Moving back to the UK from Canada
 

We are moving back to the UK after 25 years in Canada and we are looking for some help /guidance on moving/shipping our household goods . We are aiming for March 2026. Does anyone have any help or suggestions of a reliable and affordable shipping Company Please? Thank you

Re: Moving back to the UK from Canada
 

We moved from Ontario to the UK in January. We used Clark & Rose (UK based) and they used a well known (sorry I’ve forgotten which one) company in Canada to pack and move at that end. They stored our shipment, for a fee, until we had purchased a house here and then delivered to our new home.
We didn’t ship any major furniture as it wasn’t particularly expensive and far from new and we decided it made more sense for us to buy when we were settled here. I didn’t say buy new as we found and purchased a lovely oak dining table and a very nice conservatory set at an Air Ambulance charity shop.
we were very pleased with Clark & Rose and would definitely recommend them.
Best wishes on a smooth move. Hope all goes well for you.

Re: Moving back to the UK from Canada
 

Thank you for you advice !

Re: Moving back to the UK from Canada
 

Hi,
Alongside the personal recommendations that you'll hopefully get here, a great place to start for shipping is to check out FIDI website for a list of FAIM-certified international removal companies either in the UK or Canada to make sure whoever you're using is fully qualified, licensed and independently vetted for overseas moving and will handle the shipment competently door-to-door.
Good luck!

Re: Moving back to the UK from Canada
 

Hi.

we just moved back to the UK from Vancouver Island. Not sure what side of Canada you are shipping from but we used Highland-Worldwide based in Vancouver/Richmond. Very good price. No problems. Good communication both in Canada and UK. Good luck with your move. It’s really lovely being home 🇬🇧 again!

Re: Moving back to the UK from Canada
 

We used internationalmoving.com Reasonable rate with no issues from PNW to Norfolk, UK

Re: Moving back to the UK from Canada
 

Helpful to me too, as also looking to move back after 15 years in Ontario. Would be curious to have a rough idea of how much stuff you shipped back and what it cost approximately. We shipped a full container here, but have been busy on FB marketplace trying to reduce our stuff. Thanks.

Re: Moving back to the UK from Canada
 

We paid £2,775. for 105 cubic feet plus insurance. That included packing, everything arrived in good condition, shipping from our home in Ontario to our new home in Lancashire, unpacking to a flat surface and removing shipping materials and dealing with customs etc.
We did have them store our goods for a few months until the purchase of our house was completed (for a reasonable fee) and decided not to have them do the unpacking as we had just took possession the and didn’t have much furniture at the time.
Happy to answer any questions if I can.

Re: Moving back to the UK from Canada
 

Thanks Loni, very helpful.

Re: Moving back to the UK from Canada
 

Apologies for going off topic, but would you recommend Norfolk?

Was also considering Eastbourne/Hastings but overall Norwich seems to get more positive reports.

Re: Moving back to the UK from Canada
 

I just checked my details from our move a year ago. We moved from Whitby, ON to Worcestershire. The final volume was 725 cubic feet and total cost was 11kCAD which equates to about £6k - this included insurance. We got quotes from two companies, who quoted based initial volumes within 2% of each other (640 and 650) and went with AMJ Campbells.Good service - they pack and wrapped everything, and the company this end unwrapped the large items on delivery. No damage bar one wine glass that crumpled as I unwrapped it.
Transport took the UK took 2 months (November to January) then another month to clear customs and deliver.

Re: Moving back to the UK from Canada
 

Many thanks, this is very helpful!!

Re: Moving back to the UK from Canada
 

For general information - 105cuft is only 3m³, or about 1½ metric fork lift pallets loaded to about 6ft high.

Re: Moving back to the UK from Canada
 

I am looking to move back to the UK after 20 plus years. It has been very helpful reading the moving threads. My question relates to sorting Canadian taxes and UK taxes. Is there a preferred time of year to move considering UK tax year starts in April? Selling a flat, banking. Any tax accountants specialising in expat taxes would be helpful.

thank you for your input.

Re: Moving back to the UK from Canada
 

I can't comment on Canadian taxes, but if you have a job to start in the UK, you can maximise your benefit of the UK's personal tax allowance by returning to the UK ahead of the April 5 tax year end by long enough to earn your personal tax allowance (currently £12,570) then your income will be tax free up to the allowance (as it is for all UK resident tax payers).

For example if you have a job paying £2,600/mth and start working on 1 November then your earnings earned and paid by 31 March would £13,000, and you'd pay NI on the £13,000, but only pay income tax on £430 (the earnings over £12,570). (The earnings for 1-5 April accrued but not received are not taxed until received.)