external furniture lift (Möbelaufzug), we arrange it and it is included in your quotation. Tell us the floor and the stairwell at the survey so it can be planned and priced in.
Yes. The German side needs an export declaration and the UK side runs on ToR1 Transfer of Residence relief, which HMRC must approve before your goods arrive, so start it four to six weeks ahead. We collect from anywhere in Germany and deliver to any UK address.
Every move needs a customs declaration, with an inventory, a passport copy and proof of your new German address. Household goods normally enter duty-free under Transfer of Residence relief when you are moving your main home. Separately, you must register your address (the Anmeldung) at the local Bürgeramt within two weeks of moving in.
Get a Quote for Your Germany Move
The fastest way to a price is a video survey: film each room and send the videos to our WhatsApp, 07861 930529, with your German city and dates. We reply with a written quotation.
Or call the office: 01295 368198
A real person reads every enquiry.