iainandsam

Hi all,
After doing all this from uk-oz 8 yrs ago. We are now ready to head back to life in the uk. I'm finding it all a bit daunting to be honest.
I'm after advice on shipping companies and approx costs. Nr Melbourne to Cambridge. We came here with a 40ft container but we are going to have a serious clear out and will hopefully only need a 20ft going back.
Also we have a golden retriever that we have to bring. Has anyone shipped pets, what is involved?
Thanks in advance for any advice, much appreciated, thank you.

spouse of scouse

Hi, we moved from Oz to the UK just under a year ago. Can't help with the container as we only took a few, well, 22 boxes of personal stuff.

Our 11 year old goldie came too. Your dog will need a pet passport, which shows that he/she has had all the mandatory health checks, vaccinations and is micro chipped. We were in Perth and used a vet who also worked as a pet relocater, so he did everything for us including booking the flight, arranging the stop over in Dubai, and getting our dog picked up from Manchester airport and being transported to our home on the Wirral. Cost all up was around $4,200. Best of luck with your move back.

iainandsam

Thanks for that. What was the cost of just moving boxes, if you don't mind me asking?

spouse of scouse

In a word, astronomical We probably did it the most expensive way possible, via air freight, but we wanted our stuff straight away. It was around $3,500. We packed some boxes, but got the removal company to pack the crystal. Everything we'd packed was ok, 75% of the crystal was smashed to ribbons. If you're just moving boxes, my tip is to look ask Google for packing tips, and DIY.

forgot to add (before you have a coronary!) - that price included specialist packing and shipping of 5 glass framed football shirts - the other half's most precious possessions !

verystormy

We moved back from. WA this year.

For containers I can't help, but for boxes we used Move Cube which was excellent and a large one will fit some furniture. Google it and you can get a quote on line.

For the dog we used Dogtainers who were excellent. They are specialists and we learned how important it is to have a specialist. Two days before our little one was supposed to fly the airline announced a ban on all dog transport. But, they took the stress and he flew with another airline within 30 minutes take off as planned. They also sent us emails during the day detailing his journey. The cost is by size of dog / crate but we estimated their fee was actually very small when compared to the overall cost. They do not need a pet passport unless flying via a EU port. They do need to have rabies jabs 22 days prior to flying.

benhila

We moved from Sydney to London 3 months ago; we had 15 boxes plus various furniture, 30 items altogether (including the boxes). We used Grace at the Sydney end and Robinsons in the UK. They gave us a couple of quotes, one for self-packing the boxes (with Grace wrapping and packing the larger furniture) and one all-inclusive. The total (for the former) came up to less than $2500. Companies at both ends were amazing; Highly recommended.

elonii

We had two cats shipped back, we paid about $1500 a piece for them, plus another few hundred on the rabies vaccinations. Our shipping was a part container using a groupage service and the service at both ends (including full pack and unpack) was $8,000. We could have saved a lot doing it ourselves but we only had 2 weeks to organise the whole move and with a 1 and 3 year old we just went with easy over cheap. OSS Worldwide at the Australia end were wonderful, the guys who packed the house were wonderful - we gave them a good tip at the end of day two as they went above and beyond helping us lift out items we were selling.

Good luck with it all. It's stressful but we just took it a day at a time and it all came together in the end.

steen1976

We've had some quotes in for around $5000 for a shared container - our stuff is about 14ft in total - mostly boxes, some furniture and camping gear.

quoll

Cant help you with the moving stuff, sorry - we came with backpacks and DH sent, I think, 3 boxes that took 6 months to arrive and were essentially redundant when they got here.

However your pup is going to love living in Cambridge! I see so many happy pooches while out on my walks in the countryside. The labs especially get very concerned when they see me because they don't see a dog and they cannot quite fathom why anyone would want to be walking without the company and security of a good dog a their side!

Phillex

Elonii do you mid telling me who you shipped your cats with and from where? I'm looking into options for my cat from Melbourne to London and have quotes closer to the $3000 mark...

Bermudashorts

We also came with a 40foot container but moved back with a 20foot after a good clear out. The sole use of 20foot was $8,000 in January 2015.

The main thing to note about your dog is that he needs to be up to date with rabies and you need minimum 21 days notice for the UK. I think if you talk to your vet they will be familiar with the process although not all vets are qualified to ready animals for international moves, our vet referred us to another one for the vaccinations and paperwork.

That seems pretty high, we moved three cats for I think $4,500 or thereabouts. We went with Jetpets, I don't particularly want to endorse them as we had some last minute problems but I daresay it was a one off and everybody got here safe and sound in the end.

ArabellaTurner

Hello there people who've moved from Oz to the UK!

My husband and I are planning to do this next year and would be very interested to hear your stories and which visa route you took! We're hoping for me to get a job offer back in the UK but have no idea how hard this might be without being there in person to be interviewed. Can anyone offer any tips?

Removal cost is also useful to know, great thread!