Removals to Italy

UK to Italy — how the route runs

Channel crossing, French transit, alpine routing into Italy

Italy is the longest of our four supported European routes by road distance, but the operating model is the same: cross the Channel via Eurotunnel or Dover-Calais, drive through France, and route over the Alps into Italy either via the Mont Blanc tunnel and Aosta into Northern Italy, or via the Côte d’Azur and Ventimiglia into Liguria and onward south.

The route choice depends on the destination: Northern Italy (Milan, Turin, Verona, Bologna) goes via Mont Blanc and the Aosta valley; Tuscany, Umbria, Rome and southern destinations route via the South of France and the Italian Riviera. Either way the same MTC team handles the move from UK collection to Italian delivery — no agent handover.

Where in Italy we deliver to

Italian destination types vary more by region than most European destinations. The Italian peninsula has Northern industrial cities, central rural property destinations, southern coastal moves, and a major divide between Italian residential city moves and UK-resident property moves. MTC handles all of it.

• Milan, Turin, Verona, Bologna and the Northern industrial belt — UK-Italian business relocations, finance and fashion sector moves into central Milan, manufacturing relocations into Brescia and the Lombardy region. Often time-sensitive corporate moves.
• Tuscany and Umbria — Florence, Siena, Cortona, Lucca, Perugia — UK-resident property moves into Tuscan and Umbrian villages and hilltop towns. Often into period property with narrow access; the survey captures cobbled streets and lift-permit logistics.
• Rome and Lazio — central Rome apartment moves with ZTL restricted-traffic-zone permit logistics; Lazio coastal addresses; outer Rome property moves around Frascati and the Castelli Romani.
• Liguria and the Italian Riviera — Genoa, Portofino, Cinque Terre, San Remo — coastal moves with narrow-access village logistics; UK retirees moving to the Ligurian coast.
• Naples and the South — Amalfi Coast, Sorrento, Puglia — UK property moves into southern coastal regions, including the Amalfi and Sorrento peninsula and Puglia’s trulli country. Long route from Northern Italian customs entry; survey captures the destination access carefully.
• Sicily and Sardinia (by arrangement) — island deliveries require additional ferry routing from the Italian mainland; quoted on a per-move basis and surveyed up-front to confirm route and capacity.

UK pickups for Italy routes

Italy routes run from across the UK. London and Greater London pickups, Birmingham and the Midlands, Manchester and Leeds for Northern pickups, Bristol and the South-West, and Scottish collections from Edinburgh and Glasgow. Smaller-town pickups in Brighton, Oxford, Cambridge, Norwich, Reading, Bath and elsewhere slot into the same Italy-bound consolidation.

Customs paperwork for UK to Italy moves

UK to Italy removals require customs declarations both sides — an export declaration UK-side and an import declaration Italy-side — plus the Italian transfer-of-residence equivalent where the move is permanent. MTC handles the declaration paperwork in-house as part of the international quote.

• Export and import declarations handled by our customs desk — you don’t need to engage a separate broker.
• EORI guidance — confirmed at survey, applied for if not already held.
• Italian transfer-of-residence (sgombero/sdoganamento masserizie) documentation prepared for permanent moves.
• Itemised inventory in the format the Italian customs authority expects, with values for the import declaration.
• High-value item declarations — antiques, art, wine, instruments — declared with values at survey.

What tends to come up on UK to Italy moves

• ZTL restricted-traffic zones in historic centres (Rome, Florence, Siena, Verona, Bologna). Permits are arranged ahead of the delivery day.
• Narrow medieval streets in Tuscan and Umbrian hilltop towns — full-size lorries often can’t access, so the team plans van-to-van shuttle from a turning point.
• Period-property access — high stone steps, low door frames, no lift — common in renovated farmhouses. Walk-up handling included on the quote.
• Property completion timing on Italian notary dates — Italian completions slip more than UK completions; storage on either side is built into the quote where the timing is uncertain.
• Wine, olive oil, and specialist art — Italian moves often include items needing declared values for customs and specialist handling at survey.
• Pets and vehicles — out of scope for MTC. Specialist pet relocation and vehicle shipping are separate services; we’ll suggest you engage a specialist for those.