Removals from Tunbridge Wells to Portugal

Portugal is the most administratively particular of the four. The transfer-of-residence exemption needs a consular certificate and an inventory in the right form, and applications get refused for the sort of detail that is easy to get wrong and slow to correct once goods are already moving. So the file is assembled before loading, not during transit.

The route

the A21 north to the M25 or south-east to the Kent crossings — either way the coast is close Then the Atlantic side of France almost without exception — Bordeaux, the border at Irún, and across northern Spain. From there the A-52 through Vigo for Porto and the north, Salamanca and Vilar Formoso for Lisbon and the Silver Coast, or Mérida and Seville and the Guadiana at Ayamonte for the Algarve.

Where deliveries go

• The Algarve — Lagos, Portimão, Albufeira, Tavira and the inland barrocal
• Lisbon and the Setúbal peninsula — the city, Cascais, Sesimbra
• The Silver Coast — Caldas da Rainha, Óbidos, Nazaré, Figueira da Foz
• Porto and the north — the city, the Douro valley, the Minho
• The central interior — Coimbra, Castelo Branco, the Serra da Estrela villages
• The Alentejo — Évora and the quintas towards the Spanish border

Old town addresses

Lisbon, Porto and the Algarve's older quarters share a problem: steep, narrow, cobbled streets with no standing and buildings whose staircases turn sharply on every floor. Deliveries into them are frequently done from a shuttle vehicle with extra hands, and occasionally through a window with the right equipment. It is arranged in advance and priced in, rather than being an awkward conversation on the day.

The certificate that sets the timetable

Relief on household goods entering Portugal generally depends on a certificado de bagagem — a certificate of baggage — applied for through the Portuguese consular service before the goods travel, supported by your NIF and evidence of the Portuguese address. That single document, rather than the distance, is what sets the timetable, and the parts only you can obtain cannot be accelerated.

Dedicated vehicle or shared space

A dedicated vehicle means your dates and the fewest handlings. Shared space means a lower cost, a delivery window rather than a named day, and more handlings along the way. On a household with pieces you would mind losing, the handling count is a real argument for a dedicated vehicle, and we will make that argument rather than quietly selling the cheaper option.

Starting the move

Both addresses, rough dates, a sense of the volume, and whether shared space is an option for you. We will survey and quote in writing. See European removals for how the four compare.